The passage of House Bill 22-1137 has caused most of us quite the amount of stress and anxiety to ensure proper compliance with new collection, covenant enforcement and meeting procedures. As if the recent restrictions weren’t enough, Colorado Senate Bill 23-213 was introduced on March 23, 2023, and the mere thought of this Bill passing the state legislature has me reaching for my heartburn medicine.
Essentially, the proposed Bill seeks to address the significant issue of the lack of affordable housing throughout Colorado by establishing a regulatory scheme of relaxing housing restrictions (and relieving local governments and communities from their decision making ability on these issues) that the legislature believes will increase housing density and, in turn, decrease housing costs. The proposed Bill includes an amendment to CCIOA that would require common interest communities to not prohibit accessory dwelling units, middle housing, housing in transit-oriented areas, and housing in key corridors. Essentially, this bill could permit residential property owners, even in communities with restrictive covenants, to construct that mother-in-law suite on their lots and even utilize a modular or mobile home as that improvement. If passed, there will likely be a significant impact on property values throughout the state of Colorado. In the opinion of the author, the provisions of this Bill constitute a significant, fundamental infringement on the rights of real property owners. Let’s hope that the legislature finds much less restrictive means of encouraging affordable housing.