Zoning codes are designed to regulate development patterns that communities understand well. But occasionally a project comes along that pushes beyond those conventional patterns—often in ways that support a community’s goals even if the code wasn’t written with that concept in mind.
That was the case with We Fortify’s second tiny home village in Colorado Springs: Prospect Village.
Sometimes when a zoning code is updated, unintended consequences emerge that require creativity and persistence to overcome. Prospect Village became a case study in how navigating a modern development code can require multiple tools, collaboration, and a willingness to move forward even when the regulatory path becomes complex.
The Mission Behind the Villages
For those unfamiliar with the organization, We Fortify is a nonprofit dedicated to creating stable housing and community for young adults aging out of foster care.
I had the privilege of being involved with the organization from the beginning, serving as Chair of the Board during its early years and continuing to serve today as a board member.
The organization’s model focuses on creating supportive communities of small homes where residents can live independently while still benefiting from a close-knit neighborhood environment and mentorship.
Because the organization had already successfully developed one tiny home village in Colorado Springs, the expectation was that the second village could follow a similar development path—perhaps with some improvements based on lessons learned from the first project.
However, regulatory changes meant that assumption didn’t hold.
Working Fusion: The First Village
The first We Fortify village, Working Fusion, demonstrated how a thoughtfully designed tiny home community could function within an urban setting.
The project received the 2024 Jury Impact Award from the Urban Land Institute Colorado, recognizing its innovative approach to attainable housing and community design.
Working Fusion includes 18 homes on just over half an acre, achieving a net density of approximately 36 units per acre. Each home sits on a chassis and is spaced roughly ten feet apart, with shared open space both in front of and behind the units.
Parking for the entire development is handled through on-street parking created by utilizing street width. Rather than dedicating land to parking lots, the design prioritizes shared outdoor space and pedestrian connections.
The east side of the property features a repurposed shipping container with an attached deck that functions as the community’s shared “living room”—a gathering space for residents and visitors.
To make this layout possible in 2018, the property was rezoned to a Planned Unit Development (PUD), allowing the zoning to be tailored specifically to the project’s design and operational needs.
Prospect Village: Expanding the Model
The second village, Prospect Village, came about after We Fortify received funding through Colorado Proposition 123, enabling the organization to purchase a larger property.
As with the first village, location was a critical factor. The site needed to be close to employment opportunities and transit so that residents could access jobs and services without relying entirely on cars.
An additional benefit was the property’s location directly across the street from Flanagan Park, providing residents with immediate access to open space and recreational opportunities.
Unlike the first village, however, the homes at Prospect Village would be placed on permanent foundations rather than on chassis units. Because We Fortify owns the land outright rather than operating under a land-lease model, permanent construction made more sense for the long-term stability of the community.
From a zoning standpoint, the initial plan was to once again rely on a Planned Development Zone District (PDZ) to define the development standards.
But by the time Prospect Village moved forward, the regulatory environment had changed.
A New Development Code Changes the Path
Between the approvals for the first and second villages, Colorado Springs adopted a new Colorado Springs Unified Development Code.
One of the primary goals of the updated code was to minimize the use of customized zoning districts such as PUD or PDZ. Instead, the code sought to incorporate more housing types directly into the base zoning framework.
Tiny home communities were included in the new code, but only as a conditional use with specific standards.
While some of those new standards aligned well with the award-winning model developed at Working Fusion, others did not fully account for the village-style layout that We Fortify had demonstrated could work successfully.
Certain dimensional standards—such as minimum lot area, spacing between homes, and parking requirements—required adjustments in order for the design concept to function.
To address those issues, the project relied on Development Standard Adjustments, which function similarly to what were historically known as non-use variances.
Navigating the Entitlement Process
Ultimately, Prospect Village required nine separate development applications to move forward:
- Zone Change (ZONE-24-0017) – From R-5 to R-Flex High
- Conditional Use (CUDP-24-0014) – Allowing a Tiny House Community
- Development Standards Adjustment (DVSA-25-01) – Minimum Defined Area per Tiny House
- Development Standards Adjustment (DVSA-24-04) – Minimum Distance from Residential Use
- Development Standards Adjustment (DVSA-24-05) – Minimum Distance from Right-of-Way
- Development Standards Adjustment (DVSA-24-06) – Parking Requirements (½ space per unit)
- Development Standards Adjustment (DVSA-24-11) – Minimum Distance Between Tiny Houses
- Development Plan (DEPN-24-0123)
- Subdivision Plat (SUBD-24-0104)
For a relatively small housing project, that may seem like an extensive list of approvals. But each application addressed a specific component of the development framework required by the updated code.
Together, they created the regulatory path necessary to allow the village concept to move forward.
Lessons for Working Within the Code
Zoning codes are typically built around conventional development patterns—single-family subdivisions, large apartment complexes, and standardized parking ratios. When a development concept falls outside those familiar models, the regulatory framework may not immediately accommodate it.
However, that does not mean the concept is inconsistent with a community’s broader planning goals.
In many cases, innovative housing models like tiny home villages support the same objectives outlined in a community’s comprehensive plan: expanding housing options, improving affordability, increasing walkability, and creating more diverse neighborhood forms.
The challenge is that these concepts sometimes require using several regulatory tools at once to bridge the gap between the intent of the code and the design of the project.
Moving Forward with Confidence
Prospect Village ultimately illustrates an important lesson about working within a modern zoning framework.
When a project introduces concepts that are unfamiliar to conventional development patterns, additional regulatory adjustments are often necessary. That is not a failure of the code—it is simply the reality of applying a regulatory system to new ideas.
Projects like this are not unusual for our team. At Urban Landscapes, a large share of our work involves proposals that stretch beyond conventional development models. Exploring those edges of the zoning code—and helping communities translate new ideas into workable regulatory paths—is part of what defines our practice.
At the same time, when the goals of a project align strongly with a community’s comprehensive plan and policy objectives, it becomes important not to hesitate simply because the approval process is complex. In the case of Prospect Village, the process was fortunate to have city staff, neighbors, and political leaders all working together toward the shared goal of making the village possible.
Projects like this require faith in the public process and a willingness to move forward with multiple applications concurrently rather than sequentially. When communities want innovative housing solutions, they must sometimes be willing to navigate regulatory complexity to make those solutions possible.
Prospect Village shows that by working collaboratively within the zoning code—and adjusting it where necessary—communities can create new housing models that better reflect their long-term vision.
If you would like to learn more about Prospect Village and We Fortify, we encourage you to check out WeFortify.org. We would be thrilled if you joined us in finding ways to volunteer with the organization or even to donate the equivalent of a good local latte of $10 to the organization every month through the PIN program! Thank you for taking time to learn more about how you can support great community and an incredible organization!