Housing Affordability Series
This is a DRAFT framework for an 11-part monthly FC BS+Beer series to accompany a parallel performance series. We intend to start with an exploration of why homes are so expensive and progress to a Northern Colorado Housing Affordability Playbook, grounded in real numbers, real constraints, and real opportunities. The series should leverage (and contribute to) the housing cost and affordability modeling effort.
Each session includes:
- A specific slice of the housing cost stack
- How that slice shows up in Northern Colorado today
- Local levers: who controls what, and how much it can realistically move
- How the topic connects to the Housing Cost Fact Base & Affordability Model
Session Overview
1 — The Real Story of Housing Costs
Where the money actually goes in a new home.
- A simple “anatomy of a home dollar”: land, soft costs, fees, infrastructure, vertical construction, financing, margin.
- How this has shifted in the last 10–20 years (land prices, codes, interest rates, expectations).
- Structural vs policy-driven vs self-inflicted cost drivers.
- Introduction to the Northern Colorado Housing Cost Fact Base & Affordability Model.
shared baseline numbers for a representative new home and a common vocabulary for cost drivers.
2 — Land, Zoning & Entitlement
How rules about land use drive per-home land cost.
- How minimum lot size, setbacks, height limits, use restrictions, and parking requirements affect yield and cost per unit.
- Entitlement timelines, conditions of approval, and risk premiums.
- How “missing middle” and ADU policies interact with land costs.
- Early findings from the Fact Base on local land and entitlement cost patterns.
what zoning and entitlement adjustments could increase yield and lower per-unit land cost without breaking other community goals?
3 — Fees, Taps & Permitting Friction
The “soft costs” that don’t feel soft when you add them up.
- Permit fees, impact fees, system development charges, and review fees.
- Water and sewer tap fees and their interaction with raw water requirements.
- Time as money: resubmittals, parallel vs serial review, and time-to-permit.
- How different fee and process choices show up in the model for various AMI bands.
a clearer picture of which fees and process delays have the largest affordability impact, and where reform could matter most.
4 — Infrastructure, Utilities & Site Development
The “before the first stick” costs that quietly tilt the math.
- Street standards: width, parking, curb and gutter, sidewalks, snow storage.
- Stormwater requirements and their cost implications.
- Utility layout and trenching; site grading, retaining, and access.
- How site standards and off-site infrastructure requirements show up in the total development cost stack.
where can we meet safety and performance objectives with less cost-intensive site and infrastructure requirements?
5 — House Size, Program & Design
The first and often largest set of hard-cost decisions.
- Square footage creep and how every additional square foot cascades into more cost.
- Plan efficiency: circulation ratios, stacked wet walls, simple vs complex building shapes.
- Standardization vs customization; how many plan “SKUs” a project really needs.
- Example: comparing a 1,600 sf home and a 1,200 sf cottage in the affordability model.
concrete design moves that reduce cost per home while maintaining livability and appeal.
6 — Materials & Labor
Where construction dollars actually get spent.
- Framing cost drivers: corners, spans, plate heights, structural redundancy.
- Mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) layout efficiency.
- Exterior assemblies: siding, roofing, insulation, and weather control layers.
- “Smart cuts”: which materials and details can be simplified without compromising basic durability and comfort.
which commonly used details offer little value for their cost, and what are better alternatives?
7 — Alternative Building Systems
Treating “alternative” construction methods as math problems, not fads.
- Panelized, modular, SIPs, ICF, and other off-site or hybrid systems.
- Labor substitution: using factory labor to relieve on-site skill bottlenecks.
- Schedule compression and interest carry savings.
- Barriers to adoption: code acceptance, financing, appraisal, transport, and local familiarity.
2–3 building systems that appear promising for improved affordability in Northern Colorado, and the questions that need to be answered to use them well.
8 — Energy Codes, Performance Targets & Affordability
Balancing performance requirements with upfront cost and long-term value.
- Where energy and performance measures have strong payback vs where they edge into “gold plating.”
- Meeting air tightness and duct leakage targets in a cost-effective way.
- Targeted high-performance assemblies vs whole-house over-specification.
- How energy requirements, comfort, and resilience plug into the affordability model.
how do we hit our performance and climate goals without pricing out the households we most want to serve?
9 — Financing, Carrying Costs & Risk Premiums
How time, uncertainty, and risk show up in the final sale price or rent.
- Construction loans, interest carry, contingency, margins, and required return.
- Timeline risk: extra months in entitlement, permitting, and construction.
- How perceived risk from policy volatility or community opposition changes the pro forma.
- How different financing assumptions change which households (by AMI) a project can realistically serve.
a clearer connection between process certainty, reduced risk premiums, and lower delivered housing cost.
10 — Regulatory & Community Process Reform
Removing friction without lowering legitimate standards.
- Simplified review processes, pre-approved plan sets, and performance-based paths.
- Re-examining parking, street standards, and some stormwater expectations for affordability impact.
- Community engagement strategies that reduce project-killing conflict while improving outcomes.
- Examples from peer communities that have made pro-housing, pro-quality reforms.
what specific regulatory and process changes are both politically plausible and meaningfully helpful for affordability?
11 — Integrating It All: Toward a Northern Colorado Housing Affordability Playbook
Turning a year of conversations into a usable tool.
- Review of the most significant levers identified across the series.
- Walk-through of the Housing Cost Fact Base & Affordability Model with example scenarios.
- Drafting elements of a Northern Colorado Housing Affordability Playbook:
- Which levers matter most, by actor (cities, water districts, builders, lenders, philanthropy).
- Which housing types and AMI bands we are most likely to move in the near term.
- Ideas for ongoing collaboration and annual updates.
a working draft of a local affordability playbook and a shared commitment to keep the Fact Base and Model alive and improving over time.