Jefferson County updates commissioners on 15-year housing plan and state transit-oriented communities requirements

County planning and transportation officials told Jefferson County commissioners on June 17 that the county faces a sizable housing shortfall and outlined options for complying with a state transit-oriented communities requirement.

Avelma Montoya, director of Development and Transportation for Jefferson County, opened the briefing and introduced a multi-staff presentation on housing need, regulatory tools and next steps. Heather Guthrie Liss, long-range planning supervisor, summarized the county’s recent housing work and the 15-year housing strategic plan that the county adopted in February. Liss said the Denver-region assessment completed by DRCOG in 2024 identified a regional need of about 511,000 housing units; the county’s internal housing needs assessment estimates Jefferson County needs roughly 2,700 units per year (about 41,000 units by 2040), with unincorporated Jefferson County’s share roughly 880 units per year (about 13,200 units by 2040).

Liss said the county has been aligning the 15-year housing strategic plan with updates to the comprehensive plan, a new unified land use code (ULUC) effort, and the transportation mobility plan. She said key regulatory actions under consideration include modifying accessory-dwelling-unit rules, adding land for multifamily housing, and preserving mobile-home parks.

Staff walked through requirements in the state’s transit-oriented communities bill (referenced in the briefing as “House Bill 20 four-thirteen-thirteen”) and DOLA guidance. Under the statute as explained in the briefing, areas identified as transit areas must have zoning capacity that allows an average of up to 40 dwelling units per acre, and at minimum 15 dwelling units per acre in transit station areas; staff clarified zoning capacity is an allowed maximum under zoning and does not obligate immediate construction. County staff said the preliminary housing opportunity goal (HOG) report to the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) is due at the end of the month and that a final report and designation of transit centers will be required later in the process.

Staff described exemptions and calculations that reduced the initial, countywide HOG estimate: after accounting for exemptions such as agricultural/open-space zoning and rights-of-way, staff said the county’s baseline HOG estimate dropped substantially and is now expressed as roughly 28,000 units (including capacity already in place) that would need to be accounted for within applicable transit areas; staff also said the calculation corresponds to an estimate of about 71,000 additional people but that existing units count toward the total. Staff said they are consulting with DOLA and plan to request an additional exemption for the South Golden Road corridor, with an application for that exemption due to DOLA by June 30 and DOLA’s response expected within roughly 90 days.

The briefing emphasized options for meeting the HOG: spread moderate density across a wide area (for example, 20 dwelling units per acre in a broader buffer), concentrate very high density in a smaller number of transit centers (for example, 80 dwelling units per acre), or combine both approaches. Staff noted the statutes and DOLA guidance allow credit for existing higher-density areas and provide a bonus buffer that can be used to meet goals.

County transportation staff highlighted the South Golden Road corridor as the only corridor in the county’s transit area that the county owns and maintains. Mike Bennett, director of Transportation Engineering, described a corridor-capacity study and a planned corridor design project that are already budgeted as capital work. Bennett said the study will test whether the corridor can accommodate both the commercial intensity the county envisions and additional housing density, and that the county would use traffic impact fees and developer-required public improvements to help fund corridor upgrades.

Heather Frizzell and planning staff summarized potential implementation tools for affordable housing: staff are exploring inclusionary zoning (mandatory and voluntary variants) and transfer-of-development-rights (TDR) programs. Staff said inclusionary zoning is in use in many U.S. jurisdictions, both as mandatory and voluntary programs; TDR was described as a market-based approach that concentrates development in appropriate growth areas while preserving sensitive lands. Commissioners asked about evidence from similar counties and about tradeoffs; staff said they will research implementation models and return with options.

Staff framed the June 17 briefing as informational; commissioners did not vote on regulations. Staff said they will return with specific regulatory or policy proposals when ready and will submit the county’s preliminary HOG report to DOLA before the end-of-month deadline.

No formal rezoning or ordinance was adopted at the briefing; staff said future hearings will address any required code changes and that coordination with water providers, CDOT and neighboring jurisdictions will be necessary for corridors not owned by the county.