Grand Junction planning commission backs zoning changes to align with state law on household occupancy

The City of Grand Junction Planning Commission voted to forward a recommendation of approval to City Council for an ordinance that would remove family-based occupancy limits from the city's zoning code and update related definitions, Planning Manager Nikki Gailhouse told the commission.

The ordinance, introduced at the June 10 meeting, implements provisions of what staff identified as House Bill 24-1007 (referred to in the presentation as the HOME Act), which staff said became effective July 1 and "establishes that the city of Grand Junction shall not limit the number of people living together in a single dwelling based on familial relationship," Gailhouse said. The proposed code rewrite removes the term "family" from the code, replaces "single-family" with "single-unit" and "multi-family" with "multi-unit," and alters the household definition to strike the phrase limiting households to "no more than four unrelated persons."

The ordinance text also adds a household-occupancy measurement section referencing the state law and saying that occupancy limits may be set only by "demonstrated health and safety standards" or applicable…