Home Additions in Colorado Springs, CO

A home addition in Colorado Springs answers to two offices. The City of Colorado Springs sets zoning limits through its Unified Development Code, and the Pikes Peak Regional Building Department reviews the construction plans and inspects the work. Depending on the lot, the Hillside Overlay, the Historic Preservation Overlay, or wildfire rules can add a third review. Our crew plans each Colorado Springs addition by confirming those limits before designing the footprint.

Setbacks and Lot Coverage by Zone

The City’s residential dimensional standards set how close an addition can come to each property line. In R1-6, the front setback is 15 feet or the average of adjacent properties facing the same street, whichever is greater, with 5-foot interior sides, a 15-foot street side on corner lots, and a 15-foot rear setback for the house. In R1-9, the front is 25 feet, interior sides are 5 feet with 15 feet combined, and the rear is 20 feet. In R-E, the front and rear are both 25 feet and interior sides are 10 feet.

Lot coverage caps the footprint. The table lists 30% for R-E and 35% for R1-9. For R1-6 it lists 40% with a lot-size scale, from 55% on lots of 5,000 to 6,500 square feet down to 40% on lots over 8,500 square feet. Maximum building height is 35 feet in R-E, R1-9, and R1-6.

The City notes that different standards in an overlay district or neighborhood protection standards supersede the table. We confirm the zone and any overlay on the specific lot before sketching, because a rear addition that fits one zone may not fit the next.

What PPRBD Needs in an Addition Submittal

PPRBD states that residential additions cannot be reviewed as a walk-through; they must be submitted. The package includes a plot plan (1 inch = 20 feet recommended) showing property lines, front, side, and rear yards, and all existing and proposed site improvements. It also includes foundation, floor, and roof framing plans, a building section, exterior elevations, and floor plans of the addition with the adjacent existing rooms.

Energy documents are attached: an IECC certificate or REScheck printout, a Residential HVAC Equipment Certificate, and duct layouts with calculations for large additions or heat-loss calculations for small ones. The roof plan must show building orientation for solar-ready zones. Where roof slopes facing 110 to 270 degrees exceed 600 square feet, 300 square feet of solar-ready zones must be shown, each at least 5 feet wide and 80 square feet.

PPRBD also requires a soils report and engineered foundation design at the time of first inspection. Site-specific plans need sign-off from City zoning and from PPRBD’s floodplain, addressing, construction, and mechanical reviewers.

Review Rounds and Plan Changes Cost Time

The plan review fee is a percentage of the building permit fee, based on the square footage of the proposed construction. PPRBD charges $100 per hour for each review after the third, and changes to an approved plan, called splices, are reviewed at $50 per hour with a $50 minimum. The City’s zoning department may charge its own fees.

PPRBD does not publish a fixed turnaround for addition reviews. What we can control is the number of rounds. A complete, clearly drawn first submittal limits back-and-forth, and settling design decisions before submittal avoids paid splices during construction.

Hillside Overlay Lots

Some Colorado Springs lots sit inside the HS-O Hillside Overlay. For any attached residential addition in the overlay, the City requires a Hillside Site Plan stamped by a Professional Engineer. It shows existing and proposed grades at the structure’s corners, a limit of disturbance at least 15 feet from the structure, and the vegetation to be kept or removed, including scrub oak clusters and trees 12 inches in diameter.

Hillside elevations show the height envelope measured from existing grade; the allowance for an attached addition is 35 feet for a pitched roof unless an approved development plan says otherwise. A lot-specific geologic hazard report or waiver is also required, reviewed by City Engineering and/or the Colorado Geological Survey separately from the permit, with its own fees.

Before permit approval, the corners must be staked with a 5-foot offset for a fire vegetation inspection, and the limit of disturbance fenced with a 4-foot construction fence. No grading, excavation, or vegetation removal is allowed before the permit is fully approved.

Historic Districts and Wildfire Areas

In the City’s Historic Preservation Overlay, a new structure or modification to an existing one requires historic review. In the North End, requests are evaluated against the Old North End Historic District Design Standards and Interpretive Guide. An addition’s massing, roofline, and materials all come under that review.

The Colorado Springs Fire Department administers wildland-urban interface construction requirements under City Ordinance 26-18, Appendix K, and uses its Wildfire Risk Map to determine whether an address is inside the overlay. We check both maps early.

Built for Local Snow and Wind Loads

PPRBD’s design criteria set a ground snow load of 43 psf below 7,000 feet of elevation and 57 psf at or above it, with an ultimate design wind speed of 130 mph for typical homes and Exposure Category C. An addition’s roof framing, headers, and connections are designed to those values, and conventional framing that exceeds IRC limits needs a Colorado-licensed design professional’s seal.

How We Sequence a Colorado Springs Home Addition

We start with the lot: zone, setbacks, coverage, height, and whether the Hillside, Historic Preservation, or wildfire overlay applies. Then come the soils and foundation engineering, drawings, energy documents, and any hillside site plan or geologic hazard report, followed by the PPRBD submittal.

Once the permit is issued, inspections follow PPRBD’s sequence: footing, foundation, foundation drain, and foundation insulation, then framing, rough trades, insulation, and the building and energy finals. We tie the addition into the existing house at the stage the approved plans call for. In Colorado Springs, an addition moves fastest when zoning, overlays, and PPRBD review are settled before excavation.

Common Questions

How close to the property line can I build an addition in Colorado Springs?
It depends on the zone. In R1-6, interior side setbacks are 5 feet and the rear setback for the house is 15 feet. In R1-9 the rear is 20 feet, and in R-E it is 25 feet. Overlay standards can supersede these.

Can PPRBD review my addition plans while I wait?
No. PPRBD states that residential additions cannot be reviewed as a walk-through and must be submitted for plan review.

What extra steps apply on a Hillside Overlay lot?
The City requires an engineer-stamped Hillside Site Plan, hillside elevations, a lot-specific geologic hazard report or waiver, and pre-permit site inspections. No grading or vegetation removal is allowed before permit approval.

Does an addition need a soils report?
Yes. PPRBD requires a soils report and engineered foundation design at the time of the first inspection.

Talk to Us About Your Project

Tell us what you want to add and where on the lot it would go. We handle the permit process through PPRBD and coordinate zoning checks, overlay reviews, engineering, trade scope, and inspections for Colorado Springs home additions.