The Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) has announced the first funding cycle of the Housing Planning Grant Program through the Division of Local Government (DLG), which supports local governments and regional entities in developing actionable Housing Needs Assessments (HNAs) and Housing Action Plans (HAPs) compliant with the Sustainable Affordable Housing Assistance law (SB24-174), and strategic growth elements of comprehensive plans. Approximately $12M in grant funding is available and a minimum of 25% local match of the total project cost is required.
“Housing Needs Assessments are the cornerstone of strategic growth and crucial to make data-driven housing decisions,” said Maria De Cambra, DOLA’s Executive Director. “This $12 million in grant funding will go a long way towards achieving our ultimate goal of strengthening Colorado communities and supporting our local government partners.”
The first funding cycle opens Monday, March 10, 2025, and closes Friday, April 11, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. MST. Eligible entities include municipalities, counties, councils of governments (COGs), regional planning commissions, and public entities formed by the voluntary agreements of local governments in a region.
Before applying, interested parties are encouraged to email Ashley Basham, Housing & Transit Grant Program Manager, with any questions about the new grant program.
Additionally, DOLA remains on track with implementation of the 2024 Land Use and Housing legislation with the publication of updated tools and guidance.
- DLG published the complete Transit Oriented Communities (TOC) Law Guidance, which expands upon the first two sections of the document published in October 2024, and is intended to assist subject jurisdictions with implementation of the law (HB24-1313).
- DOLA has also updated the Housing Opportunity Goal (HOG) (Downloads as Excel) and the Transit Center Calculation Model (Downloads as Excel), which helps communities calculate the Net Housing Density and Zoning Capacity of their Transit Centers.
All guidance and tools were developed in partnership with the Colorado Energy Office (CEO), the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), with extensive input from local governments working to comply with these new laws and interest groups explicitly identified in the laws.
Interested parties are also encouraged to visit DOLA’s land use and housing legislation implementation website for additional information on the Department’s ongoing implementation efforts.