Polis dangles $280M to force housing policy changes

State of play: Polis put his plan into motion back in May, but in a new executive order issued Wednesday, he tightened his grip.

• Beginning Oct. 6, local governments will get scored on whether they are adopting recent policies to encourage affordable housing with $280 million across 34 grants, CPR first reported.
• The ones "working to ensure that every Coloradan has an affordable place to call home" will get priority, the order states.

Between the lines: Among the housing policies Polis wants local governments to adopt: higher occupancy limits, permitting accessory dwelling units, eliminating parking restrictions on developments and building near transit hubs.

What he's saying: "This is Colorado taxpayer money. We want to make sure that it's going to areas that are fundamentally pro-housing and are not kind of just rowing upstream and getting less housing," Polis told CPR.

The other side: Colorado municipalities responded to the initial executive order in May with a lawsuit challenging his authority to force them to adopt denser housing development.