Amanda P. Sandoval

The Near Northwest Planning Area is made up of the neighborhoods of Chaffee Park, Sunnyside, Highland, and Jefferson Park. It includes a variety of housing types, commercial corridors, local shopping destinations, and industrial areas in the northeastern portion of the planning area.

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Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) are independent, smaller living spaces that are built behind or attached to a single-unit home. They are often called mother-in-law suites, granny flats, casitas, backyard cottages, garage apartments or basement apartments. An ADU has its own kitchen, bath and sleeping area, but is not considered a separate property and cannot be sold on its own. Many people want a separate space where elderly parents or kids living at home can still have independence, a space that can be rented out to generate income, or just to rent a smaller, more affordable space. ADUs are a low-impact way to meet these needs and expand housing options for people of all ages.

ADUs have been part of the fabric of Northwest Denver since the beginning. Unfortunately, there are gaps in where they are currently zoned for in District 1, which puts the burden of rezoning on individual homeowners. Councilwoman Sandoval is committed to expanding constituents' choice to build ADUs through neighborhood-wide rezonings that save owners the time and expense of one-off rezonings.

Current ADU projects:

Councilwoman Sandoval is exploring rezonings to allow Accessory Dwelling Units in parts of the Regis neighborhood and West Highland neighborhood. Visit the project webpages to learn more:

Regis ADU Rezoning

West Highland ADU Rezoning

Completed neighborhood-wide ADU Rezonings:

• Chaffee Park Neighborhood
• Sloan's Lake Neighborhood

More information about ADUs:

• ADU project guide
• ADUs in Denver Text Amendment Project (re-examining standards around ADUs, led by Community Planning and Development)

Over the past several years, a lot of new development has occurred in Sunnyside, especially in areas zoned to allow duplexes. Many of these new buildings are out of character with the existing context of Sunnyside. Existing homes tend to be modestly sized and 1-2 stories with pitched roofs and prominent front porches. Many new buildings are significantly larger, taller, have flat roofs and lack porches.

In response, community members from Sunnyside United Neighbors Inc. (SUNI) have worked with Councilwoman Amanda Sandoval and her office to develop a proposal for a conservation overlay. This overlay would add extra design standards on new development to help it fit in better with the neighborhood and follow a more human, pedestrian-friendly scale. We are now reaching out to the community to get your input.

To learn more and take the survey, visit The Sunnyside Conservation Overlay Page