On May 13, the Denver City Council approved a third and likely final extension of the implementation deadlines in the Expanding Housing Affordability (the “EHA”) ordinance.
EHA Background
The Council originally approved the EHA on June 6, 2022 to increase access to affordable housing within the City. The EHA requires new residential developments greater than ten units to include affordable housing units, or the developer may pay a fee-in-lieu as an alternative to building the affordable units. The EHA also increased linkage fees for certain projects, and it created various zoning and financial incentives to encourage the construction of affordable units.
Projects that were already in the City’s review cycle at the time the EHA became effective were provided with a grace period to finish permitting without triggering the new requirements. The EHA includes deadlines by which these pending projects must be fully approved in order to remain under the City’s pre-June 2022 affordable housing regulations. However, it has proven quite difficult for the City’s Community Planning & Development (“CPD”) staff to work through the surge of project submittals that came in immediately prior to the EHA’s passage.
Extension Reasoning
Leading up to the Council’s recent approval of another extension of the EHA compliance deadlines, CPD staff presented information regarding the volume of applications still in the grace period, staff levels in CPD, and review strategies that have been utilized to address the backlog. CPD staff recommended this recent extension to provide sufficient time to complete the review of the grace period projects.
The EHA originally required that projects subject to a Site Development Plan (“SDP”) obtain an approved SDP by August 30, 2023. In 2023, this deadline was extended to May 22, 2024. The new deadline for SDP approval has been extended to April 18, 2025. The extension applies only to projects where a concept review application was submitted on or before June 30, 2022.
Previously, there had been various deadlines depending on whether the project was subject to Large Development Review or subdivision. Now, as of May 13, 2024, all grace period projects are subject to a single deadline of April 18, 2025.
In addition, the City Council added a requirement for applicants to resubmit their site development plans within 90 days after receiving City comments to avoid having their applications automatically canceled.
If you would like more information about the EHA and the extensions approved by City Council, please reach out to the FGMC Land Use & Real Estate team.
