Longmont City Council candidates were asked to answer a survey on affordable housing by the East County Housing Opportunity Coalition, or ECHO, — a nonprofit organization that educates, informs and trains East Boulder County residents about local affordable housing needs, according to the website.
On the site for the survey, ECHO announced that any candidates not represented did not return the questionnaire.
The following are the answers provided by each candidate along with the questions asked. To keep each entry short the responses are broken up by candidate through a series that will be published throughout the week.
Joan Peck
1. What is your 10 year vision for affordable housing in Longmont?
Longmont would have a diverse inventory of housing which would include pre-fab, container homes, tiny homes, conventional homes, paired homes, townhouses, condominiums and market value homes, all for purchase, hopefully not rental. 12% of all homes will be permanently affordable for 30 years with a re-sale cap of 10% or more below market value. Rentals near transit stations with robust public transportation. ADA compliant single-family homes and rentals.
Reducing the monthly financial output of residents by installing solar gardens in neighborhoods to allow energy to come from solar rather than electricity. Creating a local public transportation system to reduce the need for a car. Removing the sale tax on essential food items. Creating child care close to home or work to reduce child care costs.
Work with car dealerships to sell and finance used EV’s to BIPOC and residents on the lower end of the socio-economic scale at low or no interest rates. Find grants to incentivize dealerships.
2. Longmont has a goal of achieving 12% affordable housing by 2035. Is this the right goal? What concrete proposals would you add to city policies to meet or exceed that goal?
It’s difficult to work with developers to get the 12%. There are many bills that have been signed by the governor this year to incentivize green building. These bills have dollars attached to them that would save developers on the back end of their development. The city should look into these bills as incentives for more affordability and equity in their developments.
3. What changes would you make to the inclusionary housing ordinance in Longmont, if any?
I would change the code to amend our building and design standards. There is much we can do within that code change to meet many of our goals. I would make the land in lieu portion of the ordinance to give the land directly to the city rather than a non-profit. It would make the process smoother. The city would be able to contract for the types of housing we need.
4. Will you proactively promote more affordable housing at transit stops designed to get people out of their cars, including greater density at those locations?
Absolutely! That’s one of the reasons I advocate for rail and bus. Housing in transit areas is a boon to residents and economic growth.
5. What does smart growth mean to you, and how would you ensure that all new developments are “smart”?
Smart growth means having a vision and a plan to build your city for the future, not for today. New developments should wire their housing with enough amps to charge an electric vehicle.
Getting residents out of cars means walkable, bikeable and public transportation near homes and work places.
Cities should put renewable energy options into new development. Solar farms which are raised above ground should be put neighborhoods or quadrants of the city to lessen dependence on electricity. Buildings need to be built green.
6. What do you understand about the history of racism that has led to People of Color owning less property, and thus having less wealth than white people? What policies would you actively support to make up for years of racism in housing policy?
There are so many factors that contribute to racism that it’s impossible to list all of them here.
After slavery, farmworkers who were paid a wage were only allowed to purchase items from the ‘country store’ owned by their employer. This practice kept them in continual debt. Lending institutions would not loan to people of color or in some cases, a different nationality.
Realtors would not show a home to a family of color. Landlords charged People of Color higher rent.
I don’t believe you can change history nor make up for past mistakes made by a different generation, we can only learn from them and move forward.
We need to learn, discuss and address what is happening to renters of color in our city as far as how they may be treated differently.
I would support equity training for all industries serving the public directly, i.e, realtors, restaurants, retailers, public service employees, etc.
I would support equal pay in all levels of employment so that People of Color have an equal chance of renting or buying housing.
7. Do you think neighborhood opposition should be able to derail development projects that are consistent with the pre-approved goals and values of the City? Please explain.
It depends upon the development and what the opposition is. People’s voices should always be heard. Our codes and zoning laws must always be looked at and tweaked or amended if they are not proving equitable.
8. Do you see a role for the City in limiting vacation rentals and investor-owned property as a way of keeping housing costs down? Please explain.
I don’t think Vacation rentals or investor-owned property can control the housing market. The city can limit the number of vacation houses. The vacation rentals are taking long term rentals out of our inventory which lessens the amount of housing we have for residents.
Investor-owned property is tricky. Each development is investor owned until the units are sold. Rental apartments are usually held by LLC’s. In Colorado, it’s not easy to find out who the capitols are. It could be one person or a conglomerate.
9. Would you support lifting the state statute banning rent control. __X__yes ____no. Explain.
I would support putting a moratorium on banning it until we meet or exceed our affordable housing goals. We are at time where homelessness is increasing at a fast rate. Many people have been affected by COVID loss of wages and some still reeling from foreclosures in the 2008 recession.
10. Is there a role for local government in enforcing Colorado’s warranty of habitability laws? __X__yes ____no. Explain.
Yes, I think we can use rental and inspection licenses to monitor and possible enforce them.
11. Would you support changing height restrictions to create more affordable housing? ____yes __X__no. Explain.
Longmont has an extended height clause in our inclusionary zoning ordinance. A 5th story can be added if it’s affordable.
12. Would you support a program to create deed restricted accessory dwelling units? ___ yes ___ no If yes, what would you do to make this happen in our community? If no, why?
We do have a deed restricted policy. It’s our permanently affordable part of the IZO.
13. Would you support changing single-family zoning to allow for more homes? ____ yes _X___no. What commitment would you make to ensuring this happens, and in what time frame?
Longmont needs to give our IZO time to work. We are seeing new developments choosing to build homes closer together due to the fact that the price of land is so expensive.
14. Would you take a leadership role in persuading council to use American Rescue Plan Act dollars to land bank, or help mobile home park renters purchase their homes? __X___ yes ____no
15. Would you support procurement policies in housing that create a preference system for minority and disadvantaged businesses? _____ yes ____no.
This is worth discussing. I would support a policy that creates a preference system for low-end socio-economic people and businesses.
Would you take a leadership role on this? _X_yes __ no
16. Should our city create an eviction legal defense program like the one in place in Boulder? ______ yes _____no If not, what other means do you see for addressing the needs for supporting renters in our community?
We are addressing the ways to support renters and landlords in March of 2022
