Edgewater, CO ADU Rules in 2026: A 750-Square-Foot Cap and a $668,682 Median Price

Oct 25

Quick answer: Edgewater allows one accessory dwelling unit (ADU) on a lot with a detached house in five residential districts, capped at 750 square feet and smaller than the house, with no extra parking space counted for it. Redfin's Edgewater median sale price was $668,682 for the three months ending September 2026.

By Nick Ahrens, Colorado real estate broker license FA.100104470, eXp Realty, LLC

If you are shopping Edgewater, CO for a house where you could later add a backyard cottage or a basement apartment, the rules changed in 2025. Colorado's ADU law, HB24-1152, made cities like Edgewater allow one ADU alongside a detached house, and Edgewater rewrote its zoning code to match.

The city rules below come from Edgewater Ordinance No. 2025-16, adopted on second reading on June 17, 2025, and the state rules from the HB24-1152 session law, approved May 13, 2024.

How big can an ADU be on an Edgewater, CO lot?

Up to 750 square feet of total floor area, and it must be smaller than the main house on the same lot.

Edgewater's new definition sets three limits on an ADU:

Total floor area no more than 750 square feet
It cannot equal or exceed the area of the main house it goes with
It sits on the same lot as that house, which must be a detached house

The definition covers internal, attached and detached units, so a basement apartment, an addition or a separate cottage can all qualify. The code treats a detached ADU as an accessory building, so those standards apply to it too.

The size rule matters most on small houses. On a 700-square-foot house, the ADU has to come in under 700 square feet, even though the cap is 750. State law sets a floor here: a city cannot block ADU sizes between 500 and 750 square feet, though it can still require an ADU to be no larger than the main house.

My read: if your plan needs the full 750 square feet, measure the main house first; a listing's square footage is only a starting point.

Which Edgewater lots can carry an ADU?

Lots with a detached house in the R-A, R-1, R-2, R-C1 and R-PD districts, five of Edgewater's ten zoning districts, and detached houses make up about 49.5% of Edgewater's homes.

Ordinance 2025-16 adds "One ADU" to the permitted uses in each of those five districts. The state rule applies wherever a city allows a detached house, so the house type on the lot comes first.

Edgewater housing units: about 2,589 in the Census Bureau's 2020-2024 American Community Survey, margin of error 235
Detached single-unit houses: about 1,282, or 49.5% of all units, margin of error about 8.7 points (about 40.8% to 58.2%)
Median year built for Edgewater's homes: 1958, margin of error 3 years

Those are survey estimates across all housing units, owned and rented, including apartments; the rest are attached units and apartments, which do not carry the one-ADU right.

What does Colorado's ADU law add for an Edgewater buyer?

Four protections, with limits: the city must approve an ADU by staff review with no public hearing, cannot require owner occupancy or a new parking space in most cases, and an HOA cannot ban one outright.

Staff approval: HB24-1152 requires an administrative approval process that "cannot be elevated to require" a public hearing
Owner occupancy: a subject city cannot require the owner to live in the house or the ADU, though it can ask the owner to show they live on the parcel when they apply to build or convert one (that does not apply when the ADU is built at the same time as a new house)
Parking: a city cannot require a new off-street space for an ADU except in a narrow case with no existing driveway or garage and a block where street parking is prohibited. Edgewater's own table asks for 2 spaces per dwelling unit for houses in R-A, R-1, R-2 and R-C1 and leaves ADUs out of that count
HOAs: the law voids HOA declarations, bylaws and rules that restrict ADU creation in ways it prohibits, but an HOA can still apply reasonable restrictions

The limits: the Colorado Division of Local Government's ADU guidance says a city may still require proof of water supply or wastewater capacity, charge generally applicable impact fees, apply its fire, building, utility and stormwater codes, and regulate short-term rental of an ADU.

My read: the law makes an ADU easier to approve, not cheaper to build, so budget permits, fees and utility work as their own line.

Which parcels fall outside the state ADU law?

Three kinds, which the law calls exempt parcels: lots without public water and sewer service, historic properties outside a historic district, and lots in a floodway or a 100-year floodplain.

On an exempt parcel the state's one-ADU guarantee does not apply, so the city's own code controls. Check all three before an offer:

Floodplain: look up the address in the FEMA Flood Map Service Center and see whether the lot sits in a mapped floodway or 100-year flood zone
Historic status: ask the city whether the house is a designated historic property
Water and sewer: ask the seller for a recent water and sewer bill to confirm the house is on public service

Is an 80214 address governed by Edgewater's ADU code?

Only if the house is inside Edgewater, which covers 14.9% of 80214's land in the Census Bureau's 2020 relationship files; the rest is Lakewood, Wheat Ridge and Denver.

City of Lakewood: 74.7% of 80214's land
City of Edgewater: 14.9%, and all of Edgewater's land is in 80214
City of Wheat Ridge: 9.5%
City and County of Denver: 1.0%
Jefferson County: 99.0% of the zipcode

All four cities are on the state's list of HB24-1152 subject jurisdictions, so the one-ADU floor applies in each of them. Size caps, setbacks and fees still come from each city's own code, and this guide covers only Edgewater's. Land is not homes, so run the address through the Jefferson County Address Lookup to see which city it sits in.

How do you check an Edgewater house for ADU potential before you offer?

