Broomfield, CO Accessory Structures: Garage Conversions (2026)

Broomfield's services expansion fee, chapter 3-28, charges $1.00 for every square foot of total floor area on new residential construction under section 3-28-040(B), payable before the building official issues a certificate of occupancy. Section 3-28-050 lists exceptions to that charge, and subsection (B) covers two distinct situations relevant to garages: first, garages and unfinished basements built as part of brand-new residential construction are not counted toward the fee in the first place; second, and separately, garage conversions or additions to existing dwellings, homes that already exist, are not subject to the services expansion fee at all when the owner later finishes that space into living area or adds on.

That means a homeowner turning an attached garage into a bedroom, home office, or in-law space owes no services expansion fee on the converted square footage, even though a brand-new house of the same size would be billed $1.00 per square foot under section 3-28-040(B). The exemption is narrow: it covers only this excise tax under chapter 3-28. The conversion still needs its own building permit and inspection under the adopted building codes referenced in section 3-28-030(A), and other city fees tied to that permit, plan review, or utility connections are unaffected. Section 3-28-050 was adopted with the original 1995 ordinance and amended in 1996 and again in 2019.