Should people be allowed to build single-family homes in dense neighborhoods?
That’s the question that Denver City Council members started discussing this week. A proposed new policy could stop property owners from building low-density homes in areas where the city wants to see condos, duplexes and apartments.
“Why have we upzoned areas for duplex and greater, but we still have single unit as an allowed use?” said Councilmember Kevin Flynn, who is working with Councilmember Sarah Parady to explore the idea.
Since 2019, about 7% of the city’s new single-unit homes were built on land that allowed for denser development, such as apartments or duplexes.
That’s a waste of precious space in the city’s densest neighborhoods, the council member argued. Building more apartments is also a top priority for Mayor Mike Johnston.
“Every time we do a needs assessment, and there'll be a new one coming to committee soon, [the number of housing units Denver needs] grows because people want to live here,” Parady said.
Currently, building single-unit housing is a permitted use in higher-density zones. The change would have the greatest effect in places like Capitol Hill. It wouldn’t affect the single-family zones that dominate Denver’s edges.
The potential change wouldn’t affect existing buildings, either. Overall, single-family homes have made up only about 12% of housing development since 2019 in Denver, since the city has little land left for greenfield development.
'Not even on the stove yet'
There’s no need to get too excited or despairing just yet — the council members kicked off their presentation to council’s non-voting budget and policy committee with a big disclaimer.
“It's more like a concept plan,” Flynn told fellow council members. “It's not even on the stove yet to cook.”
Flynn and Parady outlined two possible approaches. One would remove single-unit housing as a permitted use in higher-density zones. Current structures could stay, but they would be a “nonconforming” use — making it difficult to renovate, rebuild or get financing for properties.
The second approach would only apply to new single-unit dwellings. Existing homes would still be considered conforming. That could provide more flexibility for homeowners, although they still might run into issues with more extensive renovations or additions.
The council members haven’t drafted a formal proposal yet. First, they’ll discuss next steps in tandem with the Unlocking Housing Choices project, a Community Planning and Development initiative that aims to “amend the Denver Zoning Code to allow small-scale multi-unit housing, tandem homes and other so-called “missing middle” housing types in Denver’s residential neighborhoods.”
They also said they will gather additional data and build a public engagement plan before the proposal returns to council.
