Colorado Lot Size Bill Dies, Local Control Wins

The Denver Post takes a wide-angle look at the Colorado legislature’s final stretch, where a flurry of high-profile bills on housing, immigration, abortion, and more are all colliding in the final weeks of the session. But one of the more notable developments is what did not happen. Lawmakers killed a bill that would have restricted how local governments set residential lot sizes. fileciteturn9file0

That bill, House Bill 1114, would have prevented cities and counties from requiring single-family lots larger than 2,000 square feet. It passed the House but died unanimously in a Senate committee after its own sponsor asked to pull the plug. Meanwhile, the legislature still has 16 days left, with debates looming on immigration restrictions, abortion access on college campuses, and a slate of other policy fights before the clock runs out.

The Bullet Point Brief

Lawmakers killed the lot size bill. That is a win for local control, plain and simple.
The bill would have overridden local zoning rules by capping minimum lot sizes at 2,000 square feet. The state telling your town how to zone your neighborhood. Hard pass.
It passed the House but died 7-0 in the Senate after pushback. Even some supporters figured out this one was not ready for prime time.
Meanwhile, there are still 16 days left in session. Plenty of time for more “big ideas” to show up. Buckle up.
Other bills in play include limits on cooperation with federal immigration authorities and expanded abortion access on college campuses. Because of course they are.

My Bottom Line

When there are rare glimpses of common sense out of the state legislature, you take the win.

Killing this bill was the right call. Full stop.

How many times do we have to say this? Land use is a local issue. It should be decided by local elected officials who actually know their communities, not by a handful of legislators under the gold dome who think every problem in Colorado can be solved with a one-size-fits-all mandate.

Zoning is not theoretical. It is not academic. It is street by street, neighborhood by neighborhood, community by community. The idea that the state should come in and dictate lot sizes from 30,000 feet is exactly the kind of overreach that got us into trouble in the first place.

And let’s not gloss over the bigger picture.

These same rocket scientists still have 16 days left to do damage.

We are already seeing it. Bills that wade into federal immigration policy like the state legislature somehow has jurisdiction over international borders. It does not. That is a federal issue, no matter how badly some lawmakers want to virtue signal otherwise.

This is the pattern. Overreach on housing. Overreach on immigration. Overreach on just about anything that gets a headline.

So yes, give them credit for getting this one right.

Then keep a very close eye on what they do next.

Because session is not over. Not even close.

Source: The Denver Post