Chris Conway is a District 1 candidate who grew up in northeast Fort Collins (near Tavelli Elementary). He teaches English at Ridgeview Classical Schools and founded YIMBY Fort Collins to advocate for more housing options. He notes past work with local and state leaders on housing and sustainability and mentions endorsements from Democratic elected officials.
Episode Summary
Host Nick Armstrong talks with Chris about housing affordability, zoning and permitting reform, and extending trails and safe corridors in northeast Fort Collins. Chris argues that allowing more in-town, diverse housing types (including ADUs) and speeding up approvals can reduce sprawl and vehicle miles traveled, aligning with climate goals. He supports water conservation paired with storage planning for drier years, and calls for better city–county coordination on roads and connectivity (e.g., Country Club Road, Vine/Timberline).
The conversation also touches on making city government more consistent across departments, flexible support for arts and small organizations (space, small grants, right-sized rules), resources for LGBTQIA+ residents, and low-barrier youth recreation close to neighborhoods. On elections, Chris explains how he approaches ranked-choice voting and campaign funding, and discusses community responses to bias and hate following 2020’s District 6 race.
Key Takeaways
- Housing & Process: Favor more housing types near transit; streamline and make approvals predictable; reduce out-of-scale fees for small ADUs.
- Climate Link: Prioritize infill to cut long commutes and emissions; connect housing policy to transit use.
- District 1 Mobility: Extend trails into the NE; improve safety on key corridors; sort out city–county responsibility gaps.
- Water: Pair conservation with future storage to manage drought risk.
- Community Support: Offer flexible space/small grants for arts/creatives; centralize resources for LGBTQIA+ residents; expand neighborhood-level youth recreation.
- Civic Process: Support public financing experiments and broader participation tools (e.g., civic assembly).
Notable Quotes
- “I’m running to make Fort Collins more affordable, to make it more sustainable.”
- “If you want to build a backyard casita for your aging parent, the city charges you about $25,000 in impact fees… it’s out of scale.”
- “We need to invest our resources where we think our values are… for world-class bike city status, we can’t leave out a quarter of the city (North East Fort Collins).”
- “It’s so rare to have a policy where it’s going to be free… a big win for the environment.”
- “Everybody in Fort Collins needs to feel safe, welcome, and able to thrive in the city.”
Resources
- Campaign website: https://www.chrisconwayfc.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chrisconwayfoco/
- YIMBY Fort Collins: https://yimbyfortcollins.org/
- Trees, Water & People: https://treeswaterpeople.org/
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