Denver City Council Members reduced the number of rezoning hearings they must preside over and brought the city — largely — into compliance with a new state law Monday when they voted to allow accessory dwelling units in residential areas throughout the city.
The residential units, often called ADUs, are smaller, secondary residential structures that can be built on the same lots as traditional single-family homes. They give property owners the opportunity to bring in additional income by renting them out or providing space for family members such as grandparents. They can take the form of converted garages or new structures.
Denver has embraced ADUs as a strategy to add more housing options — and ostensibly cheaper housing — in more residential areas where apartment buildings may not be allowed. Council members, led by Amanda Sandoval, have rezoned at least ten Denver neighborhoods in recent years to allow ADUs on all residential lots in those areas.
But in much of the city, building an ADU has remained a special request, requiring going through a time-consuming and costly rezoning process and receiving final approval from the City Council at a public hearing. That is until the council voted unanimously Monday night to allow them citywide.
Councilman Darrell Watson, one of three co-sponsors of the legislative package, noted that in a city facing a severe shortage of affordable housing, it’s easy to get lost in the big picture of the need to build tens of thousands of housing units. over the next ten years to meet demand.
“It’s often easy to overlook the small steps we can take (such as) empowering our neighbors to be part of soft density,” Watson said. “Accessory housing will not solve our housing crisis, but it is an important first step.”
The council’s action was applauded by several speakers during a public hearing before the final vote.
Chris Miller, a Denver resident who recently built an ADU on his property, is a member of the grassroots housing organization YIMBY Denver, which has pushed city officials to abolish single-family neighborhoods altogether in favor of more density to house more people . .
He encouraged the council to move forward.
“I ask you to act quickly and urgently to legalize more types and forms of housing in a wider part of the city,” he said.
Monday’s vote was the culmination of a multi-year process to create design standards for ADUs that could fit into the fabric of all of the city’s neighborhoods.
The legislature passed a law this spring requiring more cities in the state to allow ADUs in residential areas. That law included specific provisions, such as preventing homeowner associations from opposing ADUs and eliminating residency requirements for a property owner to have an ADU on a lot he owns. While Denver’s work predated that bill and Denver is largely in compliance, there is still a point of conflict between the city’s approach and that new law.
State law dictates that cities cannot restrict construction by requiring ADUs to be set back more than 5 feet from property lines. In design standards the City Council approved last year, some suburban neighborhoods require homeowners to adhere to a 10-foot setback for ADUs so the structures don’t encroach on their neighbors’ backyards.
Monday’s vote did not change these norms. Councilman Paul Kashmann, whose district includes many suburbs that don’t have alleys buffering properties from the homes behind them, said he wants the city to defend these standards in court if necessary.
“I welcome any lawsuits that come from this, rather than 80-foot buildings being built five feet from someone’s property line,” he said. “God bless our friends at state. But that’s a bit of abuse.”
Councilman Chris Hinds, another co-sponsor of the ADU legislation, said city officials are already working with state-level representatives next year on potential legislation that could protect Denver’s draft rules.
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