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City reviews DRCOG regional housing needs assessment; comments due Sept. 12 as Senate Bill 24‑174 compliance step
Summary
Boulder received a presentation of the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG) regional housing needs assessment, which the state will accept to meet SB 24‑174 requirements; council members raised questions about equity analysis and water infrastructure and staff said comments will be submitted to DRCOG by Sept. 12.
City staff presented the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG) regional housing needs assessment to Boulder City Council on Aug. 7 as the city’s required step under Colorado Senate Bill 24‑174. The assessment provides region-wide housing demand forecasts, a breakdown of need by income bands, and subregion-level analyses; staff said jurisdictions may submit comments to DRCOG through Sept. 12 to satisfy SB 24‑174’s requirements and to remain competitive for state funding tied to compliance.
Highlights from the presentation: DRCOG’s work estimates a very large regional housing need over long horizons (hundreds of thousands of units by mid-century and a 10‑year need of roughly 223,000 units regionally). The assessment shows the greatest shortfall in the lowest-income band (0–50% of area median income) across all subregions. Jay Sognit of the city’s Housing and Human Services emphasized that the report provides a shared data foundation for future regional housing planning and that “the precise numbers really are not as important as really the understanding the scale and the scope.”
Council questions and follow-up: Several council members asked about whether DRCOG performed an explicit equity analysis and how climate resilience and water-availability considerations were incorporated. Staff said the assessment was intended as a first-step, data-driven baseline; the Senate bill’s required regional housing-action plan (due Jan. 1, 2028) will address infrastructure issues such as water availability and allow more detailed policy work on equity and resiliency. Council directed staff to submit any council comments to DRCOG by the Sept. 12 deadline and noted that a separate regional housing strategy effort is being planned.
What’s next: Staff will collect council comments and forward them to DRCOG for incorporation into the regional record. The city will engage in the subsequent regional housing‑strategy process and prepare to meet the Jan. 1, 2028 housing‑action‑plan requirement under SB 24‑174.
