Press Releases

SALIDA—U.S. Representative Brittany Pettersen (CO-07) hosted a Housing Town Hall in Salida on Saturday to speak directly with constituents about lowering the cost of housing for Coloradans. Pettersen was joined by local housing experts Read McCulloch, Executive Director of the Chaffee Housing Trust, and Marjo Curgus, Interim Executive Director of the Chaffee Housing Authority. Over fifty Coloradans attended the town hall and asked questions regarding housing affordability and childcare access. Attendees had the opportunity to meet directly with local housing officials to get connected with resources.

“Chaffee County is one of the most beautiful places to live in the country, which is why people have been moving here in record numbers. This has caused a strain on the housing supply and has pushed far too many people out of the communities they have lived all their lives,” said Pettersen. “Our housing crisis is one of the most urgent issues we face. That’s why I’ve worked to deliver more than $1.5 million in federal investments to increase access to affordable housing and childcare in Chaffee County, but this is just the first step. I'm focused on long term solutions to address the housing shortage by promoting policies that make it easier to build new homes and increasing tax credits to help create and preserve affordable housing options. These investments and policies will make sure that Colorado continues to be the best place to live.”

Pettersen’s Housing Town Hall is just the most recent effort in a series of actions taken by the Congresswoman to address the housing crisis. Earlier this year Pettersen’s Yes In My Back Yard (YIMBY) Act passed the House Financial Services Committee. This legislation would help overcome barriers to increasing home construction, including outdated zoning, slow permitting, and discriminatory land use policies.

Pettersen also secured nearly $14 million in funding for 15 community projects across Colorado’s Seventh Congressional District. More than $1.5 million of this funding went towards Chaffee County projects to increase and improve affordable housing.

More than $1.2 million went toward the town of Buena Vista to develop the Midland Apartments into 60 affordable housing units with childcare space for fifty children. The project broke ground earlier this year. $300,000 will be used to install a solar array on top of Jane’s Place in Salida, a 17-unit multi-family affordable housing and community program project currently under construction. Pettersen visited the sites of both of these projects with local officials earlier this summer.