Housing Cost and Availability in Centennial

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The City of Centennial is conducting a Housing Study to explore housing costs and availability in Centennial to understand the entire spectrum of housing issues, define various needs for housing and identify priorities to potentially inform policy.

The Housing Needs Assessment(PDF, 3MB) identified four key needs in Centennial:

  • Increase housing production to accommodate projected household and employment growth
  • Accommodate more missing middle housing types for small-scale ownership opportunities
  • Address existing gap for low-income renters (income <$35,000)
  • Target affordable homeownership and rental strategies toward price points Centennial workers can afford

This study is a major undertaking that prioritizes community input and collaboration among a wide range of community stakeholders. This work is funded in part by the Colorado Department of Local Affairs.


Policies Being Explored

The Housing Study and Policy Development Project is currently exploring strategies that could influence the housing options and opportunities in Centennial. The strategies are progressing on separate timelines, and updates will be posted here and shared with the housing newsletter as available.

Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) are small secondary residential structures located behind the primary house or within an existing house. Alternate names for ADUs include granny flats, mother-in-law apartments, alley houses, secondary dwellings or carriage houses. City Council is considering regulations that would allow property owners to construct ADUs with appropriate height, size restrictions, setbacks and other requirements to ensure ADUs will fit seamlessly into Centennial’s neighborhoods.

Ordinance No. 2024-O-03(PDF, 279KB) passed with a 9-0 vote by City Council on May 7. The Ordinance will be effective June 15.

Learn more about ADU regulations and view building guides.

A land banking program is a tool used by local governments to buy, acquire, and hold land for later development that meets City priorities. Land banks are often eligible for external funding sources that the City may not apply to directly. Council’s research in 2024 will seek to identify land that is available and suitable for land banking to better understand the budgetary impacts and potential outcomes of starting a land bank in Centennial.

Inclusionary zoning is a program that expands the locations and availability of affordable housing by establishing a requirement that new housing developments include a percentage of affordable housing as part of the project. On June 4, 2024, a majority of Council decided (5-4) to stop researching inclusionary zoning for the City of Centennial.

An expedited review process would accelerate the approval of housing projects in areas where zoning permits residential use. This would help reduce the project timeline and expenses, which impacts the time it takes to build, contributing to reduced housing costs for the consumer (sale and rent). 

For more information about each strategy that has been researched, see the Community Housing Strategies Summary Report(PDF, 3MB).


How Did We Get Here?

The Housing Study and Policy Development Project started in spring 2021. City Council, the public and housing stakeholders uncovered Centennial’s housing challenges and evaluated strategies to address these concerns.

For a summary of the housing conversation to date, please see Visual Housing Project Timeline(PDF, 699KB)

Get Involved

Share your thoughts about any of these strategies or email comments to housing@centennialco.gov or contact 303-754-3308.

Sign up for the Housing Newsletter to receive updates.

Past Housing Documents

Public Comments and Feedback

Thank you for your input and feedback.


Neighborhood Workshop Meeting

Past Housing Presentations

Past Housing Workshop Presentations

October 4, 2022 Workshop:

August 9, 2022 Workshop: 

May 17, 2022 Workshop: