Montrose City Council voted no to a state senate bill that aims to remedy the housing crisis in Colorado, according to a city news release. The bill, which the city calls unprecedented and irresponsible, would place mandates over local land use decisions normally under the authority of local governments. For example, local governments would be banned from construction of accessory dwelling units, duplexes, triplexes and townhomes in bigger cities like Denver. They would no longer be allowed to restrict zoning to only single-family housing in areas but would need to allow the construction of middle housing. The bill would also block municipalities from regulating how many unrelated people can live in the same home, open the door for the creation of more manufactured homes, limit the power of homeowners’ associations to restrict housing and more. In its press release, the city said it prides itself on having modern policies and procedures to govern land uses and that one of its top, ongoing priorities is working with developers to bring a more attainable housing supply into the Montrose market. Newly appointed mayor Barbara Bynum said that creating new laws that take control away from local communities is not the way to get that done.
KVNF's Cassie Knust speaks with Matt Jenkins, spokesperson for Montrose County School District. Jenkins about the district’s threat reporting option, Safe2Tell, after hearing about the death of a 17-year old in Aurora who was shot over the weekend during a house party. Police said the shooting happened about late Sunday evening when the victim was showing his friend how to disassemble a handgun. The friend's gun fired and struck the victim in the chest. Safe2Tell is an anonymous online reporting tool that students, families and community members can use if they suspect a threat or incident might occur.
For over 100 years the League of Women Voters has remained a nonpartisan, activist, grassroots organization that believes voters should play a critical role in democracy. KVNF’s Lisa Young met with one local league in our region during its first in-person meeting since the pandemic.
