Lots of middle housing progress in Colorado!
- Lakewood legalized MH citywide in 2025
- Denver developing a policy now
- Boulder exploring the same in comp plan update
+ more
5 recent surveys:
- Lakewood and COS: ~2:1
- Boulder: 70-80% for 3-8 units
- Denver: 58:31 for 6 units | 62% for du/triplex
Big win in Lakewood: middle housing is now legal citywide + smaller lots, parking reform and more!
A win for climate, affordability, and pathways to homeownership, and a model for other Colorado cities. Read about it here 👇
With CO's Strategic Growth Report due this month, my colleague Caroline wrote about why we need smart growth to tackle climate change and what's on deck👇
New post about how bulk transit passes are incredibly affordable and pair nicely with new parking reform and TOD laws.
New tools in SB25-161 expand this program - let's use them!
Written with James Flattum from @greatdentransit.bsky.social
Great new op-ed from State Rep Stewart on the benefits of Lakewood's zoning code proposal to expand housing choices by legalizing "missing middle housing".
These housing options cost $230k less than single detached homes. They also reduce driving & energy/water use.
coloradosun.com/2025/08/07/o...
After a long night, Denver city council voted 9-3 to eliminate minimum parking requirements for all uses citywide! 👏
It's nice to see support for townhomes gaining traction locally. Chart is from Lakewood's 2024 housing plan, text is from Colorado Springs Housing Needs Assessment outreach (reported by KOAA)
Remember those 2024 Colorado land use laws that were a pretty big deal? Wonder how they're working?
We have been documenting city policy updates since then 📜
Did you know that in Grand Junction you can build 2 ADUs at your house? Learn more local flavors of these policies in our report ⬇️
By a vote of 7-0 on 6/23, Wheat Ridge CO eliminated minimum parking requirements for multifamily residential in all areas of the city.
Councilor Hultin: "This is an opportunity to leverage our land use for housing and bring more attainable housing opportunities to the city"
Smart and well researched op-ed by Lukas Hagen with the Neighborhood Development Collaborative
As Colorado cities consider their next moves, Portland shows how zoning reform can deliver more homes and more choices through gentle incremental housing development.
Check out the blog ⬇️
The big concerns? Overdevelopment, neighborhood character, displacement.
The outcomes so far?
✅Steady, modest production
✅Distributed across neighborhoods
✅No overconcentration in areas vulnerable to displacement
✅No increase in demolitions, and >2x as many homes built per demolition
Portland legalized smaller homes—like duplexes, triplexes, and cottage clusters—on most residential lots. 3 years in, this shift has led to hundreds of new homes per year in walkable neighborhoods, selling for $100s of thousands less than single detached houses.