HomeMy WebLinkAboutMemo - Mail Packet - 12/5/2023 - Memorandum From Paul Sizemore Re: Summary Of Neighborhood Meetings In The Land Use Code Update Process
Community Development & Neighborhood Services
281 North College Avenue
P.O. Box 580
Fort Collins, CO 80522.0580
970.416.2740
970.224.6134- fax
fcgov.com
Planning, Development & Transportation Services
MEMORANDUM
Date: November 29, 2023
To: Mayor and City Councilmembers
Through: Kelly DiMartino, City Manager
Tyler Marr, Deputy City Manager
Caryn Champine, Director, Planning Development, and Transportation
From: Paul Sizemore, Director, Community Development & Neighborhood Services
Subject: Summary of Neighborhood Meetings in the Land Use Code Update Process
The purpose of this memo is to follow up on a question raised during the work session on Council
Appeals to Quasi-judicial Decisions on November 14, 2023. During Council discussion, staff was asked to
provide a memo clarifying the status of neighborhood meetings and administrative reviews of residential
projects in the existing (1997) Land Use Code, the repealed (2022) Land Development Code, and in the
new Land Use Code adopted by Council on October 17, 2023.
Existing 1997 Land Use Code
In the existing code, housing developments are reviewed in one of three different ways, depending on the
nature of the proposal and the zone district it is located in.
Basic Development Reviews (BDR) are reviewed by staff, with staff as the final decision-maker. Public
notice occurs (sign posting and mailings); however, no neighborhood meeting is required and a public
hearing is not conducted.
Type 1 Reviews also receive a staff review and public notice. A public hearing is held and the decision is
made by an administrative hearing officer. No neighborhood meeting is required.
Type 2 Reviews are reviewed by staff and then go to the Planning and Zoning Commission for a hearing.
Public notice and a neighborhood meeting are required for these items.
Repealed 2022 Land Development Code
In the repealed Land Development Code, residential projects would have all moved to a BDR review. This
means that public notice would have been provided, but no neighborhood meeting or public hearing
would have been held.
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Adopted 2023 Updated Land Use Code
In the code adopted by Council in October (scheduled to go into effect on January 1, 2024, pending the
outcome of the repeal petition), housing projects will continue to be reviewed in the same manner as they
were in the 1997 code except for affordable housing projects. Projects that meet the definition of
affordable housing will become BDR reviews as an incentive and to maintain eligibility for Prop 123
funding. Neighborhood meetings will continue to be required for all Type 2 reviews, which go to the
Planning and Zoning Commission for hearing.
During the development of the 2023 code update, staff and Council explored options that would have
moved some other residential projects to a BDR review and instituted neighborhood meetings alongside
the administrative review; however, since Council decided to keep the levels of review and notice/hearing
requirements the same for these projects, this proposal was not implemented.
The below backup slide from the Land Use Code adoption hearings presents a more graphical view of
this information:
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