Fort Collins City Council Meeting 6/20/23

Proclamation #1 - Declaring June 2023 as Bike Month. Proclamation #2 - Declaring June 21, 2023 as Make Music Fort Collins Day.

In July 2022, Congress passed the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors and Science Act of 2022 (CHIPS Act) as part of President Biden’s economic plan to invest in America, strengthen domestic semiconductor manufacturing, fortify the economy and national security, and reinforce America’s chip supply chain. This May, the Colorado General Assembly adopted HB23- 1260 to provide certain tax incentives to support and encourage investments in semiconductor and advanced manufacturing in Colorado, as well as meet the requirement for state or local participation in the federal government’s CHIPS Act. HB23-1260 creates a state income tax-credit opportunity for businesses in the semiconductor and advanced manufacturing that are awarded CHIPS federal funding. For this to occur for businesses in the City, HB23-1260 requires the City to propose an area within the City for designation as a CHIPS Zone (Zone) and to submit this proposed area, together with a development plan, to the Director of the Colorado Office of Economic Development for consideration and approval of such designation by the Colorado Development Commission.

A. Second Reading of Ordinance No. 086, 2023, Amending Chapter 5 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins to adopt a Rental Housing Registration Program as an Implementation Action of the Housing Strategic Plan and the Our Climate Future Plan. B. Second Reading of Ordinance No. 087, 2023, Appropriating Prior Year Reserves in the General Fund for the Startup Phase of the Rental Housing Registration Program. These Ordinances were adopted on First Reading on June 6, 2023. Ordinance No. 086, 2023, adopted by a vote of 5-1 (Nay: Peel), adopts the Rental Housing Registration Program, which includes rental registration, improvements to the complaint-based inspection system and software, enhanced mediation, education and outreach, and incentives for voluntary compliance. Ordinance No. 087, 2023, adopted unanimously, authorizes an off-cycle General Fund appropriation in the amount of $461,375 (with an anticipated two-year total for 2023-2024 of $1.1 million), to support the startup and implementation phases of the program. Ordinance No. 086, 2023, included the following amendment to Code Section 5-283 (in gray): Sec. 5-283. Registration required. (a) An owner of a long-term residential rental dwelling unit shall register it with the City and comply with the requirements pursuant to this Division. (b) Long-term residential rental units described in one or more of the following paragraphs are exempted from the registration requirements of this Article: (1) A long-term residential dwelling unit occupied by the owner; and The development of a Rental Housing Registration Program implements policy direction in both the Housing Strategic Plan (2021) and the Our Climate Future Plan (2021): ? Housing Strategic Plan, Strategy 20 - Explore the option of a mandated rental license/registry program for long-term rentals and pair with best practice rental regulations. ? Our Climate Future Plan, Strategy HAH6 - Explore the option of mandated rental licensing/rental registry with minimum standards for health, safety, stability, and efficiency. If adopted by the Council, staff anticipates the phased rollout of registration will begin in Q3 2024. The period between adoption and implementation will be used to hire and train staff, implement new software, implement improvements to the complaint-based inspection system and mediation program, and conduct education and outreach with landlords, tenants, property managers, and others impacted by the Rental Housing Registration Program. Because the timelines for hiring processes, educational outreach, and software upgrades will impact the overall program implementation timeline, staff will keep City Council updated on the progress of the rollout as milestones are achieved. The proposed Ordinance and supporting AIS before the Council incorporates the components that a consensus of Councilmembers expressed support for bringing forward at April 18, 2023, Council meeting discussion of rental housing. The components of the proposed program include: (1) rental registration; (2) improvements to the existing complaint-based system, including software; (3) enhanced mediation services; and (4) public education and outreach programs.