Your Fort Collins City Council is considering adopting an updated Land Use Code TONIGHT. This is an incredibly important first step to opening the door for more housing supply in our community, that opens the door for the creation of homes that serve as a foundation for a healthy, vibrant community. Below is the letter that we sent to the Council, advocating for a yes vote tonight. We invite you to join the chorus of voices calling for action!
October 3, 2023
Fort Collins City Council
300 Laporte
Fort Collins, CO 80521
Dear Mayor Arndt and Members of Council:
The Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce thanks this City Council for engaging the community in the critical conversation of housing. As recently reinforced by the 2023 Fort Collins Community survey, the cost and availability of housing is THE top concern of residents. This is not a recent phenomenon, it not only recurs each time a formal survey is conducted, but has been taking place at the dinner table, check-out lines, and on the sideline of soccer games for more than a generation.
Fort Collins not only looks much different today than it did 30 years ago but will look much different 30 years into the future. The Chamber envisions a future where young families can thrive, where innovation is nurtured, and where every resident is provided the opportunity to live, work, and play among their peers. We simply cannot wish away our lack of housing options, nor continue to appease those that dream of the past.
The Fort Collins Area Chamber is a member-driven organization that serves as the primary conduit for engaging small business in important community issues. We are the owners of your favorite restaurant, the insurance agent that doubles as umpire for high school softball and the design studio that contributes to local non-profits. We are residents of Fort Collins, and we care very deeply about the vibrancy of our economy and the promise of generations yet to come.
Our members share stories every day of how they personally struggle with the cost of housing and how that impedes their ability to attract and retain co-workers that might otherwise grow and prosper were they not also faced with housing insecurity. This is why the Chamber is adamant in our resolve to move the needle on this seemingly intractable dilemma of housing supply.
As proposed within the draft language, the newly configured Land Use Code is a great first step toward a more resilient, inclusive, and equitable future. It’s not perfect, but it is a reasonable and important first step toward addressing impediments to achieving a more diverse mix of housing types that inherently contributes to greater affordability across all income levels.
We strongly encourage each of you to consider your own vision of what our community could look like. Does it look the same as you see it today, or do you see a future where everyone is far more concerned about where they will play than where they will sleep?
Tonight, we ask that you take a bold step toward that brighter future and vote yes on Ordinance No. 136, 2023, Repealing and Reenacting Section 29-1 of the code of the City of Fort Collins to Adopt the Revised Land Use Code and Separately Codifying the 1997 Land Use Code as the “Pre-2024 Transitional Land Use Regulations and the additional ordinances that relate to the adoption of a new land use code.
Sincerely,
The Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce
Ann R. Hutchison
President & CEO
cc: Kelly DiMartino, Noah Beals, Paul Sizemore, Caryn Champine