LOVELAND’S HOUSING PREDICAMENT ENDS HERE!

Most of Northern Colorado’s household growth and housing market is being driven by affluent households. Over the past decade, 64 percent of growth in Larimer and Weld counties has been households earning more than 120 percent Area Medium Income (AMI) – approximately $80,000 for a two-person renter household and approximately $90,000 for a three-person owner household.
With the escalation of home prices and rents is the broader appreciation of the entire housing inventory. Over the decade, more than 5,800 rental units became unaffordable to households in the 30 to 60 percent AMI range (the “affordable housing” category) and approximately 7,700 owner units became unaffordable to households in the 50 to 80 percent AMI range (part of the “workforce housing” category).
In Loveland, where in 2018 there were nearly 36,000 jobs, just 8,100 employed residents lived and worked locally (23 percent). This means that 77 percent of Loveland’s jobs were held by workers living somewhere else.

Defined the Scope of Loveland’s Affordabilty Problem (2022)
- Commissioned a Regional Housing Study in January from Economic Planning Systems and presented our analysis to the Loveland City Council in August.
Expanding Housing Choices (2023-2024)

Helped update the Unified Development Code to allow smaller homes, duplexes, townhomes, mixed-use housing, and ADUs across Loveland.
Advocated for Small Lot Development Standards to make it easier and less expensive to build smaller homes.

3. Delivering Smarter Fees, Fairer Costs (2024-2025)

Commissioned an Equitable Fee Study that led to the City’s adopting an innovative scalable fee model for Water, Raw Water, and Waste Water Fees, aligning costs with home size.
Supporting next steps to adjust Capital Expansion Fees for similar fairness.

4. Streamlining Housing Development (2025)

Partnering with the City to ensure Proposition 123- eligible affordable projects are approved within 90 days or less.
Working toward state designation as an “ADU-Friendly Community”, unlocking grant funding for Loveland homeowners.

5. Increasing Loveland’s Affordable Housing Supply (2025)

Conducted public outreach, education and advocacy for Legacy Crossing, a new 100% affordable neighborhood that will bring 330 new homes and apartments to Lovelanders.

6. Building Community Support

Hosted three Housing Chats with elected officials during the summer of 2025, with 65+ attendees.
Co-hosted a Housing Panel with the League of Women Voters in October 2025.

Implementation and promotion of Scalable Fee Models and Small Lot Standards to allow for and incentivize smaller homes in Loveland, providing new options for first-time homebuyers, seniors who want to downsize their house, and anyone wanting to own a smaller home.
Promote Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) citywide, so that homeowners can use their existing land and houses to expand housing choices for acoomdating aging parents or other family members, or generate rental income. ADUs include garage apartments, mother-in-law cottages, basement apartments. home extensions, or attic conversions.

Participate in the Regional Housing Needs Assessement sposnored by the City of Loveland and Larimer County to identify update the housing inventory needs (latest numbers are from 2021)
Help the City of Loveland Host a Housing Summit to promote changes and incentives for housing builders and developers to build different typs of housing products like cottage court homes, small homes, and duplexes
Explore new housing funding sources, including tax revenue streams, a revoloving loan fund, and state/fedral grants. Partner with regional and statewide organizations to bring more financial resources for housing to Loveland.