Volunteer neighborhood associations in Colorado Springs, particularly those surrounding the downtown area, are waiting to see what the city government’s reaction is going to be to House Bill 1313.

HB 1313 was passed by the legislature in spring 2024 and is taking effect this summer and fall in major cities along the Front Range, including Colorado Springs.

The major purpose of HB 1313 is to force cities to increase zoning densities along major bus routes to create large future apartment-dwelling populations to ride city transit buses. Mandated apartment houses would be built around bus stops along the routes.

City staff have been working lately on calculating a state-required Housing Opportunity Goal in order to establish how many new housing units will have to be created along the bus routes.

It has been suggested that the city staff are working to get the number of required new housing units (apartments) along bus routes down to less than 200,000 new units, but there is no definite information from the city as to what the exact Housing Opportunity Goal will be.

Calculation of the goal is only the first step in the implementation in Colorado Springs of HB 1313.

The city will then identify all parcels of more than a half-acre along the bus routes that will be rezoned to high-density multifamily use. Enough additional apartment units will be created to reach the city’s Housing Opportunity Goal.

This increased apartment density zoning (R-4 or R-5 in Colorado Springs) will be required of designated property owners along or near major bus routes, whether they want it or not.

It is unknown to the volunteer homeowners’ associations at this time whether the city has done any work so far in identifying the particular properties along or near bus routes that will be up-zoned from single-family or two-family zoning to apartment building zoning.

The volunteer homeowners’ associations would prefer, however, that no more work be done by the city to implement HB 1313 than calculating the Housing Opportunity Goal, since further work would be a violation of the city’s home-rule powers.

If the city goes so far as to designate those properties along bus routes that are to be upzoned to apartment-house densities, homeowners who live along those routes or near them will face one of the following three situations:

1. Their specific one-family or two-family zoned home will be upzoned for apartment buildings. They will be forced to sell and move out of their home.

2. Property immediately adjacent to their single-family or two-family home will be upzoned for apartment buildings. This might also happen on properties directly across the street from them.

3. Properties down the street or around the block from their single-family or two-family home will be turned into apartment buildings.

Note that, under options 2 and 3, the character of the neighborhood will have been completely changed despite the fact that the individual homeowner still has single-family or two-family zoning.

If the volunteer homeowners’ associations are subsequently informed that the city is moving forward with plans to force apartment density along bus routes, they may want to start the campaign now to get the City Council to take official action rejecting implementation of HB 1313.

Another option would be to demand a long and intricate public process involving all affected neighborhoods along or near bus routes before there is any implementation or adoption of HB 1313.

The City Council already has voted not to ban parking requirements where required by the legislature. The volunteer homeowners associations are now hoping the council will vote not to zone for apartment buildings that are required by the legislature.

Major bus routes that could be affected by this legislation run on portions of the following streets:

Austin Bluffs Parkway, Boulder Street, Cache La Poudre Street, Centennial Boulevard, Chestnut Street, West Colorado Avenue, Fillmore Street, Fountain Boulevard, Galley Road, Garden of the Gods Road, Las Vegas Street, Manitou Avenue, Nevada Avenue, Palmer Park Boulevard, Pikes Peak Avenue, Uintah Street and Union Boulevard.