The HBA Advocate | Wednesday, May 7, 2025
May 7, 2025
In this edition:
- HBA Hosts Successful 2025 Housing Summit
- Boulder County Board of County Commissioners Vote to Limit Home Sizes
- South Adams County Fire Department Hosts Live House Fire Demonstration
- Xcel Energy Lunch & Learn: June 18, 11:30 am – 1:30 pm
HBA Hosts Successful 2025 Housing Summit
On Tuesday, May 6 the HBA of Metro Denver hosted its annual Housing Summit with over 300 association members and dozens of local elected officials present to discuss some of the most pressing challenges and opportunities confronting residential development in Colorado and across the country.
The event featured NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz, who provided a forecast for the national and Metro Area real estate markets, highlighting issues affecting our region including supply chain, labor shortages, material costs and land availability.
The event also included a local panel of building experts focusing on the challenges impacting housing affordability issues here in the Denver market and specific ways the industry can partner with local governments to resolve them. Issues like impact fees, permitting timelines, metro districts and construction-defects reform were extensively discussed by the panel and our audience. We would like to extend our sincere thanks to Mr. Dietz; Jeff Handlin, the moderator; and our distinguished panelists Tyler Carlson, Scott Cox and Carl Koelbel for lending their expertise for another informative event.
A copy of Mr. Dietz slides will be shared with the event attendees
Boulder County of Board of County Commissioners Vote to Limit Home Sizes
In September of last year, the Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) authorized staff to pursue text amendments to their land use code, citing concerns about energy efficiency in larger homes and the overall trend of increasing home sizes. As part of this process, the BoCC enacted a moratorium on January 17 that paused the acceptance of applications for residential proposals exceeding the median residential floor area; previously, the code allowed for homes up to 125% of the median. The new calculations included garage space and basements, which effectively brought the median even lower.
Over the next couple of months, staff worked on drafting the proposed text amendments and presented them to the county’s planning commission on March 19th. The amendments eliminated the 125% threshold and instead instituted a hard cap on structure size at 100% of the median residential floor area (RFA). With a significant amount of public comment in opposition to the proposal, the planning commission unanimously voted 8-0 to recommend denial of the docket in its entirety and urged the BoCC to immediately repeal the moratorium.
Unfortunately, on April 21st the Boulder County voted 2-1 against the recommendations of their planning commission and the public to implement the new hard cap on structure size at 100%. The HBA attended the hearing and testified against it, highlighting the fact that it doesn’t only affect new development but also places restrictions on existing homes as well. Despite the discouraging result, the HBA is hopeful that continued outreach will motivate the Board to take our comments into account in the future hearings that contemplate a full repeal of the new requirements.
South Adams County Fire Department Host Live House Fire Demonstration
On April 25th, the SACFD-27J Workforce Cooperative Program hosted a House Fire and Career Expo at the South Adams County Fire Center in Commerce City. The Workforce Cooperative Program, in partnership with 27J Schools, offers high school students hands-on experience and mentorship in building trades, while also providing realistic firefighter training and community education on residential fire sprinklers.
The event conducted a controlled burn of the first student-built training house, which has been extensively used by firefighters for life-saving training scenarios of the past year. The burn provided invaluable insight into the dangerous and complexities of house fires, while simultaneously clearing space next year’s house, ensuring future students continue this unique, real-world learning experience. HBA staff attended the event along with a number of member sponsors including Presenting Sponsor James Hardie who helped make the event possible.
Xcel Energy Lunch & Learn: June 18th, 11:30 am – 1:30 pm
The HBA of Metro Denver invites members to join us for an in-depth Lunch & Learn webinar featuring Shayla Montano, Senior Operations Manager with Xcel Energy. The session is designed to provide a comprehensive look at the processes involved in coordinating with Xcel on residential projects. Attendees will gain a clearer understanding of how to navigate key steps such as submitting applications, capacity checks, understanding project timelines and readiness requirements. Whether you’re a builder, developer, or project manager, this session will offer valuable insight into working effectively with Xcel and help ensure your projects move forward smoothly and efficiently.
Space is limited so register today to reserve your spot!
HBA of Metro Denver Issue Tracker
Questions on what is happening in a specific city or county? The HBA is regularly monitoring the council and board activities in every political subdivision in the metro Denver area. Our Issue Tracker offers a great resource to learn about the issues being deliberated with links to agendas, packets and ordinances. The HBA of Metro Denver HBA Issue Tracker is available to all members here.
HBA is looking for Members to Participate in Advocacy, Regulatory and Technical Committees in 2025
As a volunteer-driven organization, the HBA's Jobsite Safety Committee, Permitting Committee, Regulated Utilities Committee and Stormwater Management Committee help guide the HBA's events and activities throughout the year. Consider joining one, or more, if you want to build strong, long-lasting relationships and make a difference to your fellow HBA members, while sharpening your leadership skills. Please visit the HBA website for more information or reach out to Morgan Cullen if you are ready to participate.