First - To whoever captioned that photo: Sterling Ranch is NOT in Littleton. Not even the same county as Littleton. A hundred and fifty years ago that area was referred to as Littleton. 

Next - That layout with the "mother-in-law" apartment is popular because it offers homeowners the chance to rent out an apartment to enable them to buy a home they could not otherwise afford. Denver is full of folks running a de facto boarding house to pay their mortgage.

Last - I hope the developers are not allowed to build homes that exceed their secured water rights. Nor are they allowed to exceed those rights when homeowner's lawns begin to die in that shadeless desert.