Housing in Golden

Background:

Many people who work, live, study, and play in the City of Golden are looking for a place to call home. Recognizing the need for housing solutions that help Golden achieve its vision as an inclusive, welcoming city, Golden is working on creating attainable, healthy, and safe housing options for the community.

Please see related projects to find more information about each of these initiatives.

Creation of Affordable Housing Opportunities:

Affordable Housing Committee (AHC)

Created by Council in late 2022, this committee began meeting in early February with a target date of May 2023 to bring recommendations to Council for adoption. These recommendations will focus on how to address the City’s current and future housing needs.

Housing Trust Fund

Created by Council in late 2022, this fund may be sourced by resources from developers, grants or sales tax revenue and could be used as gap financing for permanently affordable housing serving households at or below 120% AMI.

Preservation/Renovation/Sustainability of Existing Housing:

National League of Cities Healthy Housing Cohort

Golden is one of six cities in the nation selected to participate in a yearlong technical assistance program to assist communities in identifying health-related issues which may be caused or impacted by housing conditions. More than half of Golden’s existing housing stock was built prior to 1978 which has the potential to expose residents to issues such as lead, asbestos and radon. Public Works, Planning, Sustainability and Communications teams are collectively working on analyzing data and information related to this project.

Mobile Home Park Preservation

Golden is home to two mobile home parks which have historically provided more than 500 units of affordable housing/homeownership in the city. In recent years, these parks have seen rent increases in excess of 100% as corporate owners work to bring lot rents in line with market rents. This, combined with the expiration of the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP), which supported rents for up to 18 months during COVID has led to an increase in the number of rent delinquencies and evictions, especially from park residents on fixed incomes who cannot keep up with the increases. In early February 2023, the Golden Hills Resident Cooperative successfully made an offer to purchase their park which was accepted by Harmony Communities, the current owner. In early 2022, the City agreed to contribute up to $1 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to assist in the preservation of Golden Hills as affordable housing in Golden. These resources will partner with other funding resources designed to minimize future rent increases and protect the Golden residents, some who have lived at the park for decades.

Programs and Services to Support Golden's Unsheltered and At-Risk Residents

Housing Navigation Centers and Programs

The City continues to partner with the County and other Jefferson County cities in the development of two centrally located Navigation centers designed to provide emergency shelter, permanent supportive housing and space for non-profits and Navigators to meet with clients and provide services. Golden continues to collaborate with the Regional Homeless Coordinator and navigators from other cities to provide support and resources to those who are homeless in Golden. In addition to funding from the General Fund, Golden also supports this work through grant resources.

Pallet Sheltering Project

One of City Council’s Key Initiatives in the 2023 Strategic Action Plan is to collaborate regionally to address homelessness and plan Jefferson County Navigation Center Sites as well as more immediate shelter solutions. Staff has been exploring short term solutions and has recently partnered with the City of Wheat Ridge to apply for funding to provide resources for two temporary pallet sheltering sites – one in Wheatridge and one in Golden. This project is in the very beginning stages and should the proposal move forward there will be several opportunities for public input.

Eviction Prevention

In an effort to prevent increases to homelessness, the City provides resources and assistance to support eviction prevention for those who need one-time assistance to resolve past due amounts as well as people who can no longer afford to stay in their housing units due to increased costs by connecting them to resources which can provide long-term housing supports. The City supports this work by providing funding to non-profit organizations through the Thriving Communities Grant, as well as direct support to Golden households with grant funding received by the City.

Unhoused Partners Working Group

Coordinated by the City, this group of non-profits and faith-based communities gather once a month to discuss, plan and coordinate their work around unhoused residents of Golden. The goal of this group is to prevent “siloed” work and to more effectively leverage the collective resources of the members to serve the identified needs of unhoused Golden residents.

Please see related projects for more information about each of these initiatives.