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Council approves land-use changes to align ADU and parking rules with state law after debate; amendment passes 5-2
Summary
Fort Collins City Council approved amendments to the Land Use Code on second reading to align accessory dwelling unit and multi-dwelling parking rules with state law, passing the measure 5-2 after councilmembers removed a provision tying water/sewer hookups automatically to ADU classification.
Fort Collins City Council on Tuesday approved amendments to the Land Use Code to align local rules with two Colorado House bills that change rules for accessory dwelling units and parking for multi‑dwelling developments. After debate and an amendment addressing definitions and clarity, the ordinance passed on second reading by a 5-2 vote.
The second-reading package clarified several definitions, including explicit language that a single-unit dwelling may include an attached ADU and that detached ADUs are permitted as described in the new section 3.1.9. Council also removed proposed language that would have automatically classified accessory buildings with water or sewer as ADUs pending a broader discussion of fees and capital expansion impacts.
Public comment on the item included objections that the state bills and the city's proposed code changes moved too quickly and might shift costs and service burdens to neighboring property owners. Rich Stave, a resident who spoke during the public comment period, characterized the state provisions as creating unclear responsibilities for utilities, emergency services and insurance and said the local implementation was premature.
"There isn't a fair reporting mechanism. And there's no relevant, timely, transparent data that supports any of this," Stave said, urging the council to delay implementation.
City planning staff told council the section regarding water and sewer hookups was removed from the ordinance at this time because charging ADU fees tied to water/sewer installation could impose an unintended burden on small accessory projects such as a studio or garage conversion. Staff said they plan to return to council in a future work session to examine distinctions between accessory buildings with plumbing and true ADUs and to consider whether fee or code changes are needed.
Councilmember Olson said the change reflects a desire to avoid unintended consequences for homeowners who install small accessory plumbing features for nonresidential uses. Several council members asked staff to bring forward proposed tree-protection and landscape-inspection adjustments and to ensure any future ADU fee proposals are transparent about capital expansion charges.
The council adopted the ordinance with the following roll-call result on the amendment motion: yes votes from Arndt, Canonico, Pat Yandi, Pina Taro and Francis; no votes from Olsen and Gutowski (motion passed 5-2). The ordinance implements state-required changes to permit ADUs up to 750 square feet and clarifies code language to reflect state statutory requirements.
Staff indicated they will present the policy and code-user feedback at a March work session and return to council with any recommended policy changes, including tree-protection and mitigation policies, in the second quarter.
Votes and next steps: Council adopted the ordinance as amended on second reading (5-2). Staff will follow up with a March work session to discuss code-user feedback and a later session on tree preservation and mitigation policy.
