Residents of Weld County may soon see more affordable housing thanks to a bill recently passed by Colorado lawmakers that seeks to lower development costs and promote water conservation efforts without shifting that cost to existing homeowners.
The Colorado House of Representatives on April 15 passed House Bill 25-1211, titled Tap Fees Imposed by Special Districts, to provide more affordable housing and promote water conservation efforts. The bill requires water districts to adjust how tap fees are calculated and lower them if a development has water conservation equipment in place.
Tap fees are a one-time cost a developer pays when constructing homes or any building within a water district. According to Eric Reckentine, the district manager of North Weld County Water District, a previous version of the bill overly incentivized developers to install water conservation upgrades. With existing legislation requiring the board to keep the costs and fees relative to one another, the costs would have been recouped by existing customers.
“This bill is a cost shifter within the system and acts for one customer segment as an artificial cost reducer,” Reckentine said in a release before the bill’s language was changed. “Our customers are already paying their costs. If a new housing project is proposed, whether single-family or multi-unit, we believe that new projects must pay their fair share of the costs associated with tapping into the service rather than passing that burden to current users.”
Currently, while there is some regulation on tap and water fees from the state, prices and fees are set by each water district’s board based on their capacity and distance from where service is provided.
Reckentine and other water districts across Colorado worked closely with Republican Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer of District 23, which encompasses most of Johnstown and Windsor, to adjust the bill.
Under the bill’s current language, water districts need only to consider either the expected long-term water usage with consideration of native plants, the square footage of the unit or the number of bedrooms in the unit, the presence of low-water-usage appliances, per-unit fixture counts in bathrooms, kitchens and other spaces, interior and exterior, that provide water or sanitation service or the presence of graywater treatment.
Previously, water districts had to consider two of those factors instead of one, resulting in even higher price incentives for developers but a shifted cost to existing customers.
“We have been fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with the Bill’s sponsor, Senator Kirkmeyer, and with state Senators from both sides of the aisle,” Reckentine said in a release. “We believe this language satisfies the intent of the legislation to provide more affordable housing and promote conservation, but also to alleviate the concern of shifting tap fee costs from development to the existing customers.”
The bill is headed to Gov. Jared Polis’ desk. North Weld County Water District spokeswoman Wendy Greenwald anticipates he will sign it.
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