Not everyone in our community has access to healthy, stable housing, and we are currently not meeting our affordable housing production goal. Limited highly competitive funding, rapidly increasing costs, long development timelines, and historic under-production of housing units have led to severe housing availability and affordability issues in Fort Collins and many areas around the State of Colorado.

Obstacles and barriers exist that impede access to services for our underserved community members. We need to work with our regional partners and invest in a robust and accessible safety net to create conditions where one is not needed. Existing oil and gas wells in and around Fort Collins cause harmful pollution and have negative environmental and human health impacts.

Market factors, limited tools and programs, ownership patterns and rising development costs hinder us from accelerating our goal for everyone to have daily goods, services and transit within a 15-minute walk or bike ride from their home.

Good jobs and opportunities for economic mobility are missing for many in our community, particularly those from underserved and underrepresented populations. Processes related to doing business in the City of Fort Collins can be unclear, unnecessarily complex, and unfriendly to business customers.

Fort Collins is currently missing the nearby infrastructure needed to meet its commitments to becoming a Zero Waste and Carbon Neutral community. Policies and programs for diverting material away from landfills are dependent upon viable, community-scale facilities for recycling, composting, and other waste diversion actions.

Building energy use accounts for over 2/3 of the community emissions inventory; vehicle transportation emissions account for 25%; small engines (such as lawn and garden equipment) contribute to both local Greenhouse Gas emissions and air pollution; and the North Front Range is in a severe non-attainment zone for air quality under the Clean Air Act. Without significantly reducing emissions from these sectors, it will be impossible to improve air quality and meet Council-adopted climate goals.

Resilient water resources and healthy watersheds depend on complex systems and a diverse network of relationships and regional partners. The water utility of the future must incorporate a One Water approach to deliver equitable solutions to meet the future challenges of water scarcity, quality and affordability.

Multiple departments and funding sources are necessary to implement the Active Modes Plan and Vision Zero Plan, with an emphasis on Safe Routes to School.

In accordance with the voter-approved ballot measure, the City acquired the 164-acre Hughes site in summer 2023. After conducting initial general public outreach and identifying conflicting interests and desires, Council will engage in an inclusive process to develop a site plan for future use.

Our evolving community and ever-changing media/communications landscape requires an innovative approach to reduce barriers and ensure everyone has access to timely, relevant and accurate information and opportunities to connect with their local government and community in meaningful ways.

Although small parts of the Charter get reviewed and updated on a regular basis, due to changes in state laws and election procedures, there is a need to modernize and update the City Charter, which has not been done in a comprehensive way in over 25 years.