HB 25-1093

House Bill 25-1093 in Colorado limits local governments from passing laws that reduce residential density or restrict housing types in urban areas. This means cities can't decrease the number of homes allowed on a piece of land without adding more homes elsewhere in their jurisdiction, unless the land is near wildlife crossings. The bill also allows municipalities to challenge proposed housing initiatives through the courts and delays the implementation of these initiatives if there's legal dispute. Since it has been signed into law, local governments must now follow these new rules when making decisions about residential development.

Official Summary

The act expands the definition of an anti-growth law, which local governmental entities are generally prohibited from enacting or enforcing, to include a generally applicable land use law that, in census urban areas as defined by the United States census bureau, explicitly decreases the permitted residential density or residential uses of land to a lower residential density or fewer residential uses than were allowed by the land's usage and zoning as of July 1, 2025, without ensuring a corresponding increase of residential density or residential uses elsewhere in the jurisdiction. The act provides that certain limitations on anti-growth laws do not apply to land that contains or is directly adjacent to a wildlife crossing structure. The act also permits a municipality to seek a judicial determination as to the legality of a proposed municipal initiative for a land use ordinance that restricts or limits the development or use of land that is submitted to the legislative body of the municipality, allows the owners of a property that is specifically subject to the proposed ordinance and persons designated as representing the petition proponents to intervene in the proceeding, and tolls the period within which the municipality is required to adopt the proposed initiated ordinance or call an election during the pendency of the judicial determination. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Votes