In June of 2020, our city council legalized Accessory Dwelling Units, or ADUs, in single-family zones

ADUs are additional units of housing created on an existing lot, either in a detached backyard structure or within the primary home. Before this ordinance, they were illegal in single-family zones, which comprise 83% of our city’s residential land. 

ADUs are beneficial for a number of reasons—they add to the housing supply, provide more affordable options for people looking to move into established neighborhoods, help retirees age in place, and much more. But beyond that, the ADU debate was an important opportunity to show city council that though they often get a lot of pushback from single-family homeowners, the majority of Colorado Springs wants more types of housing in more parts of the city. 

We showed them by turning out nearly 50 people to the first ADU townhall, clad in PHP blue, to explain to our councilors why ADUs are a common sense first-step towards addressing our affordable housing crisis. 

On June 9th, 2020, city council passed a limited version of the original ADU ordinance—a partial win for affordable housing, but one that demonstrates the necessity of further grassroots action. If you’d like to know about the specifics of the ordinance they passed, you can read more here.