Grandfathered Denver Duplex in Single Family Zoning Question

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Grandfathered Denver Duplex in Single Family Zoning Question

Ross Carpenter
Investor · Denver, CO · Member since 2016 · 16 posts · 2 votes

We are looking at a property in Denver zoned U-SU-C (allows for single family home only) but has been operated as a triplex for many decades, and shows up as "RESIDENTIAL-DUPLEX" in the property type on the assessor website. 

My plan would be to complete a $150-$200k remodel, but I wasn't sure if by pulling permits it might jeopardize the grandfathered status of the property. Has anyone had any experience with this? 

What about if we demolished the detached garage and constructed a new (larger) garage?


Thanks for any advice you can provide.





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  • Dan MackinBusiness Member
    Real Estate Agent · Erie, CO · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 512 votes
    5y

    A lot of this can actually be answered by the zoning dept if you go talk with them (if they're doing in person yet...). There are some odd cases in Denver where the zoning dept has a separate doc that specifies the odd approved use of the property in the past before all of the zoning changes in 2010. I would just go in and ask them what it was previously registered as and what it was allowed to be and continue the conversation from there. From my understanding the grandfathered issue is more of a problem when you're removing and or expanding parts of the property (sqft), but again you'll just need to ask. 

    We dealth with a property a few years back that was a similar case where it was a SFH with a duplex up/down built off the alley in the rear. After talking to zoning we learned that the property was allowed to continue as the Triplex setup even with the new zoning and this one had some special permission to have other work done too. All that to say, doesn't hurt to ask. Just keep your details vague to not flag the property.

    720-466-3378
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  • James CarlsonBusiness Member
    Real Estate Agent · Colorado | stan.store/JamesCarlson · Member since 2014 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    5y

    @Ross Carpenter

    I agree with Dan above. Any question around zoning, mother-in-law suites, ADUs, house hacking, etc., Denver's zoning department is my first call. Ask for a planner of the day -- someone who is on call for these questions. They may not answer, but they'll usually call you back within a day or two, max. 

    In an ideal world, the property would have been used as triplex for decades and would fall under a "non-conforming use," which is the technical way of saying it's grandfathered in. I agree about keeping the details vague, though at some point -- if you want to confirm this particular property's allowable uses -- you'll have to ask someone at zoning about this address. I think they have better things to do than crack down on something like this when they weren't aware of it in the past, but that is a risk. 

    Good luck!

    [email protected]720-460-1770
    James Carlson Real Estate
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