Churches need to become familiar with the sweeping changes proposed to Denver’s land use regulations—Denver’s New Zoning Code. These changes will certainly impact churches currently located or desiring to be in the City and County of Denver. We recommend that as a property owner, you go view the new zoning map to learn about the proposed new zone district for your church property.
Further, after a quick review of Draft #3 of Denver’s proposed new zoning code, it states in section 11.3.2.5 entitled “Public or Religious Assembly” that Special Exception review is being proposed for >300 seats in Residential Zone Districts and >600 seats in all other zone districts. This could be a big problem for a church owner that needs to sell its property and also for a church seeking to purchase and renovate an existing building, if your church does not comply with the seating regulations.
It’s possible that any renovation work that would require a building permit could trigger a Special Exception which is akin to a complete rezoning of the property. This could invite neighbors to object and the size of the assembly area (worship or sanctuary space) to be modified and therefore rendering the property less valuable for future church use.
If you have questions or need any help, please feel free to contact us.