Arapahoe County planning staff preview draft affordable-housing changes to land development code

Arapahoe County planning staff on Jan. 7 presented a study-session briefing on proposed changes to the county’s land development code designed to encourage development of affordable and higher-density housing along transit and arterial corridors.

The proposed package would add two new zone districts (a multifamily district and a mixed-use district), revise permitted residential uses and definitions (including manufactured, modular and tiny homes), remove minimum parking requirements for multifamily projects consistent with recent state law, and create a two-tiered incentive structure for projects that include affordable units, staff said.

Kat Hammer, Arapahoe County senior planner, told the Planning Commission that the changes are intended to provide zoning capacity rather than require construction. “Between now and 2032, Arapahoe County has a local need for 2,270 housing units,” Hammer said, and she cited larger regional estimates for the Denver area.

Why it matters: county officials said the changes aim to make it easier for developers to propose affordable units and for the county to qualify for state grant funds while preserving oversight through recorded agreements and annual reporting. Several commissioners said they supported incentives but pressed staff on enforcement, infrastructure impacts and public outreach.

Key proposals and incentives

- New zone districts: A multifamily district (13–35 dwelling units per acre, maximum building height proposed at 55 feet for multifamily) and a mixed-use district (minimum 35 dwelling units per acre, maximum 75 feet, required to be within the countys urban area and within one-quarter mile of arterial…