On May 20, 2024, Arvada Chamber of Commerce Board Members attended the Arvada City Council Meeting to share support for the Arvada Housing Strategic Plan 2024 update. The Arvada Housing Strategic Plan sought to explore and implement strategies related to the goals of:
- Leveraging Financial Assets to Support Affordable Housing Production, Preservation, and Programs;
- Land Use and Zoning Modifications to Unlock Supply, Improve Natural Affordability and Housing Diversity; and to
- Incentivize Affordable Projects.
The B.O.L.D. 2026 Housing Initiative goal seeks to ensure access to income-aligned housing so that workers can attain housing within reasonable proximity to their jobs. Currently 42% of employees commuting to Arvada for work commute 30 minutes or more one way to their place of employment. Crucially, the median individual yearly income earned by Arvada’s workforce is $51,530, and a household is not seen as ready to purchase a home if the household income is below $104,244. As identified in the Chamber’s letter of support to City Council, this discrepancy makes it clear that our workforce cannot afford to live in the city that they serve.
Arvada Chamber Board President, Vanessa Kendrick, provided the statement of support for the city’s new Housing Strategic Plan and identified areas of alignment and opportunity for future collaboration between the City and Chamber to support the development and access of income-aligned housing for our region’s workforce. Additionally, the Chamber asked for two areas of consideration for Council members with regard to the Housing Strategy:
- Agreed upon language and definitions around the term “affordable” to support inclusive and aligned language across organizations working on housing access
- A public-facing dashboard that tracks current housing projects to better understand the timeline of development and help celebrate success and transparency on work happening in the community
The Arvada Housing Strategic Plan passed 4-1. Arvada Chamber Board Members Vanessa Kendrick, Barb Stevens, and Andrew Heesacker were all present, and Housing KAPS Council member Amy Case attended virtually.
Through the work of the B.O.L.D. 2026 Housing Initiative, the Chamber recognizes the role housing access has in economic development and success. The Chamber will continue to work with partners to support awareness and advocacy and engage business leaders in strategies to increase housing access for our region’s workforce. Learn more about the Chamber’s housing work and how you can get involved at arvadachamber.org/housing.
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