To: Board of County Commissioners
Through: Bryan Weimer, Director, Public Works and Development Department
Prepared By:
prepared
Gretchen Ricehill, Project Specialist / Planner, Long-Range Planning Section, Public Works and Development Department
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presenter
Presenter: Jason Reynolds, Division Manager, Planning Division, Public Works and Development Department; Gretchen Ricehill, Project Specialist, Long-Range Planning Section, Public Works and Development Department
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Subject:
title
1:00 PM *Revisions to the Comprehensive Plan Amendment Process due to SB24-174
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Purpose and Request:
recommended action
The purpose of the study session is to inform the Board of County Commissioners of a provision of Senate Bill 24-174 (SB24-174), which amended C.R.S. §30-28-106, and made the master plan, i.e., the Comprehensive Plan, “subject to the approval of the county commission having jurisdiction thereof.” Previously, such plans were adopted solely by planning commissions. With the passage of SB24-174, comprehensive plans, master plans, and amendments thereto are now subject to the review and approval of county commissioners.
Staff requests the Board’s input and direction on how it prefers to review and approve comprehensive and master plans as well as subsequent amendments. Two options are included in this report. Additionally, staff will inform the Board about and outline the process of concurrently reviewing rezoning and Comprehensive Plan amendment applications.
In addition, SB24-174 requires the development and submittal of a local Housing Needs Assessment (HNA) by December 31, 2026. Community Resources staff would like to receive direction from the Board on best next steps for the HNA.
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Background and Discussion: Arapahoe County’s Comprehensive Plan was adopted by the Planning Commission in 2018. It is an advisory document that contains the community’s vision, goals and aspirations over a 10-to-20-year period. Included in the Plan are land use maps which illustrate the County’s future vision and desired development patterns by broadly categorizing areas into land use categories such as urban residential, heavy industrial, open space, regional commercial, etc. The Plan and its associated future land use maps are used by elected and appointed officials, County staff, developers and others to guide growth and development decisions.
Working in concert with the Comprehensive Plan is the County’s Land Development Code (LDC). The LDC is the regulatory framework for implementing the goals and aspirations expressed in the County’s Comprehensive Plan. This document, which includes zoning regulations, is the collection of rules and regulations that dictate how a property can be developed, such as specific uses allowed, building height, setback, minimum parking, and building design among many other requirements.
Senate Bill 24-174 was signed into law May 30, 2024. Ostensibly, the primary purpose of the bill was to address the state’s support for sustainable affordable housing. However, among other things, the bill inserted language that requires changes to the process by which counties in Colorado approve comprehensive and master plans.
With the passage of SB24-174, adoption of all comprehensive and master plans remains the duty of county planning commissions as it was in the past, but the plans are now also “subject to the approval of the county commission having jurisdiction thereof,” C.R.S. §30-28-106. In Arapahoe County this includes not only the 2018 Comprehensive Plan but also the subarea plans of Byers, Strasburg, and Four Square Mile; as well as the 2040 Transportation Master Plan, the Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan, the Open Spaces Master Plan, the Hazard Mitigation Plan, and any other long-range plan referenced in and under the umbrella of the Comprehensive Plan.
At issue is the process by which the Board will approve these plans going forward as well as any subsequent amendments.
Current Procedures:
Currently, the Comprehensive and related subarea plans of Byers, Strasburg, and Four Square Mile are reviewed and approved by the Planning Commission during a public hearing. Following approval, the certified plan is sent to the Board of County Commissioners. The process of approving other County master plans such as the 2040 Transportation Master Plan and the Open Spaces Master Plan, has varied. For example, the Transportation Master plan was first approved by the Board of County Commissioners and later approved by the Planning Commission during a public hearing. On the other hand, the Open Spaces Master Plan was presented to the Planning Commission during a study session, followed by a public hearing before the Board.
After adoption, from time to time the Comprehensive Plan and subarea plans require amendment which ensures that they remain current and relevant. The procedures for reviewing plan amendments are outlined in Comprehensive Plan, Appendix A and vary depending on the type and degree of amendment:
- Inadvertent text and map errors are approved by the Planning Manager following a presentation to the Planning Commission.
- Major amendments requested by County staff and the general public are approved by the Planning Commission following a public hearing. In these cases, certification of the Commission’s action is sent to the Board of County Commissioners.
The requirements of SB24-174 will change the way that the County reviews and approves new and updated Comprehensive Plans, Master Plans, and subarea plans as well as privately and publicly initiated amendments. Staff have outlined two procedural options for the Board’s input and consideration. Both are illustrated in flowcharts on slides 7 and 8 of the attached PowerPoint presentation.
