July & August News Updates

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Landlord & Renter Funding

As the impacts of COVID-19 continue to affect communities across the globe, here are a few State resources for Coloradoans navigating financial setbacks:


Property Owner Preservation Program –


Colorado landlords and renters affected by COVID-19 can apply for housing assistance through a new fund called The Property Owner Preservation Program. This new funding comes in the form of Federal CARES Act Funding through the Colorado Department of Local Affairs, Department of Housing for Coloradoans facing financial hardship from the pandemic. Coloradoans can apply to use the funds for mortgage or rental payments. To find out if you qualify or if you know of someone who needs assistance, visit cdola.colorado.gov/rental-assistance.


Emergency Housing Assistance Program –


Tenants and mobile homeowners must go through a local agency to apply for emergency assistance. Dial 211 or go to www.211colorado.org to find an agency that can help you with emergency rental or mortgage assistance. Visit this link for more details and a list of qualifications.


City Council - Housing Ad Hoc Committee

As we mentioned in our last newsletter, the City is embarking on an update to the Housing Strategic Plan (formerly the Affordable Housing Strategic Plan). Much work will be taking place on this effort in the coming months.

This past week, City Council established an Ad Hoc Council Committee to support the development of the Housing Plan with a focus on affordable and achievable housing strategies, a Council Priority. Members of this committee include Mayor Pro Tem Kristin Stephens, Councilmember Ross Cunniff, Councilmember Emily Gorgol and Councilmember Ken Summers. It is anticipated this committee will begin meeting in August and will run through April 2021. A dedicated webpage will be developed for the committee’s work and will be shared in an upcoming newsletter.

Tuesday, July 28, City Council will also review the CARES CVRF (COVID Relief) funding allocation and proposed community programs and projects that could receive funding. Funding is proposed to support the city’s response to COVID and provide direct support to community members and businesses, including rental assistance, utility payment assistance, and much more. Also, that Tuesday night, Council will be continuing the conversation on Manufactured Housing District Rezoning. More information can be found at https://www.fcgov.com/cityclerk/agendas.php.

Information about community resources to support you and your families during this time can be found at https://www.fcgov.com/socialsustainability/.


OCF Affordable Housing Workshop Summary

Home2Health partnered with Our Climate Future to focus specifically on affordable housing for two workshops held on July 8th & 9th. Community members were offered two dates and times (one in the morning and one in the evening) to maximize participation and the virtual workshops offered interpretation in Spanish. The workshops included a total of 21 community members and a mix of City staff who participated as hosts, facilitators and notetakers.

Participants had lots of ideas about what we can do to improve affordable housing. Some thoughts included updating the land use code to promote density, changing the City’s occupancy ordinance (U+2), allowing more opportunities for tiny homes, accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and investigating new funding possibilities for affordable housing.

There are still several weeks of planned Our Climate Future workshops. Some upcoming topics include high quality water, regional transit, local and dependable food, renewable energy and more. For more details and to sign up for an upcoming OCF workshop, click here.


July - Beginning of Year Two for Home2Health

The first year of the Home2Health grant project has officially come to an end and we are excited to launch into year two of this work! Our first year was filled with various stakeholder and community events and our most exciting event was our community kick-off, A Local Stories Night at the Lyric Cinema. Just as we were beginning to hit our stride, we were faced with the COVID-19 pandemic. Remarkably, we have continued our efforts with outstanding work from our partners at CSU’s Center for Public Deliberation virtual Phase Two of Community Guides, H2H’s involvement in Our Climate Future’s Affordable Housing Workshops, Mobile Home Park Zoning changes and more to come. As we move into year two, we will continue to look at the linkages between land use, housing policy, economics, affordability, and health. While we update the Housing Plan, we will be looking for opportunities to partner with all of you to identify community priorities, best practices and prioritize policy recommendations with a focus on equity. For more information on the Home2Health project, visit https://ourcity.fcgov.com/Home2Health. We thank all of the Fort Collins community members who have been engaged in this work and we look forward to another year of continued collaboration with you all.


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The Home2Health project has concluded. For information about ongoing Housing Strategic Plan implementation, please visit https://www.fcgov.com/housing. Thank you!

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