Report from the Rocky Mountain Land Use Institute: Many Ways to Build Local Capacity
by Dan Pava FAICP
“Framing the Future – Investing in Solutions for a Thriving West, was the theme for the 2023 Western Places/Western Spaces conference held at the University of Denver March 8-10. The first two days of workshops focused primarily on affordable housing, and making effective presentations at public hearings. The third day was filled with sixteen topics ranging from watershed protection, renewable energy siting, wildfire mitigation, and local solutions for sustainable development. Ways to build local capacity was a common refrain in all the panels that I had the privilege to attend. The most repeated comment heard during breaks and socials was how good it was to be back in person after three years since the pandemic began!
Planners can find definitions of local capacity building in a variety of situations. The description offered in an article by Lawrence Susskind and Amber Kim, seems to be a good fit “Building Local Capacity To Adapt To Climate Change”. Climate Policy. Climate Policy (2021). “Local governments in cities around the world will not be able to cope with climate change impacts until they enhance their capacity to adapt. Past efforts to build local capacity, however, have often been unsuccessful. Building municipal capacity to formulate and implement climate adaptation plans will, in our view, require a new approach. Special attention will need to be paid to (1) contingent financial arrangements; (2) widespread and continuous stakeholder engagement; and (3) a commitment to experimental problem-solving. Most important, to respond to the scientific and technical uncertainties surrounding climate risks, local governments will have to enhance their ‘adaptive governance’ capabilities.” The presentations at Rocky Mountain Land Use Institute demonstrate that each of these three approaches is taking root at and between the local, regional and state planning levels.
The International City/County Management Association explains that, “Following a disaster, communities and their leaders are often forced to make numerous and complex decisions. These decisions range widely, such as the need to encourage private sector reinvestment, restore affordable housing, preempt negative cascading effects, build resiliency, and address promises made to residents that they’ll soon be able to return home. The implications of these decisions may impact community prosperity, safety and identity, for years to come. Community leaders will often be compelled to act quickly and may face limited capacity to tackle complex organization, coordination and planning challenges…”
The preamble to this year’s conference summed up the current situation:
The West is facing a series of compounding crises that threaten our way of life in the region. Extreme temperatures are impacting the ongoing drought, urban heat islands and public health, vulnerability to fire, our agricultural economy and food security, and our energy infrastructure. And yet people continue to move to the West, creating further pressure on our natural systems, our transportation and housing systems, and driving up the cost of living—especially the cost of housing—which jeopardizes the vitality of the entire region.
Although the challenges are growing, so are the creative solutions that communities can use to address these crises; mitigate their risks; adapt to a changing environment; advance diversity, equity, and inclusion; and build resiliency to forge ahead when times get tough.
Speakers presenting during the conference shared specific examples that governments in the west are using to build capacity to become responsive, resilient and ready to address these paramount issues.
In a departure from previous years, the first day had two intensive full day seminars rather than a host of concurrent panels on several tracks. I opted to attend Housing Affordability: Solutions For The West comprised of four consecutive sessions, including; driving innovation with financial incentives, strategies for implementing inclusionary housing, advocacy strategies to frame the future, and innovations and unintended consequences – lessons learned.
The Opening Session and keynote conversation took place after the first day of sessions. This provided a forum to share and understand the elements common to capacity building that had been discussed throughout the day. Susan Daggett prefaced the session noting that because of recent massive federal investments, we have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, right now, to address these challenges and lay the foundation for a thriving West. Daggett pointed out that “framing” has three connotations relevant to the conference: legal, construction and human reference. The panelists included Atlantic magazine staff writer Jerusalem Demsas, CEO Jules Kortenhorst, Xochitl Torres Small, Under Secretary for Rural Development, USDA, and JB Holston, a consultant on sustainable, inclusive growth. Each emphasized four major points: business can be allies for necessary changes; inappropriate environmental reviews result in delays detrimental to making societal changes; education and outreach are needed to build trust; and transparency and inclusiveness are essential to make positive changes. A fine opening reception with snacks and drinks concluded a very full program.
The all-day affordable housing workshop addressed tools and strategies that have recently been employed to increase production of affordable housing and lessons learned from these efforts, and explored state efforts to drive innovation, land use reforms, and housing production at the local level using state financial incentives. An overview followed citing grant programs that have been created using American Rescue Plan funds, and an update on the implementation of Colorado Proposition 123, and the creation of an Affordable Housing Fund in Colorado. Strategies were presented for implementing inclusionary zoning, considering both mandatory and incentive-based programs. Over the lunch hour, we heard from housing advocates about innovative approaches to advance a policy agenda focused on housing access and affordability. The last session was a panel discussion about land use reforms designed to increase housing supply and affordability, lessons learned from these efforts, and how to manage some of the unintended consequences of these reforms.
Some of the most salient points gleaned from an entire day of affordable housing discussions are worth sharing with our Western Planner readers. It is important to focus on what is within a local government sphere of influence and use tools such as rezoning or changing permitted uses within single family zones. In Leadville, CO the city and county have combined public hearings on cases related to affordable housing. A short-term rental cap was imposed as well. Fort Collins has had a housing strategic plan since the 1990s, but the latest revision pays more attention to including all facets of the population. In Colorado, the Department of Local Affairs offers an ‘affordable housing 101’ course and resources for newly elected officials. Legislation in the Centennial State has also provided transformational programs with funding for affordable housing, home ownership and workforce housing, homelessness response, and mobile home park resident technical assistance. Additionally, Proposition 123 passed last November will provide $300M for incentives to increase affordable housing including land acquisition. Panelists also emphasized affordable housing tools include fees-in-lieu, land donations and banking, community land trusts, and incentives such as expedited reviews with parking and open space reductions. In contrast, the Montana legislature has outlawed local inclusionary zoning, and cities must use other voluntary incentives that have yielded marginal results.
