Teller County Commissioners are actively engaged with state level leaders and agencies and other stakeholders on the issue of affordable housing, land use and zoning. The matter has come down to state control or local control. Our belief is that the government closest to the people is the most responsive and representative.

We all agree on the need for affordable housing in our communities and we will, and have been, working hard on solutions. This is not a partisan issue; it is an issue facing our entire state and nation. The caution I would offer is to “not rush to failure.” There are no easy answers and no “one size fits all” solutions or approaches. To attempt to do so will instead divide us further and solve nothing. There are vast differences between urban counties and municipalities and the infrastructure they have to support growth and the realities of the 46 counties considered to be rural.

In Teller County, for example, just two years ago the average price point for a single-family home was $290K. Today in Teller County our average price point is over $600K, a 100% increase in just two years. Zoning, land use regulations, or local government did not cause this. Rather, I would offer that historically low interest rates, the pandemic, supply chain issues, Colorado statutory assessment cycles, explosive front range growth, well intentioned rules on green energy and accelerated building codes, et al have been the main cause.

Local land use control, regulations, zoning, and processes should not be targeted as low hanging fruit by any state legislator or department in an attempt to “quick-fix” our housing shortage. Like many counties and cities, our land use regulations and ordinances are regularly reviewed and updated to reflect the realities confronting us and the will of our residents.

We are a county comprised of 54% federal land, another factor many of us share which impacts development. We have to be mindful of the Wildland Urban Interface areas (WUI) and the availability of fire protection assets. As an example, there is current legislation that will mandate ‘hardening of homes” in these areas which translated means metal or concrete shingles and other aspects which will now add $30K-$40K to the price of our homes. We have green energy mandates and other mandatory code implementation cycles, all well intentioned, that will also add to the price of new homes. I offer these examples, not as a criticism, but to demonstrate just how complex this issue is and exactly why any plan, legislation or policy needs to provide overarching guidance or direction but allow the necessary flexibility for local implementation and carve out exceptions for the conditions in rural counties.

90% of the R1 residential zoned single family developed lots in Teller County, and in nearly all of Colorado’s 46 rural counties, are served by a well and a septic system. With regards to water, the well that is permitted and issued by the state for these homes is not a water right and its uses are highly regulated. The well permits issued are “exempt household use only” for a single-family dwelling. The water is to be used for bathing, sanitation and cooking. It may not be used for irrigation, greenhouses, animals, or even washing a car. They are NOT issued to support an accessory dwelling unit. So, to suggest that one way to fix our housing challenges is to simply allow, as a use by right, the construction of an additional home on an existing residential parcel in a rural setting is not only illegal but would be irresponsible in our current environment and water levels. The water compact of 1922, the current condition of the Colorado River, the acute competition for water now at our existing growth levels in the upper and lower basin, and the inevitable battle that is coming, make this suggestion unworkable.

With regard to septic systems: In our county, these exist on residential lots from ¼ acre to 35 acres and beyond. Obviously for smaller lots ranging from ¼ acre to 5 acres, for example, there are regulatory distances between the septic and the well that must be adhered to for health and sanitation reasons. As Teller County’s older rural subdivisions have reached build out in the past 50 years, nitrate and nitrite levels have increased causing the need for wells to be closed, water to be brought in or other community treatment plans to be developed. All of these necessary improvements have only added to the cost of rural living. Again, to suggest that higher density in the residential zones of rural counties will fix our housing shortages is just not a workable reality.

Incorporated cities and towns in rural counties

Our growth areas, like most rural counties, are our cities and towns. In addition to goods and services, these areas are almost always served by a municipal water system and by a municipal wastewater treatment facility. I would make the strong case that water and the ability to process waste water are the two aspects that really determine the level of growth, to include housing, which can be developed.

In our case, as with most rural counties, these growth areas have infill processes, available lots, and comprehensive plans that can and should support growth. Our local land use codes and zoning all support this growth. The market, economic conditions and investor confidence all play a role in this as well.

Colorado has been targeted by out-of-state investors who perceive a very permissive environment with regard to vacation rentals and short-term rentals. In addition to lost revenue and accountability, there are many substandard units rented without any oversight that lack even basic sanitation or code compliance. For those units that are bona-fide dwellings, property owners make substantially more on STRs than in traditional long-term rentals. This has had the effect of removing nearly all of the available long-term rental market, which has traditionally been more affordable, from most rural areas. As a result, this will need to be addressed at all levels as part of any solution.

We all want to work on the housing shortage challenge. The solution should not pit the state against local governments. We can work together in a respectful manner streamlining systems and processes to get this right. It is not a partisan issue. It should not be a front range/urban-centric mandated solution for rural Coloradoans. State agencies which all have oversight or play a part in the building, regulation or oversight of our homes are not currently synchronized and have a negative impact on local government flexibility and price point. Well-intentioned legislators are targeting local zoning and land-use regulations because they believe it will solve the issue; it will not, and it will further divide us. Despite the folklore, local land use regulations are routinely reviewed and updated to reflect a dynamic and unique environment.

Water must play a major role in any discussion on development. “Paper water” can no longer be used in proposals for growth in Colorado. There is absolutely no utility, and no success will be realized, in a heavy-handed approach to housing which seeks to take control away from local governments through zoning or land use mandates. We can and will meet the challenge of growth in a deliberate and cooperative manner by working together and not against each other.

Dan Williams is the District 1 Teller County Commissioner, retired US Army Colonel and multiple combat veteran, Post 1980 American Legion Commander, and a Post 6051 VFW life member. He lives with his wife Suzan, a retired Army nurse and colonel, on their ranch near Cripple Creek.

Dan Williams