Short-term home rentals (“STRs”) are big business in the Colorado front range, both in places where they are currently allowed and those where they are not. In many cities, people are renting their residences on apps like VRBO and Airbnb, even when prohibited by the zoning code. One such city, Lakewood, Colorado, is attempting to deal with this issue head on by adopting ordinances to directly regulate STRs. However, Lakewood’s proposed ordinances have a stricter bite than the regulatory schemes of other cities in the area such as Denver.
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Land Use
City Council Approves Chaffee Park Rezoning
This week, the Denver City Council unanimously approved the rezoning of the entire Chaffee Park neighborhood to allow accessory dwelling units within the neighborhood. The approval will provide additional housing options in Denver and likely paves the way for similar rezonings.
Chaffee Park Proposed Rezoning
Chaffee Park may become the first Denver neighborhood to be entirely rezoned for the sole purpose of allowing accessory dwelling units (ADUs) on all residential lots of at least 4,500 square feet. The Denver Planning Board unanimously approved the community-generated proposal on September 16, 2020, and the rezoning proposal now awaits City Council review and adoption. The proposed zone districts are the same as the current districts except that they allow the ADU use, either within the primary structure or in a detached structure. The Chaffee Park neighborhood extends generally from 48th Avenue on the south to 52nd Avenue on the north, and from Federal Boulevard on the west to Kalamath Street on the east.
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Front Range-Wide Residential Growth Cap One Step Closer to Colorado’s 2020 Ballot
In July, voters in Lakewood approved a one percent per annum cap on residential unit construction. Now, a proposed ballot measure aiming to require counties along the Front Range to follow suit is one step closer to appearing on Colorado’s 2020 ballot.
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The “Big Bad Developer” and Other Symptoms of the Real Estate Cycle
There’s no denying that Denver, along with much of the rest of the county, has recovered from the 2008 recession and continues to ride a strong period of economic growth. For those of us in the real estate industry, counting the number of cranes visible from our office windows and the number of neighbors opposed…