ADU rules in Lakewood

Table 17.4.1 of the Lakewood Zoning Ordinance lists 'Accessory dwelling unit' as a Limited use (L) in every residential zone district except R-MH, so a detached backyard unit is allowed in R-1-43, R-1-18, R-1-12, R-1-9, R-1-6, R-2 and R-MF subject to the supplemental standards in Section 17.4.3.1:A. The unit must be accessory to a primary single-family dwelling and only one ADU is allowed per lot. Detached units are expressly contemplated: Table 17.5.1 sets a separate ADU height cap of 20 feet, or 30 feet if the unit sits over a detached garage. ADUs are also a Limited use in the mixed-use and most commercial and light-industrial districts, but there the unit must be inside the same building as the permitted nonresidential use and must directly support it.

The same Section 17.4.3.1:A governs attached and internal units, and the city's ADU handout states that ADUs 'may be either attached or detached.' Subsection (7) applies the Review of Supplemental Standards process to accessory dwelling units 'that are detached or constructed as an addition to a single-family unit,' confirming that additions are allowed on the same terms; a basement or interior conversion is handled the same way. Attached and internal units are subject to the same 1,400 square foot cap and the same one-per-lot limit. State law independently requires Lakewood, as a subject jurisdiction, to allow an ADU that is internal to, attached to, or detached from the primary dwelling.

Section 17.4.3.1:A(6)(a) states that an accessory dwelling unit shall not exceed 1,400 square feet of gross floor area, one of the most generous caps on the Front Range. There is no percent-of-primary-dwelling rule and no ADU-specific minimum lot size. Height is capped by Table 17.5.1 at 20 feet, or 30 feet if the unit is located over a detached garage, and the city's ADU handout follows that table; note that Section 17.4.3.1:A(5)(b) separately says a detached ADU may be up to 30 feet, an unreconciled conflict in the code. The unit must otherwise meet all primary-structure dimensional standards for its zone district, which in the R districts means a 15-foot minimum rear setback rather than the 5 to 10 feet allowed for ordinary accessory structures.

Section 17.4.3.1:A(4) provides that a permit for an ADU shall only be issued to an owner occupant or their designee, so the city tests owner occupancy at the time the ADU is permitted. Colorado's ADU law bars a subject jurisdiction from requiring an ADU, or any other dwelling on the same lot, to be owner-occupied, but expressly allows the jurisdiction to require the owner to demonstrate that they reside on the parcel when the application to construct or convert is submitted, so Lakewood's permit-stage rule falls within that exception. Nothing in the code imposes a continuing owner-occupancy condition, and the state law means none can be enforced after the permit issues: an owner may move out and rent both units long term. The state exception does not apply at all where the ADU is built at the same time as a new primary dwelling.

Section 17.4.3.1:A(6)(e) requires parking under Article 8 only if on-street parking is legally or practically unavailable, and it defines unavailable narrowly: the property is on an arterial or collector street, or on a block where the street is less than 28 feet wide, or signs prohibit parking in front of the property. Where the trigger applies, Table 17.8.1 sets the minimum for an accessory dwelling unit at one space per unit (maximum two). Colorado's ADU law bars a subject jurisdiction from requiring a new off-street space unless the parcel has no existing off-street space, sits in a district that required parking for the primary dwelling as of January 1, 2024, and is on a block where on-street parking is prohibited. Lakewood's trigger is broader than that in places, for example a lot on an arterial that already has a driveway, so ask the city how it is applying the standard.

An ADU is a Limited use, which Section 17.4.1.2:B defines as permitted in the zone district subject to compliance with the applicable supplemental standards. Approval runs through the Review of Supplemental Standards process in Section 17.2.12: the owner files a zoning review application and the Director must, within 15 days of a complete application, either confirm compliance with all applicable supplemental standards or return the application with a written description of the standards not met. Section 17.2.11.1 states this review 'does not trigger the need for public input,' so there is no public hearing, no Planning Commission action and no neighbor approval; a building permit follows. The one exception is a waiver from the ADU standards, which Section 17.4.3.1:A(2) allows only as a major waiver decided by the Planning Commission under Section 17.2.6.4(A).

Nothing in Title 17 restricts renting a permitted ADU for 30 days or more, and owner occupancy is only tested when the ADU permit is issued, so long-term rental of the ADU (or of the main house) is allowed. Short-term rentals, meaning any stay of 29 consecutive days or less, need an annual license from the City Clerk under Lakewood Municipal Code Chapter 5.55, in force since September 1, 2023, and Section 5.55.090.B grants a license only for dwelling units that are the primary residence of their owners. Section 5.55.010.T deems a permitted ADU on the same lot as the licensee's primary residence to be part of that primary residence, so a resident owner can short-term rent the ADU under one license, while an ADU on a lot the owner does not live on cannot be licensed at all. Applications require proof of primary residence for each owner, proof of ownership, a $500,000 liability policy with an STR endorsement, a third-party certified home inspection, notarized affidavits and certified-mail notice to abutting neighbors; fees are $150 new and $75 to renew, and only one rental contract at a time is allowed per STR.