Advisory Committee meetings open to the public
The Unlocking Housing Choices project's advisory committee has begun to hold meetings as part of its work with city staff throughout the life of the project. Committee meetings don't involve public participation, but community members are invited to attend and observe. Meeting information will be posted on on this webpage, and notes, presentations and meeting recordings will be posted in the "Project Materials" section of the page, linked above, after the fact.
Want to get involved?
The project will kick off and begin public engagement in summer 2025. Community members interested in participating are invited to sign up for email updates or be considered for the community advisory committee.
Unlocking Housing Choices email sign up
Community Planning and Developing has launched an inclusive community process with the goal of allowing more middle housing forms in Denver’s residential neighborhoods through potential updates to the Denver Zoning Code and other city rules and regulations. The project is focusing on this goal while working to preserve existing affordability and ensure that new development adds more attainable housing stock.
Middle housing refers to small multi-unit structures like duplexes, tandem houses, fourplexes and other house-scaled, middle housing building forms. The changes to the zoning regulations will focus on low- and medium-residential zone districts ranging from single-unit (SU) to rowhouse (RH), and the comparable Former Chapter 59 zone districts.
Project Goals
- Allow more housing choices in Denver's residential neighborhoods
- Update design requirements for middle housing building forms so that new construction is compatible with existing neighborhoods and recommendations in adopted plans
- Encourage the preservation of existing homes
- Create incentives or requirements for affordable housing in newly constructed middle housing.
Background Documents and Research
Project Team
What is “missing middle housing?"
Missing middle housing refers to housing types that fall between single-unit houses and large apartment buildings, including duplexes, fourplexes, row homes, townhomes and cottage housing. These housing forms are “missing” because despite their important role in providing housing options, very few are built today, and few have been built over the last 50 years.
Why does the city want to add middle housing?
Denver's adopted plans, formulated through extensive community engagement, include goals, policies, and strategies that call for the city to enable the construction of additional housing types in Denver’s residential neighborhoods. Allowing more housing options across the city can alleviate the ongoing housing shortage and provide attainable housing choices for more Denver residents.
What is a "building form"?
Denver’s building forms are the standards for the development of buildings and structures in the Denver Zoning Code. Building forms vary between zone district and include different standards for different building types. For example, The “town house” building form has different standards from the “urban house” building form. These building form standards regulate building height, building siting, building design elements, and the permitted use of buildings.
Examples of building forms
Illustration of town house building form:
Illustration of urban house building form:
How will current neighborhood planning efforts contribute to the Unlocking Housing Choices project?
The strategies developed through the Unlocking Housing Choices project will be based on citywide and neighborhood plan guidance. Plan guidance around housing scale and form, as well as unique consideration relating to affordability and displacement can influence how UHC would be implemented in different parts of the city. As this is a citywide project, resulting strategies will need to balance guidance from Blueprint Denver that encourages missing middle housing in low and low-medium residential areas while also incorporating guidance from neighborhood plans to further refine the project’s strategies. Plan guidance adopted as a part of the Southwest and Far Southwest Area Plans will be incorporated into the project to help develop a neighborhood context sensitive approach to integrating missing middle housing into residential neighborhoods.
How does a citywide project adapt to differences in neighborhoods?
While the Unlocking Housing Choices Project will integrate missing middle housing into low and low-medium residential areas across the city, The project will not propose a one-size-fits-all approach. Instead, the project will develop context-sensitive strategies that are appropriate for Denver’s different neighborhood contexts.
How does this affect residential neighborhoods?
This project will consider and may result in an increase in the number of dwelling units allowed on a lot. However, the project will also develop regulations so that these new dwelling units resemble a house in scale and character.
Is this the end of single-family neighborhoods?
No. We expect areas with single unit (SU-) zoning to remain predominately single-unit. This project will consider incentives for multi-unit developments that look and feel like houses as an alternative to the construction of much larger single-unit homes that feel out of scale in the surrounding neighborhood. The intent is to support the city's efforts to address the shortage of housing units. Other cities have undertaken similar zoning reform, and the changes have not resulted in drastic changes to single-family neighborhoods.
Will this project allow large apartment buildings low-scale residential neighborhoods?
No. This project could allow additional dwelling units within house-scaled building forms, but it will also refine building forms to ensure that new development resembles the look and feel of existing neighborhoods.
The project's community advisory committee is made up of residents and stakeholders from across the city, representing a diverse set of experiences, viewpoints and expertise. They will meet periodically and advise city staff as the project moves forward. Committee meetings are open for the public to observe. Meeting information will be posted ahead of time and meeting materials, including a recording of the meeting, will be posted on the project archive after the fact.
Committee Members
| Name |
Neighborhood/Affiliation |
| Council member Kevin Flynn |
City Council District 2 |
| Council member Jamie Torres |
City Council District 3 |
| Luchia Brown |
Yes In My Backyard (YIMBY) |
| Carson Bryant |
East Colfax Community Coalition (EC3) |
| Guadalupe Cantu |
Community member, Virginia Village |
| Alejandra Castañeda |
Community member and organizer, Berkeley |
| Karen Cuthbertson |
Athmar Park RNO |
| Donna Garnett |
Montbello Organizing Committee |
| Lukas Hagen |
Neighborhood Development Cooperative |
| Jon Hindleman |
Community member, residential architect, Congress Park |
| Jay Homstad |
Historic Denver |
| Angela Hutton-Hall |
Denver Metro Association of Realtors |
| Rodney Kazenske |
Sunnyside United Neighbors |
| Gosia Kung |
Denver Housing Authority |
| Alisha Kwon Hammett |
Denver Planning Board |
| Heather Lafferty |
Ulysses Development |
| Nola Miguel |
Globeville-Elyria Swansea (GES) Coalition, Tierra Collectiva Community Land Trust |
| Norman Moore |
University Hills RNO |
| Joel Noble |
Community Member, Curtis Park |
| Jeffrey Owen |
Community Member, lives in middle housing in Central Park |
| Nick Petkovich |
Community Member, University Neighborhood |
| Archer Squire |
Radix Design – Architect |
| Kory Whitaker |
Habitat for Humanity |
| Brad Yoshimitsu |
Preservation of Residential South Hilltop RNO |
| Mary Kate Zukiewicz |
Harvey Park RNO |
| Estela Zuniga |
Community Member, Westwood |