According to CSI Housing fellow Peter LiFari’s latest housing report, as of 2021, 80% of Coloradans live in a county with an aggregate housing supply shortage. As a result, home affordability has decreased by 85% since 2015. Now, as of 2022, Colorado is the 8th most unaffordable state for renters in the country. Governor Polis and leaders in the legislature on both sides of the aisle have named housing a top tier policy priority issue this year and long-awaited legislation addressing state land use was just introduced last week (SB23-213).
Residential fourplex house under construction. Family townhouse for sale
On this episode of Common Sense Digest, Chairman and Host Earl Wright welcomes Peter LiFari, Vice President of Government Affairs for the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce Adam Burg, and CSI’s Vice President of Policy & Research Chris Brown to discuss the recent developments in housing, what bills are before the state legislature, and ideas to make housing more affordable for Coloradans. There is no single silver bullet to solve the issue, but rather a coterie of solutions that could make a substantive impact.
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Peter LiFari is CSI’s 2023 Housing Fellow and is the Executive Director of Maiker Housing Partners, a socially conscious public housing authority based in Adams County, Colorado. In his role as Executive Director, LiFari leads a passionate team committed to ending the cycle of generational poverty by providing individuals and families with access to affordable housing, support programs and by engaging in community development. LiFari is a compassionate visionary whose leadership style is grounded in treating individuals with empathy, warmth and grace.
Adam Burg is Vice President of Government Affairs for the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce. Burg most recently served as legislative and government affairs senior advisor for Adams County. Before joining Adams County in 2017, Burg spent two years working for Joint Budget Committee Chair Sen. Dominick Moreno, D-Commerce City, when Sen. Moreno was the assistant majority leader in the House. Burg also co-founded a political consulting firm, L&B Strategies, LLC, in 2015 with a focus on political consulting, government relations and business strategy.