City Council Approves First Accessory Dwelling Unit Development in Suburban Context
By Robert Davis
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Support for citywide accessory dwelling units (ADU) received an early test on Tuesday after a homeowner in Hampden Heights requested to build one in a suburban context.
Aaron Rodecker, a software developer who owns the home at 3397 Geneva Street in Council District 4 asked for a rezoning to build a detached garage with a dwelling unit. Council reservedly approved the application, but asked Community Planning and Development (CPD) to develop guidelines for building ADUs in the suburbs.
Councilmembers seemed to struggle balancing the requirements in governing plans with the practical application of having an ADU in a predominantly single-family neighborhood.
Blueprint Denver https://www.denvergov.org/content/denvergov/en/community-planning-and-development/planning-and-design/blueprint-denver.html calls for a citywide approach to enable ADU development, especially in areas proximate to transit, unless a neighborhood plan specifically excludes them.
Some councilmembers questioned how the new property would impact the wider residential area. Some voiced concerns about the main property’s lack of an alley while others wondered how their constituents will react to increased potential rental units.
Since 2010, 548 ADUs have been built in Denver, according to CPD data. However, very few were built on properties without alleys.
Councilwoman Amanda Sandoval (District 1) mentioned that she lives in an urban district and doesn’t have an alley, and the same is true of several neighborhoods in her district. That didn’t stop Denver from approving a legislative rezoning request from Chaffee Park to allow ADUs, she said.
Meanwhile, the City’s Housing an Inclusive Denver Plan https://www.denvergov.org/content/dam/denvergov/Portals/690/Housing/HousingInclusiveDenver_FINAL_020918.pdf asks city leaders to reduce the regulatory burdens to building ADUs. The plan calls on city leaders to support “land-use regulations that incentivize affordable and mixed-use housing, including expanding the development of accessory dwelling units” and to “promote programs that help households maintain their existing homes.”
CPD said it supports the project because it “introduces a new housing type to a largely single-family neighborhood,” according to the staff report.
“Accessory dwelling units and tandem homes can provide housing for individuals or families with different incomes, ages, and needs compatible with the single-unit homes that currently dominate the Hampden neighborhood,” the report continues.
The Hampden Heights neighborhood is identified by Blueprint Denver as part of the “All other areas of the city” growth area, meaning it is anticipated to experience about 20 percent of new housing growth and 10 percent of new employment growth by 2040.
In the application, Rodecker said the ADU will provide a place for his mother to stay when she visits from California and a room he can rent out for the rest of the year.
“I am familiar with Denver’s adopted plans and believe this to be a great opportunity to act on these plans in the best interest of my fellow Denverites,” Rodecker said.