Group Living Update

Denver’s City Council voted 11-2 to pass the Group Living Text Amendment on February 8th, 2021. The Text Amendment seeks to update Denver’s zoning codes and make housing more inclusive and equitable. The CCHN board voted unanimously against the Group Living Text ​Amendment ​initial draft based upon the results of a neighborhood survey in which the vast majority of residents opposed the draft.
After much city-wide deliberation and compromise, the Group Living Text Amendment was revised to stipulate:​
A maximum of 5 unrelated and related adults can live together, with an unlimited number of minor children. Previously, 2 unrelated persons with unlimited adult and minor relatives were allowed to live in a single-family home. Multigenerational families may still live together as previously allowed.
All residential care facilities (senior living, homeless shelters, community corrections, etc) were reclassified under one definition and their zoning is regulated primarily on size. Community Corrections facilities of any size will not be allowed in single family neighborhoods, including CCHN. Other residential care facilities are restricted in single family neighborhoods, including CCHN, depending upon their size. Facilities with 10 or fewer residents are limited to 3 total facilities within a 1-mile radius (in contrast to the original draft, which allowed an unlimited number of facilities with 8 or fewer guests in single family districts, with the exception of shelters which were not previously allowed in single family districts).
Larger facilities will still have a cap of 20 people in single family districts and will now be restricted to parcels previously used for a civic, public or institutional use (e.g. churches, schools, government buildings), which are not in CCHN.