Colorado Springs, CO Accessory Structures: ADU Owner Occupancy (2026)

304E opens the Unified Development Code's Accessory Dwelling Unit standards with an eligibility gate rather than a design rule: the property owner must demonstrate residency on the property when submitting an application to construct or convert an ADU. ADUs are only allowed as an accessory to a single-family detached dwelling, in any zone or overlay district where single-family detached homes are permitted, which already limits the use to owner-occupied single-family neighborhoods rather than multi-family or investor-held rental portfolios. The residency showing applies at the application stage, reviewed by the Manager as part of the administrative approval process, and the single carve-out is for an ADU built simultaneously with the primary dwelling, where there is no existing owner-occupancy history to document because the property doesn't yet have an occupied home.

The owner-occupancy requirement pairs with a separate restriction barring detached and attached ADUs (though not integrated ADUs) from the Wildland Urban Interface Overlay (WUI-O) district, and with the Code's ban on selling the ADU separately from the principal dwelling or subdividing the lot to isolate it, enforced through a declaration of restrictions the owner must record with the El Paso County Clerk and Recorder before a building permit issues. Together these provisions keep Colorado Springs ADUs tied to owner-occupied, single-family lots rather than functioning as a stand-alone rental product.