Confirm the city, the zoning district and the flood status, measure the main house, and ask the city about fees and water before your inspection deadline.

Confirm the city with the Jefferson County Address Lookup
Find the zoning district on the City of Edgewater's address zoning map (R-A, R-1, R-2, R-C1 or R-PD carry the one-ADU use)
Check the FEMA flood map for a floodway or 100-year floodplain
Measure the main house so you know your size ceiling under the 750-square-foot cap
Ask the city's building and planning office about permit fees, utility requirements and short-term rental rules

My read: I would get these answers inside the inspection period, not after closing. The city's answer on fees and utilities is what turns a plan into a number.

How is the Edgewater housing market moving in 2026?

Redfin's Edgewater median was $668,682 for the three months ending September 2026, down 2.9% from a year earlier, at $377 a square foot, down 9.92%.

Homes sold in September: 21, up from 19 a year earlier
Median days on market: 18, against 39 a year earlier
The wider 80214 zipcode: a $604,822 median, up 8.5%, at $322 a square foot, with 84 homes sold in September

Twenty-one sales in a month is a small sample, so a few large sales can move the median. In the 2020-2024 survey, about 35.8% of 80214's housing units were detached houses (margin of error about 3.5 points), median year built 1969.

Where should an Edgewater ADU home search start?

Start with the Edgewater and 80214 detached-house searches, then narrow by price.

The city: Edgewater single-family homes for sale from $600K
The zipcode: 80214 Edgewater houses for sale from $600K
By price: Edgewater houses from $600K to $800K, Edgewater single-family homes from $800K to $1M and Edgewater single-family homes from $1M
The rest of 80214: Lakewood single-family homes for sale from $600K and Wheat Ridge single-family homes for sale from $550K
Beyond Edgewater, the Front Range bands: Front Range houses from $600K to $800K, Front Range houses from $800K to $1M and Front Range houses from $1M
Budget and HOA questions: my Front Range buyer costs page and west metro HOA and no-HOA homes guide

For more on Edgewater, see my Edgewater 80214 15- vs. 30-year loan comparison and the Wheat Ridge vs. Edgewater price comparison.

Which Edgewater house fits an ADU plan?

Pick the lot and house that clear the rules first, then compare price.

Choose an Edgewater detached house for an ADU plan if:

It sits in the R-A, R-1, R-2, R-C1 or R-PD district
The main house is larger than the ADU you have in mind, up to the 750-square-foot cap
The lot is outside any mapped floodway or 100-year floodplain

Choose an attached home or condo in Edgewater if:

You do not need a second unit on the lot

Look at the Lakewood or Wheat Ridge part of 80214 if:

Your plan needs more than 750 square feet, and you are ready to check that city's own ADU code before you offer

Keep looking if:

The address is a designated historic property or in a mapped floodplain and the city will not confirm an ADU path
Your budget has no room for permits, fees and utility work beyond the price

Broker view: "In Edgewater I check the zoning district and the flood map before the kitchen. The 750-square-foot cap only helps if the lot qualifies." - Nick Ahrens, eXp Realty, LLC

What this guide does not cover: ADU rules in Lakewood, Wheat Ridge and Denver; Edgewater's lot size, setback, height and bulk plane standards; permit, impact and utility tap fees; construction costs; rent from a unit or short-term rental rules; financing an ADU; and property tax effects.

Sources: City of Edgewater Ordinance No. 2025-16 (adopted June 17, 2025); HB24-1152 session law (approved May 13, 2024); Colorado Division of Local Government ADU guidance page; Redfin's Edgewater and 80214 housing market pages (three months ending September 2026, checked October 25, 2026); Census Bureau 2020 zipcode relationship files (land shares); Census Bureau 2020-2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates (units in structure, median year built).

Looking at an Edgewater house with ADU plans? Send me the address and the size of unit you have in mind, and I will check its city, zoning district and flood status before you write an offer. Call or text 949-230-3625, or request a tour.

Frequently asked questions

Can I add an ADU to an Edgewater, CO house in 2026?

On most lots with a detached house, yes. Edgewater Ordinance 2025-16 lists one ADU as a permitted use in five residential districts (R-A, R-1, R-2, R-C1 and R-PD), capped at 750 square feet and smaller than the main house, on a market where Redfin's median sale price was $668,682.

Does an Edgewater ADU need its own parking space?

Not under Edgewater's parking table, which asks for 2 spaces per dwelling unit for houses in the R-A, R-1, R-2 and R-C1 districts and leaves ADUs out of that count. HB24-1152 also bars most rules that require a new parking space for an ADU.

Can an HOA stop an ADU on an Edgewater lot?

Not outright. HB24-1152 voids HOA declarations, bylaws and rules that restrict ADU creation in ways the law prohibits in subject jurisdictions such as Edgewater, though an HOA can still apply reasonable restrictions.

Is every 80214 address inside the City of Edgewater?

No. By land area in the Census Bureau's 2020 relationship files, Edgewater covers 14.9% of 80214, Lakewood 74.7%, Wheat Ridge 9.5% and Denver 1.0%, and each city applies its own ADU code beyond the state rules.

Nick Ahrens is a Colorado real estate broker (license FA.100104470) with eXp Realty, LLC, helping buyers and sellers across Denver's west metro. Call or text 949-230-3625, or request a tour.

Nick Ahrens