Candidates point to Willoughby Corner, inclusionary zoning and ADUs as tools on Lafayette housing affordability

Housing affordability was a major forum topic, with candidates praising the Willoughby Corner project as a start while urging additional measures including inclusionary zoning, accessory dwelling‑unit (ADU) incentives, land trusts and partnerships with county housing authorities.

Crystal Gallegos, a current Lafayette council member seeking reelection, highlighted Willoughby Corner as a recent project and said it was “breaking barriers” but acknowledged demand far exceeded supply. “When Willoughby Corner is all said and done, it’s gonna have 400 units. In the first 8 hours of Willoughby Corner’s website going live, they had 900 applications,” Gallegos said.

Anne Marie Johnson and other candidates urged an inclusionary-housing ordinance similar to neighboring cities, noting several nearby jurisdictions require larger affordability set‑asides and that Lafayette’s current requirement was smaller. Johnson said Lafayette should explore incentives for ADUs, preapproved ADU plans and protections for existing mobile-home communities and land trusts as tools to preserve affordability.

Candidates also discussed infrastructure and traffic concerns tied to new affordable developments and recommended coordinating with Boulder County Housing Authority and neighboring towns to identify land and funding. No zoning or ordinance changes were made at the forum; candidates recommended policy work, inclusionary-zoning analysis and partnerships to expand housing options.