This content was originally published by the Longmont Observer and is licensed under a Creative Commons license.
Longmont is finalizing The City's Land Use Code with a new update (the first in almost 2 decades).
It is a long and complex document, but, if you're interested in building a house in Longmont, or in modifying an existing home in Longmont, or just purchasing an existing home in Longmont, you should have a copy of this for reference.
This is not, quite, the final version, but, it's very close.
You can view and/or download a PDF of this document at by clicking here.
Cover Letter from City Staff to the Zoning Commission:
PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION COMMUNICATION
City of Longmont, Colorado
Introduction
At last month’s meeting on October 25 th , Tareq Wafaie with Clarion Associates, provided an overview of discussion topics related to the Zoning Districts chapter. The conversation on the draft of the Zoning Districts and Use Regulations chapters has been continued to the November 15 th meeting. The Commission is being asked to provide input and direction on the draft overall as well as specific discussion topics identified below and in the draft document.
Attached to this communication is a public working draft of the zoning districts and use regulations sections of the code (Attachment 1). Also included is a transmittal memo that provides an overview of the content included in the zoning districts and use regulations chapters (Attachment 2). Public comment on these draft code sections and responses to survey questions has been solicited. The on- line survey was administered over the course of several weeks in September; in addition the Neighborhood Group Leaders Association (NGLA) and the Chamber’s neXt Young Professionals were also surveyed at recent meetings. Survey responses will be presented at the meeting. Public comments received were included in the October 25 packet. Any additional comments will be provided at the meeting.
Discussion Topics
Zoning Districts
At the meeting in October, the Commission provided detailed information on a number of items addressed in the zoning districts section of the code. Specifically, the Commission provided direction on:
• Types of residential uses permitted in the proposed Residential – Single Family (R-SF) zone
• Consideration for secondary uses in residential zones, particularly the proposed Residential –Mixed zone
• Minimum and maximum setbacks
• Appropriate building heights within specific zoning districts
A complete summary of this discussion is included in the minutes from the October 25 th meeting; the draft of these minutes is included as Attachment 3 to this communication.
Project Title: Land Development Code Update – Zoning Districts and Use Regulations
Meeting Date: November 15, 2017
Staff Planner: Brien Schumacher, 303-651-8764,
Erin Fosdick, 303-651-8336
Use Regulations
Building off the discussion that was started in October, the code update team is interested in feedback on the draft use regulations. The use regulations chapter provides detailed information on the uses that are allowed within specific proposed zoning districts. Staff has several specific questions, which are outlined below.
Single Family detached housing in the MU-D district and other MU districts (e.g. MU-C)
There are areas within the proposed Mixed-Use Downtown (MU-D) districts that contain single family detached homes; in the current code these are a limited use the Central Business District (CBD) zone. These areas include the 500 to 800 block of Kimbark Street, 200 blocks of Coffman and Emery Streets, and 200 to 800 blocks of Terry Street. Other examples are north of 9 th Avenue in the existing Commercial (C) district. Downtown districts are typically reserved for more dense residential development mixed with commercial uses with a more active streetscape than is provided by detached housing. Existing single family homes have been part of Longmont’s downtown for a long time. Some have been converted to business uses, but many remain as residences or have been converted back to residences over time. These areas include some properties that are architecturally and historically significant and can help provide transition between more intensive downtown uses and surrounding residential neighborhoods.
Question: Should single-family detached housing be allowed in the MU-D district
If not allowed, should existing single-family homes downtown be preserved or allowed to
transition to commercial uses?
Refer to discussion footnote 146 on page 50
Secondary uses in residential, mixed and non-residential districts
Envision Longmont established secondary uses within each of the Plan’s land use categories. Examples include multi-family uses in Mixed-Use Employment (MU-E) or smaller scale commercial uses in Residential-Mixed (R-MI) and Residential-Multi-family (R-MF) districts. Through this update to the Land Development Code, appropriate limits on secondary uses should be put in place. There are a number of methods to regulate secondary uses including overall amount of a use within a zoning district, locational criteria or specific review procedures. Feedback gathered through the survey administered on line and with the NGLA indicate mixed support for smaller scale commercial uses in residential neighborhoods. 39% of respondents were support, while 14% indicated they might be supportive under specific circumstances; 47% were not supportive of smaller scale commercial uses.
Question: Should secondary uses, such as multi-family in the MU-E district, be limited to 49% or less of a particular zoning district?
Question: Should secondary uses, such as smaller scale commercial uses in the R-MI or R-MF districts, be limited to specific streets within a district or specific street types or intersections (e.g. arterials or collectors only)?
Question: Should specific review procedures, such as a secondary or conditional use review, be developed for secondary use reviews?
Refer to commentary section on page 60
Uses subject to residential protection / transition standards
Envision Longmont contains specific goals and policies that aim to maintain and enhance the character of established neighborhoods. One method identified during this update to the Land Development Code is developing transition standards for specific areas and/or specific uses. Transition standards in other communities are achieved through separation standards, performance standards or a combination of the two. There has been considerable community interest in this portion of the code update. Recent survey data shows several items were identified as being important in providing adequate transition between zones. Respondents suggest the top items are: building massing and height (67%), architectural design/compatibility (55%), buffers/landscaping/screening (69%), limiting nuisances (79%) and limiting hours of operation (55%).
Question: Are there specific areas where transition standards should be applied (e.g. adjacent to historic neighborhoods and single family neighborhoods)?
Question: Are there specific uses that should trigger transition standards when they are located adjacent to another district?
Question: Are there other ways that would be appropriate to apply transition standards?
Refer to discussion footnote 68 on page 23. Also note that this topic will be explored in more detail with the draft development standards chapter.
Accessory Dwelling Units
Currently, accessory dwelling units (ADUs) are permitted in all residential zoning districts as accessory to single family detached dwellings, subject to additional standards, including limits on density for a specific zoning district. In the current code draft, ADUs are a permitted accessory use to single family homes in several districts. On average the City permits approximately 5 ADUs each year. There has been some discussion that ADUs are one method for providing more affordable housing within the community. In the recent survey conducted as part of this code update 65% of respondents supported allowing ADUs outright (50%) or allowing them under specific circumstances (15%). Architectural design/compatibility and parking were the two items identified as most important for the City to regulate.
Question: Should ADUs be subject to additional dimensional standards within a specific zoning district (e.g. minimum lot size) or additional ADU size limits?
Refer to discussion footnote 322 on page 74.
Heavy Industrial Uses
As part of the public working draft, heavy industrial uses were not carried forward since those types of uses generally do not currently exist in Longmont The current code defines heavy industry as uses that have impacts that extend beyond the building and property line and affect the broader zoning district or area of the City; this could include uses such as intensive manufacturing, salvage yards, rendering, etc. Those types of uses are permitted in the General Industrial (GI) and Rail Park (RP) zoning districts; neither of these districts have been carried forward with the draft zoning districts.
Question: Should heavy industrial uses be considered?
If yes, should there be a separate district?
If not in a separate district, should these types of uses be allowed in another proposed zoning district, such as Primary Employment (N-PE) subject to location and/or performance standards?
Refer to discussion footnote 210 on page 56
Zoning map update
A brief overview of the zoning map update process will be presented at this meeting. Staff is currently working on the map conversion process and plans to bring a draft to the Commission at their meeting on November 29 th .
Attachments
1. Public working draft of zoning districts and use regulations
2. Transmittal memo
3. Draft meeting minutes from October 25 meeting
https://youtu.be/6w-nwXg58BU
