You can build a house almost anywhere in Colorado.
You just can’t build one that most people can afford.
That’s the stark takeaway from a landmark zoning report released last month by the National Zoning Atlas, a group of researchers who have spent the last two years conducting a first-of-its-kind study of land use codes across 334 Colorado cities, towns and unincorporated areas.
The group found that on the vast majority of land, in the vast majority of Colorado communities, it’s not just difficult to build housing the average household can afford — it’s outright illegal.
Local zoning codes in Colorado overwhelmingly prohibit duplexes, townhouses, condominiums and apartment units, as well as single-family homes on small lots, effectively outlawing the types of housing that real estate experts say are most affordable to build.
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