Lafayette has joined in a lawsuit against Colorado and Gov. Jared Polis in what officials call an effort to secure the city’s local authority — and not, the mayor says, to prevent new affordable housing units.

A week ago, Lafayette announced it would be joining the court fight alongside Aurora, Arvada, Glendale, Greenwood Village and Westminster, alleging home-rule violation and land-use management overreach. “Home rule” is a type of governance based on a “charter” — essentially a local constitution — written by residents, giving local officials the authority to make certain decisions for the city. In a statutory municipality — one without home rule — local authorities generally follow state laws.Lafayette Mayor JD Mangat said in an interview with the Daily Camera that Lafayette agrees with the state that building affordable housing is important and necessary, but the city finds issues with the state’s implementation of how to create affordable housing. State House Bills 23-1255, 24-1304 and 24-1313 violate the city’s home-rule authority by dictating how a city can use its land, a news release from the city claims. Mangat argues the bills do not create affordable housing but, rather, create more market-rate housing in the hopes the cost of housing overall will decrease. While he agrees more housing in general could help housing costs, he said the “one-size-fits-all approach” will end up doing more harm than good.

“We know how to represent our population best and (local elected officials) know our city so well — we spend time there, we live there, we work there,” Mangat said.

He argues state legislation have been encroaching on the city’s home rule authority, specifically in how the city manages land. Zoning and land use codes allow the city to manage growth and development and dictate what kinds of buildings can be built in certain areas in town.

Mangat highlighted House Bill 24-1313, which requires the city to have zoning for 40 housing units per acre in state-designated transit-related areas. Lafayette currently has about 12,000 housing units in its entire map, and Mangat said the potential state-imposed zoning would allow for roughly 20,000 more housing units in the city. Mangat said the city does not have the infrastructure, city services or utilities to accommodate for such a large influx in population.

“It’s not even something that’s feasible or practical,” Mangat said. He said the law is “particularly heartbreaking,” as Lafayette has prioritized affordable housing and he feels the law “punishes” the city. The city helped create the Willoughby Corner neighborhood, a 400-unit, affordable housing development in partnership with the Boulder County Housing Authority and Boulder County.

The state “is making decisions on land use on behalf of the city of Lafayette, and they don’t have the authority to do that. As a home rule city, we are the authority when it comes to land use,” Mangat said. He said the lawsuit is city officials’ last effort to get the state to hear their responses to the laws, having previously advocated against the bills and arguing that they are not feasible.

The city is confident the group of municipalities will win the case, and the city is confident it is representing residents’ values through the lawsuit, Mangat said. During the Tuesday night City Council meeting, members of the public expressed support for the city’s decision to join the lawsuit, with some arguing the city does not have much more room to grow and that residents should also have a say in what gets built in the city.

In a statement to the Camera, a spokesperson for Polis states the “common-sense laws” break down barriers to housing.

“Coloradans are demanding action from our leaders to bring down housing costs. Our state has a housing shortage, and the Governor wants to bring everyone to the table to help find solutions because this is a challenge that crosses local boundaries. It’s disappointing to see certain local governments that have among the priciest homes in Colorado use taxpayer money on a lawsuit that could go toward lowering the cost of housing. It’s clear this lawsuit is about preventing more housing from being built that Coloradans can afford,” the spokesperson said.

Mangat said it’s the approach to creating affordable housing that Lafayette takes issue with, not the idea of creating more affordable housing. Lafayette will spend no, or close to no, taxpayer dollars on the lawsuit, Mangat said. Instead, the only cost the city will pay toward the lawsuit comes from staff time. He said because many municipalities are a part of the lawsuit, they can share the burden.