Platform

✅Repeal U+2 Now  

Fort Collins' infamous "U+2" occupancy ordinance bans more than three unrelated adults from renting a home together. This policy discriminates against singles and contributes to the high cost of housing. Prohibiting people from living together fosters the creation of under-the-table housing arrangements and drives up the cost of rent. We celebrate the passage of HB24-1007 and call on Fort Collins City Council to come into compliance with state law by ending U+2 restrictions now.

End the Housing Shortage

YIMBY Fort Collins supports efforts to legalize housing at both the state and city levels. Fort Collins City Council has recently attempted to update its land use code after years of public outreach by staff. These pro-housing updates to increase density and allow more choice in housing are in alignment with the 2019 City Comprehensive Plan and the 2021 Housing Strategic Plan. These updates to the code will be a huge step forward towards improving housing affordability in Fort Collins. 

Governor Polis' top priority is to solve the housing crisis. The following policy areas will be critical to increasing housing supply, ending the shortage, and bringing down the cost of rent:

Streamline Housing Approvals

Multifamily housing construction should fall under the same standards as a single family home. Permits and approvals should go through staff administrative review instead of a lengthy, costly, unpredictable Planning and Zoning Board processes. Privileged neighbors with NIMBY feelings shouldn’t be able to derail new homes that otherwise meet building codes. Streamlined permitting is also required to receive state affordable housing grants and gives builders predictability that new housing won't be stopped before it even starts.

Legalize Fourplexes, Granny Flats, Basement Apartments, and Cottage Court Houses

A gentle increase in density by legalizing "missing middle" housing types will help address the housing shortage without dramatically altering neighborhood character. YIMBY Fort Collins supports legalizing ADUs, duplexes, triplexes, cottage court apartments, and granny flats in more parts of Fort Collins. We endorse statewide efforts to the do the same. 

Eliminate Parking Mandates

Fort Collins is filled with empty parking spaces. They are currently required by the code for every bedroom built, regardless of whether or not people that live there own a car. These mandates eliminate the feasibility of building multifamily units on small lots. Why does the city require so much parking to be built (instead of more housing) next to a MAX transit stop or along bike paths? 

Eliminating parking mandates will also help Fort Collins reach our environmental and climate goals. Other American communities have eliminated parking mandates, including Bend OR, Anchorage, Minneapolis and San Francisco. Ending parking mandates does not mean the end of parking, but instead puts the decision of how much in the hands of property owners.

Don’t Sabotage Housing with Technical Requirements

Housing can be sabotaged by city codes in so many ways. Setbacks, height limits, floor-to-area ratios, historical preservation designations, and other technical requirements should be reasonable and not used to block housing.

Build More Affordable Housing

YIMBY Fort Collins supports using local, state, and federal taxes for housing for people with low incomes. Communities built, operated, and supported by local housing nonprofits using public funds are a crucial part of the solution to the housing crisis. We enthusiastically endorse efforts to increase the supply of for-sale and rental mixed-income units, housing choice vouchers, supportive housing and more. Opposition to housing for residents with low-incomes is the worst kind of NIMBYism.