What are your thoughts about housing in Littleton?
82 registered responses
OpenLittleton is not a certified voting system or ballot box. As with any public comment process, participation in OpenLittleton is voluntary. The responses in this record are not necessarily representative of the whole population, nor do they reflect the opinions of any government agency or elected officials.
Your answers will NOT be saved
This is the form that was used to collect responses. It's here so you can try it and see how it worked when the topic was open.
The topic is now closed, and anything you enter into this form will not be saved.
Translate
Do you spend more than 30% of your monthly income on rent and mortgage?
Do you spend more than 50% of your monthly income on rent and mortgage?
Which housing options would best support the needs of Littleton’s families, seniors, and young professionals? (choose all the apply)
I support increasing housing options in Littleton by: (select all that apply)
Could a wider range of lot sizes, including smaller lots for smaller houses, be acceptable?
How should the City of Littleton address its responsibility to the regional housing crisis?
I am unsure what you mean by 'responsibility' here. The city has no real obligation to address this, it seems a bit....for lack of a better term made up.
This crisis is driven by property value, which the City cannot control. The value of property is not determined by the City it is determined by how much someone will buy something for. I am guessing that the city and county like it when my property value goes up every few years according to their valuations as they can then collect more property tax.
What the City can control is how property is zoned which can effect the value of property. It seems a trend that if you want get more 'house for your money' you make the lots smaller, this also applies to making lots 'more affordable'. This has been the trend in new home construction for years now. If you want to dice up Shadycroft or Aberdeen Village, I wish you luck, as you will have throngs of citizens showing up with pitchforks and torches. What is happening is zoning the parts of the city to the north as more dense, as there is less political resistance there and it is why the current ULUC is targeting the area for, effectively, gentrification.
I know I just cast a bunch of stones there so what can you do to help? Put the affordable units along corridors in mixed use buildings. Mixed use is seen as a silver bullet but it needs to be done incrementally not all at once. I am unsure if is as much of a silver bullet as it is made out to be it still has to be proven out. This is still a largely suburban community and it needs corresponding suburban commercial zones. Your own consultants have told you that if you just made the corridor areas mixed use it would meet your housing needs for quite some time.
Also, at least start talking about rents. I almost never see anyone talk about the astronomical rents being charged now. This is where the people who truly need affordable housing assistance need the help.