COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — An idea that became a reality to help people find affordable housing brought the governor to Colorado Springs this week.
Gov. Jared Polis spent about 30 minutes touring the Village at Solid Rock on Wednesday. The 77-unit apartment complex was built on church-owned property off S. Circle Drive just south of Fountain Boulevard and hosted its grand opening back in September. Pastor Ben Anderson of Solid Rock Christian Center gave the tour.
"The great thing about this is that it went from vision to completion," Pastor Anderson explained. "I had a conversation with Governor Polis, probably like three or four years ago, and we were talking about affordable housing. And we were talking also about the church repurposing land to build housing on."
Those talks turned into action. With help from state funding and putting the non-profit Greccio Housing in charge of managing the property, people who earn between 30% and 80% of the area's median income now have a place to call home. The church partnered with Commonwealth Development and Greccio Housing to secure funding from the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority. Pastor Anderson explaining the whole church was behind the project.
"They are just so overjoyed to see the vision come to pass, and they have been supportive the whole time," Anderson said of his church. "They have even volunteered for the work here at the Village at Solid Rock, if any of the residents need something, that's what we do as a church. We support residents."
A second affordable housing complex is in the works for Solid Rock Community Development Corp., the Jet Wing Flats which is being given federal and state housing tax credits. Anderson has also provided some input to at least two other churches trying to execute a similar mission in Colorado Springs.
"I'm sharing with them about the passion for affordable housing and how important it is to meet this challenge that we have in the city of housing shortage for our residents, and how important it is for the faith community to be at the forefront of meeting this challenge," Anderson added. "And as a pastor, I just think it's the role of the faith community to address some of these social challenges that we have."
Governor Polis is behind what Anderson and his church accomplished.
"The cost of living has gotten so high," Polis said in front of a room filled with media. "So these kinds of solutions, more housing near job centers that people can afford, can help revitalize neighborhoods, and can also provide a roof over a stable roof over your head."
When asked by News 5 if the complex gave him any ideas for the upcoming legislative session, Polis highlighted an initiative that is being proposed in Washington right now.
"One of our proposals really speaks to the aspirations of the faith community to play a greater role in meeting the need for housing," Polis responded. "It's called 'Yes in God's Back Yard,' and it empowers the faith community to have more of a say over getting through some of the zoning requirements that can otherwise make it difficult to build housing on church-owned land. So we really want to empower our friends and partners in the faith community to step up and be part of the solution."
The governor didn't elaborate on whether the initiative will be brought forth this upcoming legislative session, but there is a federal bill with the same title and one in California that was signed into law. The federal bill likely gives some insight into what Governor Polis may consider working out in Colorado.
U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) introduced the "Yes in God's Back Yard Act" back in March. It is currently sitting in committee. In short, the bill aims to support faith-based organizations and colleges that want to build and preserve affordable housing on their land.
The Act hopes to do the following:
- Provide technical assistance to faith-based organizations and institutions of higher education wanting to use their existing land to increase or preserve the supply of affordable rental housing.
- Provide technical assistance to local governments to learn best practices and how they can facilitate the production of affordable rental housing on land owned by faith-based organizations and institutions of higher education.
- Create challenge grants to provide additional resources to communities that adopt policies that remove barriers to the production and preservation of affordable rental housing on property owned by faith-based organizations and institutions of higher education.
News 5 has reached out to the governor's office to see if there is a timeline for a Yes in God's Back Yard initiative in Colorado.
Affordable housing was a major topic in the last legislative session and is expected to be discussed even more when the legislature convenes in the new year.
Earlier this year, Governor Polis signed housing legislation to create more housing near transit lines, give Coloradans the freedom to build Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) on their property, and eliminate unnecessary parking mandatesthat raise housing costs, and get rid of discriminatory occupancy limits, according to the governor's office.
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