Housing Affordability Code Task Force

About the task force:

The Housing Affordability Code Task Force is a committee comprised of individuals appointed by the City Council, engaged in residential building and development, to provide recommendations to the city on reducing the regulatory burden of developing new affordable and workforce housing, which would result in lower housing costs.

Expectations of the task force:

The City Council expects that the Housing Affordability Code Task Force will gather and incorporate into its recommendations feedback from persons in the single-unit and multi-unit home building and residential subdivision industry, including others not named to the committee. It is further the expectation of City Council that the Task Force will first establish metrics for which success can and should be measured from the outcomes of their work, including but not limited to those changes that will directly and demonstrably result in housing becoming more affordable.

Why does the city need affordable housing?

In 2019, the City and its partners commissioned a comprehensive housing needs assessment. The Grand Valley Housing Needs Assessment, finalized in 2021, revealed that Grand Junction faces significant housing needs driven by rising costs, limited availability, and a persistent shortage of both rental and for-sale units across all income levels. In 2024, the City did a data refresh and which shows a continued shortage of units affordable to the community, a persistent low vacancy rate, and sharp increases in home and rental rates. The updated data can be found in the 2024 Housing Strategy Update. The City will be updating an assessment in compliance with State Law that will be completed by July 2026.

What has the City been doing to address the need for housing in the City?

The Needs Assessment informed the creation and adoption of the 2021 City of Grand Junction Housing Strategy. That strategy originally included 12 strategies, and a thirteenth strategy focused on Engagement and Outreach was subsequently added.

In furtherance of that strategy, in particular, and the Housing Strategy in general, local housing stakeholders, including non-profit service providers, market-rate and affordable housing developers, and real estate professionals, were surveyed in July 2024. Nearly 100 stakeholders responded. Insights from those surveys were used to develop preliminary recommendations for refining the housing strategy. In September 2024, the City Council reviewed housing data and adopted an updated 2024 Housing Strategy.

View the 2024 Annual Housing Report online.

In June 2025, in the spirit of the thirteenth strategy, the Home Builders Association of Western Colorado (HBA) approached the City Council and offered to convene a committee, which is the newly established Housing Affordability Code Task Force.