Option 1 -Public Hearings
In this option, the Planning Commission conducts a public hearing and approves or denies the draft plan or amendment request. If denied, the plan or amendment request is not forwarded to the Board for action. If approved, the Board also conducts a public hearing and decides whether to approve or deny the application.
Option 2 - Ratification
As in option 1 above, the Planning Commission conducts a public hearing and makes a decision to approve or deny the plan or amendment request. If approved, the application is forwarded to the Board as an Agenda item. No public hearing is conducted, but the Board hears public comments and a brief presentation from staff outlining actions taken by the Planning Commission.
It is important to note that although state legislation mandates the Board of County Commissioners’ approval, in Arapahoe County Comprehensive and other related subarea and master plans will remain as guiding, and not regulatory, documents.
Concurrent Review: Rezoning & Comprehensive Plan Amendment Applications
County Planning staff often receive applications from property owners requesting that their property be rezoned, a process which requires public hearings before the Planning Commission and the Board of County Commissioners. There are 10 criteria for approving rezoning requests, one of which is general conformance with the Comprehensive Plan and by extension, applicable subarea plans.
In cases where the underlying land use (as shown on the Comprehensive Plan’s future land use maps) does not align with the requested rezoning, the property owner is also required to apply for a Comprehensive Plan Amendment to ensure that the requested zoning is in general conformance with the Comprehensive Plan (criteria 10). An example of this would be if the mapped future land use designation is “residential, single family” and the rezoning request changes the property’s zoning from residential (such as R-2-A) to commercial (B-3, for example).
As detailed in this report, Comprehensive Plan amendment requests require Planning Commission approval, and now the review and approval of the Board of County Commissioners. Planning staff propose allowing both the rezoning application and the amendment application to be processed concurrently (refer to slide 9 in the attached PowerPoint presentation). This not only will shorten the review process for applicants, but it will also add clarity and detail which is currently absent from amendment applications that are processed independently and in advance of related rezoning applications. In the past, when reviewing amendment applications, the Planning Commission often wanted to understand development details such as building characteristics, parking, and traffic generation - details not required for these types of applications.
Whether to allow concurrent reviews will be determined by the Planning Manager subject to the proposed project meeting the following criteria:
- The proposal is the result of, or advances the goals/requirements of new state legislation (example: Transit Oriented Communities HB24-1313).
- The proposal would have an economic benefit (example: adding residential to a commercial area which supports area vitality, infill and redevelopment projects, increased density along commercial corridors).
- The proposal would advance goals in the County’s strategic plan such as providing sustainable development strategies, implementing smart growth that fosters healthy communities, or increasing housing diversity, accessibility, or affordability.
Next Steps:
The discussed procedural changes require amendments of both the Comprehensive Plan and the Land Development Code. The Development Application Manual (DAM), which, among other things, details review procedures and application requirements, will also need to be amended. Public hearings before the Planning Commission and the Board of County Commissioners to consider these procedural changes will be scheduled later this spring and summer
Housing Needs Assessment
SB24-174 requires that a Housing Needs Assessment (HNA) be submitted by a local government that meets requirements by December 31, 2026. The bill does specify that local governments can be exempt from this requirement if “the local government participates in the creation of a regional housing needs assessment pursuant to section 24-32-3704 that is updated no less often than every six years, provided that, to be exempt from the requirement to conduct and publish a local housing needs assessment by December 31, 2026, the regional housing needs assessment must be completed by December 31, 2026.” Although Arapahoe County will have completed a Housing Needs Assessment as a part of our Consolidated Plan for Housing and Urban Development (HUD), this assessment was completed to meet HUD requirements and does not meet the State guidelines established by SB24-174 in full. Arapahoe County would need to fund an additional Housing Needs Assessment to meet the requirements of this bill. Arapahoe County’s Community Resources and Public Works and Development participated in the creation of the regional HNA completed by DRCOG and can utilize this participation to meet the requirements. In order to do so, we must conduct a public review of the assessment, at a public meeting, during a designated time period.
Fiscal Impact: Other than staff time, there are no direct fiscal impacts to the County related to incorporating the requirements of SB24-174. If the Board chooses to have Arapahoe County undergo an additional HNA, rather than participating with DRCOG’s assessment, there will be an additional cost.
Alternatives: N/A.
Alignment with Strategic Plan:
☐Be fiscally sustainable
☒Provide essential and mandated service
☐Be community focused
Staff Recommendation: It is the recommendation of the Public Works and Development Department that the Board direct staff to implement procedural Option 1, which requires public hearings before both the Planning Commission and the Board of County Commissioners when adopting or amending the Comprehensive Plan and its related master and subarea plans.
Concurrence: Public Works and Development staff consulted with the Community Resources Department and the County Attorney’s office, which assisted in the development of the procedural options presented in this report.