COLORADO SPRINGS, CO — The hot topic at the city planning commission hearing is ADU's, or accessory dwelling units. According to the city of Colorado Springs, 30 ADU’s were built here over the last five years. The city has to change the current rules to comply with new state legislation.
The mayor has said the city needs to have affordable housing options, and ADU's can fill part of that gap. Here are the main proposed changes from the planning department:
First, allowing up to two ADU's in areas where signle-family detached dwellings are already permitted. That means certain areas that currently don’t allow adu’s would be able to build them.
Second, several updates with specific standards for ADU’s. Things like increased height limits and removing the requirements of additional off street parking.
Third, someone who owns a property could build an ADU, even if that person doesn't live on the property.
Fourth, homeowners associations would have to allow them.
Several people have even reached out to our newsroom about the proposal. Brian Odonnell is one of them. He says he supports ADU's, but hopes the city will rethink their approach. "It’s a radical approach. We’re asking them to to really dial back that approach stick with what the state has already recommended and I think if we do that with it, it’s a fair balance of trying to achieve the housing density that they’re looking for without the radical changes to our neighborhoods that we’re going to see."
That planning commission hearing is Wednesday, 12/11/24. It’s your opportunity to hear more directly from city staff and voice any concerns you may have. It starts at 9 am at the Regional Building Department next to Memorial Park. We’ll let you know how the proposed changes progress.
If you’d like to take a closer look at the summary of proposed changes, visit the city website.
If you can’t make the meeting, the City of Colorado Springs would still like your feedback. They have eight short questions you can fill out online. Things like size, location, and use of ADU's.
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