After one Denver City councilwoman got an entire neighborhood rezoned to encourage more accessory dwelling units there, others on council are looking to follow suit on the city’s east side.
The ultimate goal, city planners say, is to move past these batch rezonings and encourage the units — like granny flats or detached garages converted into apartments — across the entire city. That’s the priority laid out in Blueprint Denver, the city’s plan meant to direct thoughtful growth over the next few decades.
The swath of rezonings for about 1,400 properties in Chaffee Park, proposed by Amanda Sandoval, was approved by City Council on Nov. 9.
Rezoning a group of properties, rather than a single plot, is called a legislative rezoning, said Sarah Showalter, Denver’s interim director of planning services. And in this case it’s meant to encourage “gentle density” throughout the neighborhood.
“Accessory dwelling units are a great way to do that. You can largely keep the feel of a single-unit area,” Showalter said. “They don’t have as much of an impact, and yet they can still offer a new housing option.”
Those new units also help homeowners build equity, which is already a challenge and will only grow more difficult as Denver expands, Councilwoman Amanda Sawyer said. The units can be expensive to build, and a zoning change request can cost about $1,000, she said.
So Sawyer said she’s now looking to adopt Sandoval’s legislative rezoning template to change the zoning for about 760 homes in her east-side district south of Colfax Avenue.
“Let’s lower this barrier to entry,” Sawyer said. “Let’s provide this wealth-building opportunity for these homeowners.”
Councilman Chris Herndon, whose district sits to the north of Sawyer’s, is considering a similar move.
The legislative rezoning process is similar to rezoning an individual lot, Showalter said. Plans must still be approved by the city’s planning board and then by City Council. However, the more properties involved the more public comment and notification the process typically involves.
Council approved Sandoval’s measure unanimously. While some residents might be concerned that an influx of ADUs might explode the city’s short-term rental market or diminish parking in neighborhoods, most said they feel the city is well equipped to handle those drawbacks, if they come at all.
Already about 20% of the city’s homeowners are permitted to build accessory dwelling units, Showalter said, and each year only a few dozen of them are built. It’s unlikely Denver would be inundated with the units if more homes are rezoned.
More legislative rezonings — like those under consideration by Sawyer and Herndon — could be on the horizon, Showalter said. But the ultimate goal is for the entire city to be rezoned to effectively encourage more accessory dwelling units.
City officials will begin the public outreach next year for that citywide effort, Showalter said. Once started, the process is expected to take about two years before a citywide change is proposed.
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