Denver city councilor Robin Kniech reminded everyone that it’s not just about having the right facts to prevail in providing affordable housing. She noted that it is counterproductive to disparage opponents, and better to focus on shared values because people can be skeptical for good reasons. David Driskell emphasized that there are no magic fixes, and that providing more housing is slow and incremental, and is not a one-department effort but requires teams working across the silos. Don Elliott summed up the final session noting that we cannot build ourselves out of this challenge because the demand exceeds whatever could be supplied by new construction; advocating for affordable housing preservation overlay zones similar to those used for historic districts, in order to protect and reinvest in existing housing stock. He also mentioned a recent article in the Journal of Comparative Urban Law and Policy that addresses equity when neighborhoods are gentrified and revitalized.
The format on the third and final day of the conference was four consecutive sessions in as many tracks so there were sixteen different choices including watershed protection, renewable energy, land preservation, wildfire mitigation, and sustainable and resilient communities. There was also an update on western land use laws. I selected four panels to fill the day, and each of these provided examples of capacity building that are already being used by our Western Planner community.
The first session I chose to attend was Protecting Watersheds: The Versatility of Local Government Tools. Watershed Scientist Bill Hoblitzell explained how development speeds up flows and impacts watersheds and riparian habitats through erosion, sedimentation, and chemical pollution. Attorney Torie Jarvis reviewed low impact development techniques that communities can use in subdivision ordinances, including onsite retention, setbacks from stream banks, and reducing impervious surfaces. Mike Hyman, Castle Rock’s town attorney related how that fast-growing city is using a variety of approaches to protect its limited water supply.
Mid-morning, I opted to hear about Hot Topics in Land Use Law in the Rocky Mountain West. This session engages leading land use and real estate attorneys from across the Rocky Mountain West to discuss the most important new court decisions and legal trends from their states. Typically, a lot of case law is reviewed, but this year the participants highlighted trends, including: taking zoning authority from localities by the legislatures in several states, growth management and water, and reforming access exclusions for public open space. In some cases, local capacity for effective solutions is lessened by legislatures, while in other cases it is enhanced. In states with ballot initiatives there may be a backlash to reserve local powers such as zoning. In Laramie, Wyoming the city and county are working together on a growth management plan. Colorado is still grappling with condominium liability limits that effectively preclude this housing option, Arizona realizes that land use and water planning need to be linked as residential development continues and agricultural uses change from cotton to higher value crops.
After the lunch break, I decided to attend Mitigation Matters: Wildfire Mitigation Strategies in the Inland West. Most of the speakers talked about Jefferson County which has the highest wildfire risk in Colorado. The County has a wildland-urban interface overlay zone above 6,400 feet for subdivision mitigations that must be complete before the first lot is sold. It is important to have an elected official champion, and to assure that the right building codes are adopted. Halil Grieb, Director of Emergency Management noted that his office is paid to be paranoid anticipating needs and consequences of wildland fire response, and that their job is essentially public-safety focused project management. Infrastructure risks including watersheds are prioritized and mapped for the entire state of Colorado which also provides a wildfire ready action plan template.
The four final panels of the last afternoon sessions all sounded good, but I selected Saving the West: Local Solutions from the Sustainable Development Code. Professor Jonathan Rosenblum introduced the seven chapters of the Sustainable Development Code and gave a tour of its structure and organization. The Code includes brief descriptions of the good, better and the best tools that actual local governments are using to build capacity using effective regulations. The SDC mission is to help all local governments build more resilient, environmentally conscious, economically secure, and socially equitable communities because many development codes are decades old and not prepared to confront today’s changes, such as climate change and invasive species, economic changes like the sharing economy and autonomous vehicles, and societal changes like obesity, safety, and inequality. The SDC certainly is a great resource for western planners to build community capacity!
I left the Rocky Mountain Land Use Institute refreshed and revitalized with all of the things that I heard over just two days. Driving south from Denver to Santa Fe, I thought about how my Western Planner colleagues could benefit and apply these capacity building tools in the landscapes where they reside and practice. I highly recommend that you consider being at next year’s conference as it is the essence of the kind of networking that Western Planner was established to support. See you there or in Anchorage in September!
About the Author
Dan Pava is an environmental planner and a Fellow of the American Institute of Certified Planners. He retired from Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico in 2020 after serving 30 years. Dan also worked for cities and counties preparing comprehensive and general plans. He served on the Sustainable Santa Fe Commission and on the city’s planning commission. Pava is on the board and was president of Western Planner, and a former president of the APA New Mexico chapter. He holds masters degrees in community and regional planning, and public administration from the University of New Mexico. Currently, he also serves on the Santa Fe Planning Commission and the board of Temple Beth Shalom. Pava and his very patient wife Carol, and his daughter Shoshana, live in Santa Fe, along with their loyal Akita, Bella.