Rylee Dunn
rdunn@coloradocommunitymedia.com
At a special study session on May 4, the Arvada City Council unanimously decided to form a Housing Advisory Committee and hire a housing coordinator in an effort to combat what Mayor Marc Williams called “significant housing issues in Arvada.”
The Housing Advisory Committee will follow the timeline and procedures of other citizen committees — applications will open in fall of 2022 with interviews to follow in early 2023. The committee will be made up of nine members and is slated to become active around April or March 2023.
The hiring process for the housing coordinator position will begin soon, with a goal for having the position filled within the last six months of 2022.
Williams said the Housing Advisory Committee will oversee a wide range of issues pertaining to housing, with affordable housing being a priority.
“It’s going to be a very broad spectrum,” Williams said. "Obviously, we want to have diverse housing stock. We’ve heard loud and clear from citizens about attainable and affordable housing. (The committee will cover) a variety of housing, gated communities, issues of sustainability with housing. We want to cover the full spectrum of housing usage and choices.”
Council member Randy Moorman cautioned council that although the Housing Advisory Committee and housing coordinator will be assets for dealing with housing issues, their work to solve the issue must continue.
“Housing is not something we’re going to solve, and check the box and call it done,” Moorman said. “It’s going to be an ongoing problem, at least to me, and we hope to find solutions that can help it get better and better so it’s not so much of a problem. But I don’t see it getting solved in one, two, three years.”
Council member Bob Fifer added that he wants both newly formed positions to tackle more than just affordable housing, though he said that was still a large part of the issue.
“It’s not just affordable housing,” Fifer said. “We should look at all of our housing. I still struggle with the gated community conversation… Affordable, attainable, whatever you use, I agree that’s 80% of the conversation. But I don’t want it to be so narrowly focused."
