The City of Colorado Springs is leading a regional Housing Needs Assessment to provide a clearer picture of the housing supply, challenges, and needs across El Paso County. The data collected through the assessment will provide valuable insight into housing trends and will serve as a tool for making data-driven decisions to address housing needs effectively.
The housing assessment will result in a series of geographic-specific recommendations for the City of Colorado Springs and Unincorporated El Paso County across several areas. That could include funding, financing, and partnering options, along with needs for specific housing groups, such as seniors, workforce housing needs, and low-income earners. An online housing dashboard will also be developed to present key housing data and analyses.
The City is asking residents to help determine community challenges, goals, and needs for the housing assessment by filling out a survey at ColoradoSprings.gov/HousingNeedsAssessment.
“Better understanding the housing needs of our growing region will prepare us to meet the needs of our region and our community,” said Aimee Cox, the City’s Chief Housing & Homelessness Officer. “This assessment can give data to support strategic planning, informed policy decisions, and collaborative partnerships across the El Paso County. We encourage residents to share their perspectives to help guide this work.”
While data will be collected for Calhan, Green Mountain Falls, Fountain, Manitou Springs, Monument, Palmer Lake, and Ramah, the housing assessment will not provide recommendations or prescribe actions for how these jurisdictions could use the data. Decisions and actions based on the data rest under the discretion of the leadership of each municipality.
This project is being conducted in response to the region’s growing population and the SB 24-174 requirement. It is funded by the City of Colorado Springs, the El Paso County Community Development Block Grant, and the Colorado Infrastructure and Strong Communities Grant Program.