It's about to get a lot easier for Denverites to build tiny homes in their backyards.
Starting on July 5, zoning laws that the city approved last month will make these tiny homes — called accessory dwelling units, or ADUs — more prolific throughout the Mile High City in an attempt to quell the area's housing shortage. By one estimate, the city and its surrounding area is short around 70,000 homes.
When the law goes into place on Wednesday, homeowners will be allowed to build ADUs big enough to house a family. They'll also be able to turn existing structures, like garages, into entirely new and separate living quarters, according to the City of Denver. In the city's denser areas, homeowners will even be permitted to build two story units.
"These changes will help make ADUs a more attainable and impactful option and give our residents more choices when it comes to living in the city," Denver Councilman Chris Herndon said in a release about the changes.
Similar laws in California have created more housing in the state
Zoning revisions have had a huge impact in California. Following the roll back of many restrictions statewide in 2017 and beyond, homeowners who have built ADUs are raking in thousands of dollars per month by renting them out. Other Californians have used them to house an aging parent, or a child that would have otherwise been priced out of the area.
Since 2018, more than 60,000 new units have been approved throughout the Golden State, which has an estimated housing shortage of 2 million. The state is often cited as a case-study of just how effective this method can be in solving the housing crisis.
It could help slow gentrification in some areas
Denver has already seen the impact of ADUs on its residents — that's especially true within neighborhoods in West Denver, where an influx of newer, wealthier residents in recent years has boosted prices, making harder for middle- and lower-income residents to afford housing there.
One organization, West Denver Renaissance Collaborative is working to provide information on ADUs that help every person in the area understand the permitting process and secure financing.
"Because of displacement and the current housing crisis in West Denver, we need to provide as many tools as possible," the initiative director Renee Martinez-Stone at WDRC said in a video. She also serves as the Director of Planning at the Denver Housing Authority.
"We need to lift the ceiling on ADUs, and provide ladders for moderate and low income households to access that," she added.
Keeping families together
Alonso Carrillo-Muñoz, a Spanish-speaker, who has lived in the West Denver area for over 20 years, was a part of the WDRC's ADU pilot program, per WDRC.
With the help of WDRC, he was able to apply in Spanish and secure financing to pay for the ADU from FirstBank, which offered service in Spanish, he said in the video.
"It meant that he was going to have his own home to potentially retire in," his daughter, Miriam Carillo added. Just as important was that he would stay in the same neighborhood.
