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DENVER — The Denver City Council has rezoned Chaffee Park to allow accessory dwelling units to be built throughout the neighborhood in the northwest part of the city.

The measure, which applies to all single-unit residential lots that are at least 4,500 square feet in size, passed unanimously Monday evening.

ADUs are small residences that are built on the same lot as another home. In Denver, the logical place to build is at the rear of a property along the city’s alleys.

The measure represented a new approach in Denver to allowing ADUs, which are also known as “granny flats” because they can keep an aging family member close at hand. While ADUs are legal in some parts of Denver, up to this point, property owners outside those areas wanting to build one have had to pay a $1,000 filing fee and ask the city to rezone their specific parcel.

About 1,400 parcels are affected by the Monday decision. Chaffee Park is north of Interstate 70, between Kalamath Street and Federal Boulevard.