The three westside neighborhoods of Villa Park, Barnum and Barnum West join Chaffee Park, Sloan’s Lake and East Colfax in full rezoning. On Monday, Denver City Council approved the zoning changes, allowing the construction of the small backyard homes without homeowners needing to request zoning changes.

Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) are already allowed in some areas of Villa Park and the Barnums, but the change allows ADUs on every property currently zoned for single families, which is about 3,000 parcels. Fully rezoning the neighborhoods eliminates a tedious and costly step in the already sometimes long and complicated ADU construction process.

Besides zoning regulations, there’s also the cost. Specifically, in West Denver, residents can look toward the West Denver Single Family Plus (WDSF+) ADU Pilot Program to assist in the process. The program, run by the West Denver Renaissance Collaborative, focuses on low- to moderate-income west Denver residents but assists all interested homeowners on the westside with developing, designing, financing and constructing detached ADUs.

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