Colorado is facing a housing crisis. Rapidly rising rents and home prices have made it difficult to live in the state, and 86% of Coloradans identify the rapidly rising cost of housing as an extremely serious problem.

Elevation Community Land Trust believes that permanently affordable homeownership, especially through the community land trust model, is a vital issue. Our state must address the inaccessibility of homeownership to avoid the creation of a permanent renter class and to help low- and middle-income class families own their own homes and gain access to the benefits that come with it.

Governor Polis agrees. In a recent interview with Colorado Public Radio, Governor Polis stated that he supports models like community land trusts, and that while affordable rental housing is “necessary and welcome,” the ideal is the kind of intergenerational wealth building and retirement security that comes with homeownership.

Elevation thanks Governor Polis for his support of CLTs and hopes to work with his office after the election to ensure that more Colorado households can access homeownership.