Rewrite of Eagle County’s land use regulations is ready to enter its next phase
More than a year remains to finish the process
Rewriting Eagle County’s land use code is a big job and has already been through several presentations over the past several months. There’s more than another year to go.
The March 11 session with the Eagle County Board of Commissioners, led by consultant Todd Messenger of Fairfield and Woods, along with Interim County Attorney Beth Oliver, was dedicated to the next steps in the process.
Messenger discussed ways to bring public comment into the process. That’s going to include an advisory commission. That group should have between 12 and 18 members, with many meetings being held virtually, Messenger said.
The rest of the drafting and input process is expected to last into April of 2025. Commissioner Matt Scherr asked how that schedule would, or wouldn’t, mesh with the coming building season. Projects are generally planned over the winter months, Scherr noted.
Commissioner Kathy Chandler-Henry asked about public comments, and whether those comments would be accepted in real-time or in reaction to meetings and presentations.
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Messenger said much of the public comment will be set up on a website, with provisions for emails and in-person comments.
- Evaluating policy priorities
- Determining regulatory approaches
- Receiving input on proposed details
- Drafting a proposed code
Messenger recommended that the new code be presented and evaluated in different “modules,” scheduled roughly six weeks apart. That spread-out schedule could create enough time and public comment to provide a “proper vetting” of the new code.
That code aims to simplify and modernize the current county code, with one emphasis on fewer “planned unit developments.” Those areas — there are currently 86 in the county — have specific zoning that’s been changed from the zoning originally in place on those parcels. Cordillera is currently the largest of those zones. The rules governing those developments can’t be altered without another trip through the entire county land use approval process.
Chandler-Henry noted that the next phase of the rewrite is the true beginning of drafting actual rules that will apply to land use in Eagle County.
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Oliver noted that finding members for the advisory committee will start in the coming weeks, along with providing links to housing and other county departments. Advertising for the committee is likely to begin soon.
