Department of Community Development
Reference: AMENDMENTS TO CERTAIN ARTICLES OF THE LAND USE AND DEVELOPMENT CODE AND THE MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS AND MANUFACTURED HOMES
To: Mayor Gregory Mills and Members of City Council
Through: Michael P. Martinez, City Manager
Prepared By: Shawn Weiman, Affordable Housing Coordinator
Date Prepared: May 5, 2025
PURPOSE
To review and consider modifications to the City of Brighton Municipal Code and Land Use & Development Code (LUDC) relating to accessory dwelling units (ADUs), manufactured homes, and housing-related definitions.
BACKGROUND
Colorado House Bill 24-1152 amended Colorado Revised Statute Title 29 Article 35 to prohibit jurisdictions from imposing certain restrictions on ADUs effective on June 30, 2025. The following regulations currently appear in the LUDC and conflict with the bill:
• One parking space is required for an ADU;
• The owner must occupy either the ADU or principal residence;
• Required lot open space and size limit may prevent the addition of an ADU; and
• Existing accessory buildings such as sheds may prevent the addition of an ADU.
Discussions among Community Development and Utilities staff have concluded with recommendations for removing process and design barriers to building ADUs. Additionally, the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) reviewed the draft amendments for compliance with state statutes and DOLA’s emerging ADU Supportive Jurisdiction program.
Staff continually work to improve and adjust the LUDC by identifying regulations that lack clarity, may conflict with state law, or may be missing. In this light and considering Colorado Revised Statutes that prohibit municipalities from excluding manufactured homes, the regulations covering manufactured, mobile, and modular homes can be improved. Modifications to the LUDC that clearly define manufactured, mobile, and modular homes will improve the City’s regulation and enforcement capabilities regarding where and how these housing types are allowed. Also, regulations of accessory buildings such as sheds are organized by those 120 square feet and less, and those over 120 square feet. The building code’s accessory building regulations are also based on size, using 200 square feet as the delineation. Planning and Building staff have concluded that the LUDC should align with the building code.
In addition, after a review of state regulations, Staff have examined areas of the LUDC concerning home occupation childcare and the definition of family. Childcare, including when operated within a private residence, is regulated by the state, making the current LUDC regulations unnecessary. State regulations prohibit discrimination based on familial status and the use of familial relationships as a basis for setting occupancy limits. Considering this, a more general term for family is presented.
Lastly, although the LUDC includes provisions for row houses as a building type, there is no recognition of townhouses. The generally accepted and more architecturally proper term for the attached homes found in Brighton is “townhouse” and, for purposes of the LUDC, is considered synonymous with “row house.”
Listed below are the larger topics that are addressed via the proposed code amendments. Note: Minor changes including typographical and grammatical corrections and revisions may have also been made in the draft documents.
SUMMARY OF AMENDMENTS
LUDC Article 4 - Defines zone districts and uses within the City.
1. Establish a distinction between ADUs and accessory buildings such as sheds.
2. Establish that ADUs do not include recreational vehicles.
3. Identify the possible ADU placements of detached, attached, or integral.
4. Prohibit ownership severability or subdivision of an ADU from the principal residence.
5. Prohibit new planned developments from restricting ADUs more than the LUDC.
6. Remove the owner-occupancy requirement for an ADU.
7. Establish a distinction between an ADU and a caretaker/watchman dwelling unit.
8. Allow a detached ADU architectural style that differs from the principal residence.
9. Remove the minimum size requirement of a manufactured home.
10. Move design related requirements to Article 5 where other design standards appear.
11. Remove the section addressing childcare.
LUDC Article 5 - Includes design standards for residential development.
1. Change the distinction between small sheds or open structures and larger residential accessory buildings from 120 to 200 square feet.
2. Remove compliance with lot open space requirements for an ADU except when the ADU is built simultaneously with the principal residence.
3. Limit ADUs to two stories and 35 feet in height.
4. Change the allowed size of a detached or added-on ADU from 50% of the principal residence living area (enforced as finished above- and below-grade floor area) to 100% of the above-grade floor area of the principal residence, while retaining the current 1200-square-foot maximum.
