Single-family homeowners in the most populous parts of Colorado would be allowed to build accessory dwelling units on their properties under a bill introduced Tuesday in the legislature aiming to override local zoning rules in areas that currently prohibit them.
House Bill 1152 is the first of several marquee bills that Democrats at the Capitol, in partnership with Gov. Jared Polis, are expected to introduce this year that would target city and county land use regulations in an effort to tackle Colorado’s affordable housing crisis.
A similar push last year ended in a political dumpster fire for the governor when he tried to pack an array of changes into one measure that ultimately failed after weeks of animosity between him and local leaders. In 2024, Polis plans to pursue the same policy changes, albeit through bite-sized pieces of legislation — the first of which is the accessory dwelling units bill introduced Tuesday.