Community Planning and Development is excited to announce the Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) in Denver project is moving forward with its first community advisory committee meeting scheduled for Thursday, March 3. Last fall, we shared a request for advisory committee members across social media and through community groups across Denver. We received many applications, and we appreciate everyone who applied. If you applied to the advisory committee and were not selected, don’t worry! There will be numerous opportunities for you to provide input and feedback.

Advisory committee meetings are open to the public to observe and will be recorded and made available on the project webpage. 

Advisory Committee Meeting #1

4:30-6:30 p.m., Thursday, March 3, 2022

Register via Zoom

Over the course of this project, project staff will host focus groups, community meetings, surveys, interviews, office hours and more for members of the public to weigh in. Keep an eye on the project website for upcoming events and meetings. Each stage of community engagement will address specific goals and the feedback received will be used to refine recommendations. You can also ask a question or share a comment at any stage of the project via the comment form.  

Accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, are self-contained, smaller living spaces that are an extension of an existing property. They are often called mother-in-law suites, granny flats, casitas, backyard cottages, garage apartments or basement apartments. An ADU has its own kitchen, bath and sleeping area, but is not considered a separate property and cannot be sold on its own.   

This project will look at how the Denver Zoning Code regulates ADUs. It will not change where in the city ADUs are allowed, but will look at how they are designed, how they fit in with different types of neighborhoods and block patterns, and how updates to the zoning code may reduce barriers to creating ADUs. 

In 2019, the Denver City Council adopted Blueprint Denver, a citywide land use plan that was developed based on public input. Thousands of residents helped create the policy recommendations in Blueprint Denver, which includes specific recommendations regarding ADUs:

• that barriers to ADU construction be removed,  
• that zoning rules be reviewed and adjusted so ADUs fit into a variety of neighborhood contexts. 

ADUs can be a great way to increase affordable housing options, keep families living on the same property, and add gentle density to a neighborhood. 

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