As a local government, our City Council has multiple avenues to enhance the diversity of housing options, including the 'missing middle,' that are brought to market each year. I want to concentrate on what the Arvada City Council can do to make it easier to turn your backyard into an extra space for an aging parent, revenue generator, help tackle the housing crisis, and become more familiar with local building rules and regulations. Let's make it easier to build ADUs (Accessory Dwelling Units) in Arvada!

Recently I attended the ground breaking ceremony for the Griffith Station Habitat for Humanity project here in Arvada. Not only do I love the name and ties to historical Arvadan "Ulysses Grant Griffith," but that this project is a crucial lifeline for those desperately seeking affordable housing in our city.

With the focus of the recent Denver Channel 7 article on the congested segments of Indiana Street and the latest Jefferson Parkway settlement with the City and County of Broomfield, I’d like to highlight current efforts by the City of Arvada to explore improvements to Indiana Street and other efforts to alleviate congestion without having to build the Jefferson Parkway.

Recently, the Arvada City Council approved approximately 67 updates to the Land Use Development Code. This was a small update relative to the complete overhaul that was approved in 2020. Updates to the Land Use Development Code are common and often clean up or clarify sections without significantly impacting development in our City. In my opinion, the number of changes requested in one go was daunting, and community members expressed concerns with many of them