Apartment Trends Magazine August 2017 | Page 19

2017 SUMMER ECON PRESENTING SPONSORS: Carol Rosas Jenny Jacobs Nancy Burke, Malcolm Bennett, Molly Kirkland, Fred Tayco Rent Control Around the Country The improving economy has been good for the apartment industry, but there is also fear that a segment of the population, which has not improved as quickly, and therefore is being priced out of the rental market, is being left behind. This is where the idea of rent control comes in to play. However, panelists at the conference argued that rather than keeping rents down, these laws actually could discour- age development, leading to more problems. “An ever-increasing regulatory environment can spiral out of control and lead to increased housing costs, simply from the costs associated with implementing the regulations,” said Fred Tayco, Director of State and Local Government Affairs, National Apartment Association. Col- orado hasn’t experienced such an increase in regulation and Nancy Burke, Vice President of Government Affairs, Colorado Apartment As- sociation, hopes we don’t get to that point. “We’ve had elected officials say that we need to look at rent control as an option,” said Burke. “But we are working to find other options, such as decreasing regulatory burden, and not pursue rent control.” industry? “When all of these apartments are built, there is a lot of traffic that is generated,” said Paul Jesaitis, Regional Transportation Di- rector, Colorado Department of Transportation. “And it’s not just the signal outside of a new complex, but CDOT is thinking about the whole system and how to distribute that traffic across the entire metro area.” Current CDOT projects include I-70 Express Lanes into the mountains, which are already reducing traffic by up to 52 percent, C-470 Express Lanes, Central 70, and a pilot project at I-225 South which includes turning the shoulder into a third lane and restriping the road. Transportation Challenges The population and building boom in Col- orado, along with an aging infrastructure and funding gap lead to CDOT’s challenges. But what does this have to do with the apartment Paul Jesaitis PLATINUM SPONSORS: www.aamdhq.org AUGUST 2017 • TRENDS | 17