Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers attended the speech and was recognized for his efforts to increase population, said Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers. Public safety. “They are masquerading it as housing and affordable. am.”
Suthers’ biggest concern is that more state officials could disenfranchise ordinary Colorado residents by stripping them of their power to challenge local development decisions.
Republicans said they were happy to hear the Police talk about the affordability of housing in general, but agreed with concerns about local control.
“If he wants to work to streamline the way homes are built, that’s great. But it’s still stepping on our local government’s toes,” said House Minority Leader Mike Lynch. “The municipality of Wellington, where I’m from, does very different things from Arvada, Aurora and Denver. It is certain that things do not exist.”
But Polis framed housing policy as empowering private property owners, giving them more power over what they could build on their land. Steve Fenberg of! said the state has a role to play in making it more affordable.
“It has to be the right kind of housing in the right place, and that’s where urban zoning and land-use issues can get in the way,” said Femberg, a Democrat. “That doesn’t mean they don’t want affordable housing. It just means.”
RJ San Gosti/Denver Post Pool PhotoOn Criminal Justice: “More Resources for Local Law Enforcement”
In a speech last year, Police promised to make Colorado one of the 10 safest states in the country.
The Police supported tougher penalties for auto theft, expanded Colorado’s so-called red flag gun laws to expand who can file extreme risk protection orders, and helped law enforcement.
“I am proposing additional packages to provide even more resources to local law enforcement officers and community organizations working in the field,” said Polis.
Delta Republican Congressman Matt Soper gave the Police a standing ovation for this part of the speech, but then warned that “the devil is in the details.”
“The governor has put out a lot of high-level policy ideas, but not much about what actually happens and what he’s really pushing behind the scenes.”
Across the aisle, some Democrats were concerned about what the Police didn’t say in this section of the speech. The governor did not emphasize criminal justice reform, which had been a priority for many of his Democratic colleagues in the legislature.
“If a state says it needs to be in the top 10[safest places or places]it also needs to make sure its criminal justice system doesn’t create victims,” said Democratic Rep. Jennifer Bacon. . , Assistant to the House Majority Leader.
Her neighborhoods include Denver’s Montobello neighborhood.
“And I need to be able to talk about how people are going through this, especially people in my neighborhood.”
Republican Rep. Gabe Evans of Fort Lupton doesn’t think any of the Police’s proposals will reduce crime because of a “major morale crisis” in law enforcement that he believes Democrats have caused.
“People don’t want to be a cop or sheriff’s deputy,” said Evans, who has a military and law enforcement background. “So without actually putting people in our communities and our streets to stop crime and stop criminal activity, we can have all the programs in the world, but we can’t stop criminals. You can’t cycle.”
RJ San Gosti/Denver Post Pool PhotoOn the environment: ‘We must end our dependence on costly fossil fuels’
In his first state address of 2019, Polis set a goal for Colorado to be 100% renewable by 2040.
“Our work on housing and more sustainable development is a very important part of this progress,” he said.
He will continue to focus on investing in clean transportation and accelerating the use of renewable energy, reducing oil and gas emissions, holding polluters accountable, and launching a $120 million clean energy tax credit. said it promised to distribute
“These tax cuts and incentives will help us improve air quality, accelerate innovation, and move toward our goals faster, while also helping people save money on pumps and utilities and access clean, low-cost transportation. You can increase access options.
He also said he would make sure Colorado conserves water and push forward with water projects.
Senate Minority Leader Paul Lundine said he doesn’t think various green housing policies have helped cut costs so far. It points to last year’s law creating a model of standards, which it argues will increase the cost of new housing.
“There is a priority of whether it is more important to make housing more affordable or to pursue climate action through electrification. That is part of the challenge,” Lundeen said.
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