Matt Frommer

The state released a report on Smart Growth Read here for key findings and our analysis 👇

We're delighted that the Denver Downtown Development Authority (DDDA) has approved funding for an office-to-residential conversion of the historic Petroleum Building! This adaptive reuse will turn 12 floors of vacant office space into 178 new homes. denvergov.org/News-articles/…

Denver now allows single-stair residential buildings up to 5 stories instead of just 3 thanks to HB25-1273 👏

@MichaelCLFields It's a fee, not a tax. Fees need a clear nexus between impact & benefit. Oil & Gas produces pollution. Transit reduces pollution. Clear nexus. Oil & Gas extraction damages our land and harms wildlife. Land conservation protects them. Clear nexus.

To be clear, there is no bargaining away constitutional rights. TABOR says taxes need voter approval. #copolitics #coleg

@MichaelCLFields To be clear, this new fee was part of a "bargain" with the Oil & Gas industry. See this quote from the Director of the American Petroleum Institute Colorado: cpr.org/2024/04/29/maj…

Today, we filed a lawsuit against the State of Colorado for enacting an illegal “fee” on the oil and gas industry. This is the most egregious “fee” we’ve ever seen in Colorado (SB 24-230). It’s clearly a tax - and therefore needed voter approval. After reviewing all of the relevant cases, we are confident we will be successful in striking it down! #copolitics #coleg

Exciting news on Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) in Colorado thanks to House bill 24-1152:

@jeffhunt We cheap out on education funding. When adjusted for state incomes, Colorado’s ranked 48th in the nation for k-12 funding.

Over 90% of Colorado children are educated in public schools. It is funded at a higher amount than any time in Colorado history. If "too many Coloradans growing up are not set up for success" it is precisely because of the government. Weiser doubles down on failure.

Big news out of Lakewood, Colorado!

@dnvr_is_burning This is good news! Housing prices were super inflated. They went up 40% from 2020 to 2023. This drop - both in home values and rents - is a welcome relief for thousands of Coloradans who struggle to afford living here. Did you want housing prices to keep going up?

The 3 biggest CO metro areas are all in the top 50 metro areas with the biggest decrease in home values since 2022 I always keep my eyes peeled for positive news abt the CO economy but it's always bad and uniquely worse than other places... hmmm, wonder why🤔

@ricksloveywife @SeanPaige @GovofCO @CAgovernor So close to a good dig. If only you could spell "bathe".

@SeanPaige @GovofCO @CAgovernor Explore the people advising him. Look at the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project. (it does exactly the opposite of the name). They hire people there who only bath once a week.

Colorado's pied piper of "green energy," @GovofCO Jared Polis, sold the gullible on going 100% renewable, although that isn't affordable, responsible, or technically feasible, as this stunning reversal, and reality check, shows. But climate zealots like Polis and @CAgovernor Gavin Newsom (who had to execute a similar flip-flop in California) won't bow to reality until they've pushed the grid to the brink of disaster. Now Polis will conveniently be bailing out as governor just as the true costs/consequences of his energy follies begin to be felt. #copolitics #energyrealism #greengridfailures

@RobertTreta This is a bogus list. Number 2 is New Orleans - median home price $239,000 lol. Not saying it's not expensive, but home values are actually dropping. Look at Zillow tends. financebuzz.com/realtors-predi…

And the number 1 city predicted to be most unaffordable in 2028 is ……. You guessed it …… Denver . When I moved here in 1996 it was one of the most affordable….. not any longer . Decades of failed Dem policies has destroyed affordability. Now they say they will fix it.

@dnvr_is_burning Is there any evidence people “went back to the black market” or are you just parroting Desantis? In reality, CO weed is cheaper than ever, driven by an oversupply and less weed tourism after other states legalized. The tax is 15% so lower prices means less tax revenue.

Many think the decline in CO started with weed legalization - we're now a vice state Taxes on weed are so high that ppl went back to the black mkt & we don't feel much benefit from the tax revenue Im not rly for or against it, but Id hardly say it was a resounding success

Our latest blog post by HFC lead @mattfrommer and economist Luke Teater crunches the numbers on how housing construction affects low-income renters in #Denver: housingforwardco.org/denvers-housin…

Over the last few years, the Denver metro has built a historic amount of new apartments leading to declining rents. In our new blog, Luke Teater and I used RealPage data to measure the rent change. Notably, rents for Class C buildings, the most affordable segment, fell twice as fast as more expensive Class A and B apartments showing that increasing housing supply is a powerful affordable housing strategy. More in our blog: housingforwardco.org/denvers-housin…"

Ok so real talk - the city's policy requires affordable housing for 60% of the area median income (AMI). RTD's adopted policy is "Require 20%-35% of units be affordable at 60%-100% Area Median Income (AMI)" In Denver, that's $58k for a 1-person household and $67k for a 2-person household (see below) The average teacher salary is $57-65k. So yes, this is housing for teachers. "Affordable housing" means the rents for these units are capped at 30% of income. So for the above, $1,369 for a studio apartment. Affordable housing developers need to collect that amount for the project to pencil.

RTD ridership is down and they’re trying to figure out what to do with some mostly empty parking lots. @RideRTD is exploring putting “affordable” (ie taxpayer subsidized vouchers) in their parking lots. If this happens, expect the LightRail to get a lot more VIBRANT. The “affordable” housing narrative is a lie. Mayor @mikejohnstonco says teachers, nurses and firefighters can live there but who would want to live alongside permanent supportive housing vouchers (ie drug addicts and criminals)!?

Last Tuesday, pro-housing advocates celebrated numerous victories in local elections across Colorado. The message is clear: Pro-housing platforms win elections. Read our press release for details: housingforwardco.org/housing-news/c…

On CDOT’s proposed $725 million I-270 widening, just one of several costly highway expansions it’s considering in the upcoming 10 year plan:

Crazy stat from Colorado - 1 in 3 new cars sold in Q3 were electric vehicles. When I started working on EV policy in 2018, that number was 2%! EVs are clearly the technology of the future and sales will continue to climb as EV prices come down relative to gas cars, even without the federal tax credit. In the meantime, CO just raised it's EV rebate from $6k to $9k.

We know that smart land use & housing policies reduces GHG emissions – but by how much? Our new blog post highlights 5 key takeaways from the state's report: 🏘️ -31% building emissions 🚗 -15% transportation emissions 🌲 +30% of new homes shifted from greenfield sprawl to infill 🔥 Tens of thousands of fewer homes in wildfire-prone areas 🚍 +44% increase in transit ridership when combined with more transit funding. These same policies also lower household spending on transportation & utility bills by 10-20%. More in our blog here: housingforwardco.org/five-ways-smar…

@jeffhunt Yeah, fan those flames, stoke that hate, spew those generalizations. And most importantly, get those followers.

To my fellow Colorado Republicans, today's No Kings rallies should terrify you. This is reflective of the future of our state. They hate Trump, love AOC. They vote Democrat and yet complain about the direction of the state. They want more government spending, but can't tell you a single thing government does well. They are not rational, and they are everywhere. I interview them, I talk to them daily on my show. At the end of the day, this is an education issue. The battle for the future of our country is in the classroom. Government-run, progressive education produces what you saw today.