Commissioners shelve property development rule edits

JUN-JUL 23-16

2:00 & 7:30 PM

Pace Center

BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

After area residents expressed fears that a proposed change to property development policy in Douglas County would allow more “high-density” multifamily buildings, the county’s elected leaders decided to shelve the plan, setting the stage for a revised form.

County sta had portrayed the potential change as minor edits that would clarify confusing language.

“I just don’t want to leave anybody with the interpretation that we were trying to vastly change the zoning regulations and we got caught. Because that’s not at all what was going on,” said Commissioner Lora omas during the May 9 meeting.

She added: “I thought we were just trying to do something to clarify language.”

At issue was a plan to edit the criteria that developers need to meet to make changes to “planned developments,” meaning land in a special type of zoning that applies to certain areas. (Zoning is a local government’s rules for what can be built where.)

After hearing more than a dozen speak against the proposal, along with dozens of other comments the county received from residents in April, the group of Douglas County residents who advise the county’s elected leaders on development — the county Planning Commission — on April 17 voted 5-1 against the language changes.

BUY TICKETS NOW AT PARKERARTS .ORG e planning commissioners serve as an advisory group, and the county’s board of three elected commissioners — George Teal, omas and Abe Laydon — generally make the nal call on development decisions in areas outside of municipalities. e county heard concerns that the change “would make the process for someone to amend a planned development much easier or to get a development of a di erent type approved much easier — that it would be a signi cant thing,” Steven Koster, assistant director of planning services for Douglas County, has told Colorado Community Media. “And I’m not sure exactly how that understanding came to be.” e county commissioners on May 9 voted to “table” the plan, and county sta indicated that a revised plan could come back to the commissioners for a vote at some point.

‘Not meant to be a fossil’

An area with “planned development” zoning can feature a mix of property types — including residential, commercial, recreational and others — in a way that standard zoning districts can’t, Koster said.

Planned developments are also intended “to encourage innovative and creative design,” Douglas County’s zoning policy says.

Planned developments can be small or spread over a large area: Highlands Ranch is a planned development, for example.

Over time, planned developments can change, or be “amended,” if the county gives the OK. At issue during the April 17 county Planning Commission meeting was a proposal to edit the criteria that would allow for those changes.

Among several approval criteria, the sta held up two for edits. ey included:

• A change from the wording

“Whether the amendment is consistent with the development standards, commitments, and overall intent of the planned development” to “Whether the amendment is consistent with the overall intent of the planned development”; and

• A change from the wording

First Fridays In Castle Rock

First Fridays kick o June 2

How does Castle Rock celebrate Fri-YAY? With the First Fridays Concert Series — the perfect way to kick o the weekend and enjoy a summer evening in Castle Rock. e free, family-friendly event takes place every rst Friday of the month from June through August in Festival Park, the heart of downtown.

e lineup features a variety of musical genres, from high-energy dance music and smooth sailing yacht rock to classic country mainstays. Kick o the night at 5 pm. with dinner and drinks from a variety of food trucks and our full-service cocktail bar. ere also will be fun crafts for kids to enjoy before the live music begins at 6 p.m.