YIMBY News for 4/16

[Eric Budd]

A Strategic Playbook for Opportunity Zones 2.0

Governing

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KEYWORD SCORE: 36.25. development, downtown, growth, house, housing, income, market-rate, mixed-use, project, real estate, urban, zone, zoning

Opportunity Zones (OZs) are back, and now the incentive is permanent for this program that stands to direct significant dollars into economic development projects. Starting next year, the program will have a set of new regulations that seeks to standardize tax benefits for investors, tighten census tract eligibility and add incentives for investing in rural areas. The key deadline is near: Beginning this July 1, states and U.S. territories have 90 days to select the Qualified Opportunity Zones (QOZs) where capital can flow over the next decade. Only 25 percent of eligible tracts can be selecte

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King County Council's D2 Race Heats Up with Dueling Public Safety Platforms

The Urbanist

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KEYWORD SCORE: 28.55. development, growth, housing, project, rent, transit-oriented, urban

[image: King County Council's D2 Race Heats Up with Dueling Public Safety Platforms] Last week, the two leading candidates for King County Council’s District 2 seat – *Toshiko Hasegawa* and *Rebecca Saldaña* – released dueling public safety platforms that shared some significant points of consensus. In their announcements, both D2 candidates expressed support for preventing violence rather than merely responding to it and spoke about breaking the cycle of poverty. Both want to expand LEAD-model diversion programs, strengthen gun violence prevention efforts, and invest more in youth programming

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Colorado’s homelessness response is fragmented. A new bill aims to fix that.

Colorado Public Radio

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KEYWORD SCORE: 23.75. affordable, affordable housing, house, housing, housing price, real estate, rent

This story was produced as part of the Colorado Capitol News Alliance. It first appeared at kunc.com . By Lucas Brady Woods, KUNC A proposal to boost regional collaboration and state leadership on efforts to reduce homelessness is moving through the Colorado legislature after a similar measure failed last year. The bill, House Bill 26-1202 , would help neighboring communities coordinate strategies with each other and lay the groundwork for a comprehensive state-level approach to homelessness, two policies that advocates for the unhoused have long said are needed to tackle the issue across Colo

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Elitch Gardens is back. What happened to River Mile?

Denverite

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KEYWORD SCORE: 22.78. bike lane, construction, development, downtown, housing, mixed-use, parking, project, rent, walk, zoning

The Elitch Gardens amusement park opens its gates on Saturday — despite years of worries that it will be closed or moved to make way for the gargantuan River Mile development. The park welcomed season passholders last weekend and will fully reopen this weekend. In fact, it’s set to be the park’s longest season yet, including celebrations of Colorado and U.S. history. “Elitch Gardens remains a beloved Denver tradition and will continue operating in its current location for the foreseeable future,” said Elitch spokesperson Katelyn Beets. “We’re committed to delivering great experiences for our g

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Katie Wilson Scales Bicycle Weekends on Lake Washington Boulevard Back Up

The Urbanist

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KEYWORD SCORE: 21.84. parking, project, public space, transportation, urban, walk

[image: Katie Wilson Scales Bicycle Weekends on Lake Washington Boulevard Back Up] Mayor Katie Wilson is significantly expanding Seattle's only annual open streets event to cover nearly every single weekend between Memorial Day and Labor Day, as revealed in the 2026 schedule released on Monday. During Bicycle Weekends Lake Washington Boulevard shuts down to through car traffic between Seward Park and Mount Baker Beach, opening this section to care-free walking, rolling, biking, and strolling. Apart from August 1-2, when the annual Seafair hydroplane races are set to take place, every single we

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Colorado’s small rural districts face big financial strains, but anchor communities and have outsized outcomes

Colorado Public Radio

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KEYWORD SCORE: 20.73. bus route, house, housing, income, rent, transportation, urban, zone

Lenae Lengel’s school district near the Kansas border may not have the bells and whistles of a larger school district, but it has a unique advantage that helps students succeed. With only 155 students, Lengel often knows her students long before they enter her classroom. She taught their older siblings, watched them as toddlers at Friday night basketball games, and worked alongside their preschool teacher in the same building. That familiarity, she says, helps teachers respond to students in ways impossible in larger systems. Small rural school districts like Lengel’s are also what’s keeping c

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Five Forces Driving Up Road and Bridge Maintenance Costs

Governing

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KEYWORD SCORE: 19.28. construction, house, income, preservation, project, transportation

States are facing an $86 billion shortfall over the next decade for maintaining roads and bridges. And the U.S. is among the most expensive countries for transportation construction—projects typically cost more than three times as much as in other upper- and middle-income economies. These high costs have hindered attempts to increase infrastructure investment and with them, states’ ability to maintain and repair their roadways. Although the specific challenges vary by state, five main factors consistently drive up costs and delay transportation projects. 1. Decades of Underinvestment Have Crea

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