5. Remove manufactured home requirements that are addressed by the municipal and building codes.
6. Consolidate the parking requirements that appear in the Building Design section with those appearing in the Development Standards section.
7. Change the required distance between homes for pre-2020 mobile home parks to account for covered decks and patios.
LUDC Article 7 - Includes parking requirements and design standards.
Change the required minimum parking space for an ADU from one to zero with exceptions outlined in Article 4.
LUDC Article 11 - Provides descriptions and definitions for terms used in the LUDC.
1. Add definitions of ADU and Mobile Home.
2. Revise the definition of Manufactured Home to distinguish it as neither a mobile home, modular home, park model, travel trailer, nor recreational vehicle.
3. Revise the definition of Modular Home.
4. Revise or add housing-related definitions of Affordable Housing, Family, Dwelling Unit, Row House, and Recreational Vehicle.
Municipal Code § 13-4-91 - Provides water utility regulations for ADUs.
Add that a licensed plumber may provide a utility memo demonstrating fixture count and water demand of an ADU.
PROCESS
The LUDC outlines the code amendment process, which allows for initiation of amendments by the City Council, Planning Commission, and staff on behalf of these entities. The proposed LUDC amendments were reviewed at a public hearing before the Planning Commission who made a recommendation for approval by the City Council on April 10, 2025.
The LUDC amendments were reviewed according to the criteria set forth in LUDC Section 2.10 and which appear below. Staff analysis of the amendments’ compliance follows each criterion.
1. The amendment furthers the purposes of the code listed in Section 1.01(C).
The amendments further the purposes of the LUDC by promoting the physical, social, and economic well-being of residents, as well as by better regulating the development and use of buildings and land to create a compatible scale and range of building types.
2. The amendment is in accordance with the Comprehensive Plan and has been considered for both its long-range effects as well as immediate impacts.
The amendments are consistent with the Comprehensive Plan by:
a) Supporting development that builds upon an established framework of roads and utilities (Policy 1.1 of the Comprehensive Plan),
b) Encouraging diverse housing for the full spectrum of incomes, needs, and ages (Policy 2.1 of the Comprehensive Plan), and
c) Considering creative housing that allows seniors to age in place, providing housing designs that diverge from the dominate income strata or product type, and creating zoning allowances for ADUs (Policy 6.5 of the Comprehensive Plan).
3. The amendment promotes the health, safety, and welfare of the community of the City of Brighton.
The amendments better facilitate the development of ADUs, reducing the likelihood of non-permitted improvements, and thus promoting safe and proper construction of ADUs ensuring the health, safety, and welfare of the community. In addition, ADUs are an effective means of supplying less expensive housing in the City, giving residents more opportunities for multi-generational households, rental income, and aging in place.
4. The amendment improves the effectiveness and efficiency of administering the Land Use & Development Code.
The amendments improve the effectiveness of administering the LUDC by complying with recent changes to state statutes and allowing for more effective and consistent application of the LUDC, which fosters consistent enforcement and responses to inquiries by:
a) Clarifying the differences between manufactured, mobile, and modular homes,
b) Better defining several housing related terms, and
c) Removing requirements from the LUDC that currently and appropriately appear in the municipal or building codes.
PUBLIC NOTICE
Notice of the public hearing was published on the City of Brighton website on May 1, 2025, at least 15 days prior to the public hearing, as required by LUDC Section 2.01(F) of the LUDC.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
City staff recommend approval of the draft ordinance to comply with state statutes and assist in addressing the City housing needs via accessory dwelling unit construction.
OPTIONS FOR CITY COUNCIL CONSIDERATION
The City Council has four options when considering the ordinance. The City Council may:
1. Approve the ordinance as drafted;
2. Approve a modified ordinance;
3. Not approve the ordinance; or
4. Continue the item to be heard at a later, specified date.
Note: If approved, a second reading of the ordinance will be required at a future meeting.
ATTACHMENTS
● Draft Ordinance Amending Certain Articles of the Land Use and Development Code and the Municipal Code
● Website Notice
● Website Publication Proof
● Draft Code Amendments in Redlined Format
● Draft PowerPoint Presentation “LUDC Amendment for ADUs Presentation”