Aurora council directs staff to draft UDO amendments to expand small‑lot housing options

Brandon Camarata, a manager in the Planning and Business Development Department, told the Aurora City Council on Nov. 3 that staff and consultants are preparing code amendments to expand small‑lot and compact housing options citywide and simplify related design standards.

Cam arata said the project began in May, involved roundtables and one‑on‑one sessions with developers, and followed a staff code audit. "This is basically the same presentation that we made in October to the PED committee," he said, adding the work aims to address existing UDO constraints that limit small lots largely to subarea C.

Why it matters: staff and consultants said expanding small‑lot options could provide more product types and price points, support reinvestment in existing neighborhoods, and better leverage transit‑served areas. Chris Brewster, vice president at Multi Studio, told the council the team recommends three focus areas: greenfield (expanding options in area C), infill (allowing small‑lot types in areas A and B), and design standards (simplifying and adding flexibility).

The consultant udit found the current UDO approach adds stacked layers of standards that make approvals cumbersome. Brewster said the code generally regulates the right design issues but in a way that "it's far too complex," which can reduce predictability for developers. He described options the team will explore, including reducing formulaic caps on small lots, adding flexibility for "green court" arrangements (homes oriented to shared green space rather than always fronting a street), and consolidating design standards across residential districts.

On building materials, Brewster said the consultant will examine the city's long‑standing masonry requirement. "We want to have a community conversation about where and how we might relax or reduce some of the masonry requirements," he said, noting masonry has been used as a proxy for quality but alternatives may meet durability and aesthetic goals.

Parking was a prominent topic. Brewster recommended treating parking as a block‑scale resource and exploring consolidated or rear/alleyard access to reduce curb cuts and protect streetscape quality. He said the team does not expect widespread reductions to parking quantity except in clearly walkable or transit‑served contexts, but suggested alternate layouts (shared stalls, block‑scale lots) could increase efficiency.

Council members asked about landscaping, water‑wise frontages, materials flexibility (including architectural metals), and thresholds for when front‑loaded garages become incompatible with narrow lots. Council member Bergen said she supported allowing small lots in areas A and B to increase homeownership options in established neighborhoods; Council member Hancock pressed for water‑efficient streetscape solutions. Brewster said the team is coordinating with the Connecting Aurora transportation plan and the parks, recreation and open space update.

Next steps: Brewster said staff expects to begin drafting code amendments in November and December and to introduce formal amendments into the adoption process around January. At the end of the study session the mayor asked if there were any objections to staff moving forward; the council recorded none and directed staff to proceed.

Background: small‑lot options were enabled in Aurora's 2019 UDO but have been largely limited to subarea C and to formulaic percentages within master plans, which developers and staff say has constrained broader application.

What to watch: proposed draft amendments are expected to be released for public review and formal hearings in the coming months, with transportation and parks coordination continuing.