City of Greeley officials encourage community members comment on potential changes to household occupancy standards during the virtual Greeley Planning Commission hearing at 1:15 p.m., May 11, 2021.
Go to https://greeleygov.zoom.us/j/88438982396 to join the virtual public hearing.
At the hearing, the planning commission will consider recommending Greeley City Council approve or deny a proposed change that could increase the number of unrelated adults that may share single-family houses. The proposal would change Greeley code to allow a number of unrelated adults to live in a house based on the property’s zone and the house’s number of bedrooms as a part of this proposed new language:
Family shall mean a group living together as a single household comprised of any number of persons who are interrelated by blood, marriage, civil union, adoption, or other legal custodial relationship, plus a number of unrelated adults per the chart below. The number of household occupants must also be compliant with the International Property Maintenance Code.
| Zoning Districts | Number of Bedrooms in the Dwelling Unit | Number of Allowed Unrelated Adults* |
| R-E, R-L, R-MH | 2 or fewer bedrooms | 1 |
| 3 or more bedrooms | 2 |
| R-M | Efficiency or 1 bedroom | 1 |
| 2 bedrooms | 2 |
| 3 bedrooms | 3 |
| 4 or more bedrooms | 4 |
| All other zoning districts | Any number | Any number |
| *Plus any number of persons related to an allowed unrelated adult by blood, adoption, guardianship, or other legal custodial relationship. |
The existing rules only allow one unrelated adult in households in the R-E (Residential Estate), R-L (Residential Low Density), R-MH (Residential Mobile Home Community), and R-M (Residential Medium Density) zoning districts. All other zones allow any number of unrelated adults to share housing, and that is not proposed to change.
City officials use residential zoning districts as a tool in planning development to make efficient use of public infrastructure, ensure that residents have adequate services, and establish and maintain neighborhood character. To find out a Greeley property’s zoning, contact the city planning division at planning@greeleygov.com.
Two public questionnaires and a virtual open house hosted in March collected community feedback from residents. Common concerns with relaxing the standards included parking and traffic, property maintenance, overcrowding, noise, trash, crime, and reduced property values. Respondents in support of relaxed standards frequently cited increased flexibility, privacy, addressing unaffordability, changing demographics, providing housing stability, and economic development considerations.
The proposed update came up as one of many action items to help address the community’s housing needs outlined in the Strategic Housing Plan. Greeley City Council adopted that plan in 2019 as a response to increasing housing costs, limited housing supply, and emerging demographic trends. Greeley’s Strategic Housing Plan is a sub-element of the Imagine Greeley Comprehensive Plan and identifies key challenges in Greeley’s housing market while outlining strategies to address housing affordability and supply.
Adjusting household occupancy standards could give households that include unrelated residents access to more Greeley neighborhoods with additional varieties of style, different price points, and added locations.
At 1:15 p.m., May 11, 2021, go to https://greeleygov.zoom.us/j/88438982396 to join the virtual Planning Commission hearing live and use the Q&A or raise hand features at the bottom of the screen to request to speak during the public comment period. To provide written comments in advance of the hearing, please email cd_admin_team@greeleygov.com or mail a letter to Planning Commission, 1100 10th Street, Greeley, CO 80631.
City officials are updating the overall development code in 2021 to modernize development standards in Greeley. The proposed updates would make it easier for developers to build different housing types such as smaller houses, multi-unit houses, and rowhomes in addition to traditional single-family homes, duplexes, and apartment buildings. Increasing housing diversity in Greeley is an important strategy to help meet the community’s need for varied housing options at a wide range of prices. Find more information about the update process at greeleygov.com/CodeUpdate.