Aurora Housing Authority sues city over ordinance changing requirements, terms for board

The Aurora Housing Authority filed a lawsuit against the city of Aurora following a City Council vote to change the makeup and term requirements of the authority board.

The lawsuit, filed June 28 in Arapahoe County District Court, states that the city violated Housing Authorities Law by passing an ordinance in late June to change the AHA's makeup and term limits.

Aurora Housing Authority currently administers 1,266 HUD Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers and about 700 portable vouchers with an annual value to the community of over $22.6 million, according to its website.

Prior to the ordinance's passage, the mayor appointed the members of the board to five-year terms without term limits.

The ordinance states that, starting Jan. 1, 2025, board members are allowed to serve two, three-year terms.

It also changes the requirements for the board members. According to the ordinance, one board member needs experience in affordable housing, one needs finance experience, one needs development experience, one must have lived in affordable housing or experienced homelessness, three can have general backgrounds, and one must be an exofficio member who does not vote and is designated by the mayor and council.

The ordinance gets rid of current board members before their terms end, then allows them to apply for two, three-year terms.

One board member's term expired June 30. The ordinance states that they are effectively terminated from the position, but can apply again starting Jan. 1, 2025.

The rest of the board members' terms have staggering expiration dates over the next two years.

"We have lots of different boards and commissions that we place citizens and residents to serve on, but there are a handful of them that really have some significant decision-making responsibility," Councilmember Dustin Zvonek, who sponsored the ordinance, said, adding that the Aurora Housing Authority is one such board.

In a news release at the time of the lawsuit's filing, the AHA's board of commissioners said they are "disappointed" in the council's decision to adopt the ordinance, saying it "does not comply with the requirements of state law" and that it "is a clear violation of the enabling legislation for housing authorities throughout the state."

Housing Authorities Law is in place to allow public housing authorities to do work independent of political motivations, according to the release.

"While the City Council has every right to change the terms and qualifications for future appointment of Authority board members, it is not within the City's power to restrict or limit the powers and terms of service of currently appointed and presently serving Board members," the release says.

Colorado enacted the Housing Authorities Law in 1963 to address unsafe and unsanitary housing conditions across the state, according to the lawsuit.

It authorizes cities to create a local authority that have power to carry out and effectuate the Housing Authorities Law.

The AHA was created in 1975, having "endured over 50 years of newly elected Aurora mayors, the turnover of multiple city councils, and a plethora of different city staff," according to the lawsuit.

Because of its longstanding existence, the authority has the "institutional knowledge and earned respect" to do its job.

According to the lawsuit, the council can only remove a member of the board in the case of neglect of duty or misconduct. The ordinance violates this law by removing all of the commissioners from their positions during their terms, it says.

The city denied The Denver Gazette's request for comment, saying it doesn't comment on "pending litigation," a city spokesperson said Monday.