Text Amendments

Current Regulatory Projects 

The Denver Zoning Code is a living document that is periodically amended based on public feedback and identified needs such as recommendations from adopted plans, industry changes, process improvement and clarity, as well as to ensure that our outcomes match our intent . Text amendments to the Denver Zoning Code must be adopted by City Council. Visit the project pages below for opportunities to get involved.  

Bringing Plans to Life

Community Planning and Development (CPD) collaborates with the community to craft proposed zoning code text amendments to implement the visions that our communities establish through citywide and neighborhood planning. Plans offer policy guidance for the city and its partners to follow and zoning helps put those policies into effect.

Implementing Citywide Plans: Comprehensive Plan 2040 and Blueprint Denver are long-term plans that establish a vision for Denver to be inclusive, connected and healthy as well as long-term goals and policies to guide the city’s future. The following text amendments are citywide efforts to update zoning rules to implement these policy goals and to ensure that the Denver Zoning Code reflects the city’s adopted values.

Implementing Area Plans: Neighborhood and area plans are community-driven vision documents that address citywide goals at the local level, to ensure they are applied in a way that makes sense for each neighborhood and that they meet individual neighborhood needs. The following text amendments are neighborhood and area-specific efforts to implement local policy goals. 

City Council Initiatives

Bungalow Conservation Overlay – Councilwoman Amanda Sandoval, District 1

Councilwoman Sandoval is sponsoring a text amendment to create a new conservation overlay zone district. The proposed conservation overlay focuses on conserving distinctive features of unique, moderately scaled bungalow neighborhoods of the early 20th century. CPD staff have collaborated with Council District 1 and neighborhood residents to prepare this conservation overlay. Councilwoman Sandoval will also be proposing a rezoning to apply the conservation overlay to Harkness Heights, a small subsection of the Berkeley Statistical Neighborhood.  

Download Planning Board review draft(PDF, 857KB)

A public hearing with the Denver Planning Board on the proposed text amendment and associated rezoning is scheduled for February 3, 2021. More information can be found on the Planning Board webpage. 

Submit questions or comments to Senior City Planner Brad Johnson (brad.johnson2@denvergov.org).

Active Centers and Corridors Design Overlay – Councilwoman Amanda Sandoval, District 1

 Councilwoman Sandoval is sponsoring a text amendment to create a new design overlay zone district. The proposed design overlay focuses on enhancing the street-level activity and mixed-use character in neighborhood commercial areas, often identified as Local Centers and Corridors in Blueprint Denver. CPD staff and Council District 1 have collaborated on the design overlay to ensure it is also applicable to other areas. Councilwoman Sandoval will also be proposing a rezoning to apply the design overlay to sections of Tennyson Street and other small commercial areas in the Berkeley-Regis area. More details on the proposed rezoning can be found on the Map Amendments webpage. 

Download Planning Board review draft(PDF, 412KB)

A public hearing with the Denver Planning Board on the proposed text amendment and associated rezoning is scheduled for February 3, 2021. More information can be found on the Planning Board webpage. 

Submit questions or comments to Principal City Planner Kristofer Johnson (kristofer.johnson@denvergov.org).

Code Maintenance

Just like infrastructure needs maintenance to stay in top condition, the Denver Zoning Code also needs regular maintenance to continue to respond to the needs of the city, while remaining modern and flexible.  Periodically, CPD proposes amendments to correct and clarify the code, closing loopholes and making the code more user-friendly. 

There are currently no projects in this category.

Legislative History

Recently Adopted Text Amendments

Creation of the E-SU-B1 zone district - Councilwoman Amanda Sandoval, District 1 - Adopted November 9Councilwoman Sandoval is sponsoring a text amendment to create the E-SU-B1 zone district. The new zone district will allow accessory dwelling units in an Urban Edge Single Unit district. Concurrently, Councilwoman Sandoval is also proposing a rezoning to allow Accessory Dwelling Units on all single-unit zoned properties in the Chaffee Park neighborhood. More information on the rezoning (map amendment) is available at denvergov.org/proposedrezonings.

All Adopted Denver Zoning Code Amendments

The Legislative History of Denver Zoning Code Text Amendments (PDF) outlines zoning code changes adopted by City Council to date. The legislative history includes ordinance number, effective date, applicable Denver Zoning Code provisions, and keywords. Text amendments to the code follow the procedure set out in the Denver Zoning Code, Article 12, Section 12.4.11.

If you use assistive technology and would like to access the content in these documents, please contact planning@denvergov.org.