Aurora ADUs and parking minimums: how HB 24-1152/24-1304 shape the UDO
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Colorado’s 2024 statewide ADU and parking-reform laws are now rippling into Aurora’s local zoning code updates. Residents planning accessory dwelling units (ADUs) or considering new multifamily projects—especially near transit—may see changes in how Aurora’s Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) handles both ADU approvals and minimum parking expectations.
Why Aurora’s UDO update matters for everyday housing decisions
Aurora isn’t updating its zoning code in a vacuum. The City is working to bring UDO language into alignment with two 2024 Colorado laws: one aimed at making ADUs easier to permit, and another aimed at limiting minimum parking requirements for certain multifamily developments near transit.
Engage Aurora’s Q&A page lays out the specific UDO section the City says it is amending, and it also describes what the changes could mean for residents’ common questions about ADUs and multifamily parking.
The statewide ADU baseline: HB 24-1152 (signed in 2024)
HB 24-1152 is the state’s ADU reform package. In plain terms, it requires local governments to allow one ADU as an accessory use to a single-unit detached home through an administrative approval process (in places where single-unit detached homes are allowed).
The law also restricts what local jurisdictions can require for ADUs. For example, it prohibits a subject jurisdiction from requiring a new off-street parking space in connection with the construction or conversion of an ADU, except under limited circumstances. It also limits what a city can require regarding whether the ADU is owner-occupied (with a narrow exception related to proving the owner’s residency at the time of application).
On design and dimensions, the law limits the ability to apply “restrictive” design or dimensional standards to ADUs compared to the standards for the single-unit detached dwelling.
And the bill directly addresses private restrictions: the signed law says certain provisions in declarations, bylaws, or rules that conflict with the statute are void as a matter of public policy.
The statewide parking baseline: HB 24-1304 (signed in 2024)
HB 24-1304 is the parking-reform law. It limits minimum parking requirements for qualifying multifamily/residential development located within an “Applicable Transit Service Area.”
The statute defines those transit areas using a map and distance-based criteria around specific types of transit stops, stations, and routes. For covered approvals, the law takes effect on or after June 30, 2025: municipalities (and counties, under parallel language) generally cannot enact or enforce local laws that establish a minimum parking requirement that applies to covered multifamily and certain adaptive reuse land-use approvals when the project is at least partially within an Applicable Transit Service Area.
HB 24-1304 also includes guardrails for residents. It says the minimum-parking limits do not lower protections for people with disabilities under federal law. It further blocks local governments from adopting maximum parking requirements in covered situations.
Where Aurora is applying the state rules: UDO Section 146-4.6
Engage Aurora says the City is amending UDO Section 146-4.6—Aurora’s parking standards section—to demonstrate compliance with HB 24-1304.
According to Engage Aurora, the proposed UDO changes would adjust the applicability statement and revise Table 4.6-1 so that:
- Qualifying multifamily and mixed-use developments located in Applicable Transit Service Areas would be exempt from minimum parking standards.
- Expansions and certain changes in use that result in at least 50% multifamily (when located in Applicable Transit Service Areas) would be exempt from needing additional off-street parking.
- New multifamily dwellings meeting the conditions above would have no parking requirement under the updated table, while multifamily not in Applicable Transit Service Areas would still require parking.
Engage Aurora also flags process changes residents may notice: the Q&A states the City’s proposed update includes removal of a conditional use permit and public hearing for ADUs, with ADU permitting review handled through building-permit plan review and inspections.
Engage Aurora further notes that at the June 9, 2025 regular City Council meeting, Aurora’s City Council voted to oppose these proposed zoning-code changes.
What residents should ask before applying
Because Aurora’s rules have to track both local zoning districts and the state’s transit/eligibility criteria, it helps to ask the right questions early:
- Which UDO section controls the project at my address (especially for parking and ADU-related standards)?
- For parking: is the proposal located within an Applicable Transit Service Area as defined under HB 24-1304?
- For multifamily projects: does the project meet the state-linked multifamily conditions described by Aurora’s UDO update page (including the 50% multifamily threshold in Applicable Transit Service Areas)?
- For ADUs: does the property qualify under the state’s requirement that ADUs be allowed as an accessory use where single-unit detached homes are allowed, and what administrative approval steps apply?
- Are there private restrictions (like HOA or other association documents) that could conflict with what state law allows?
Where to follow the UDO update
Engage Aurora hosts the resident-facing Q&A for this UDO update focused on multifamily parking and ADUs. It’s a good starting point for understanding which parts of Aurora’s UDO the City says it is changing—and which changes are tied directly to Colorado’s HB 24-1152 and HB 24-1304 requirements.
Sources
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