The Estes Park Planning Commission has endorsed the staff proposal to revise the Planned Unit Development section of the Development Code. The Town Board will make a decision at its Oct. 22 meeting.

If passed, a developer can apply for what would be a “re-zoning” of any non-residential parcel of 2 acres or more to permit a PUD. PUDs are mixed use. The project could be a mix of commercial and residential uses, with higher density and increased building height limits. 

Currently, the Development Code only allows this in “Commercial Outlying” zones. There are very few of those. If this code changes, all non-residential zones could be changed.

The alarming part of this proposal is PUDs could be built along the entire commercial corridors of U.S. Highways 34 and 36 and Colorado 7. All accommodation (hotels and motels) zones, all industrial zones, all areas that are currently used for or one- or two-story shops, art galleries, childcare buildings, office buildings, restaurants, entertainment or recreation, personal services, banks or financial services can be re-developed with high density developments up to 42 feet (basically 4 stories) projects. There are some areas in town where residences or parks are in non-residential zones, and those could be converted to a PUD. 

In short, this is what the business community has wanted for decades. Estes Park could look like Steamboat Springs, which used to be a charming Western town, which now looks like a slice of Denver. The current one- or two-story buildings could be razed and replaced with four story office or retail buildings with a few apartments for workers mixed in.

There are a lot of residential areas that are adjacent to non-residential zones, and they will have to deal with blocked views, noise, traffic, and possibly parking issues. 

Just look at the houses around the large projects that have been built on Colorado Highway 7 for “workforce housing.”  This will be devastating to so many more homeowners. Even if you don’t have a house that borders a non-residential zone, is this really what you want Estes Park to look like? The staff has indicated that the new Comprehensive Plan envisioned this, but it is doubtful the residents anticipated such a sweeping change.

These are some of the provisions in the proposed code section: 

  • PUDs used to be limited to 3 acres or more. This change would reduce them to a minimum size of 2 acres.
  • Reduces minimum open space requirements for smaller properties using a tiered system. 
  • Allows modifications of building heights up to 42 feet. Currently the max building height is 38 feet for workforce and attainable housing. The new apartments on Highway 7 are this height, to give you a sense of this change. 
  •  PUDs may utilize the attainable housing density bonus (higher density, higher building heights).
  • Allows modification of parking requirements with supporting parking study.
  • Increase in density that would have required a variance application would now just be part of the PUD application. 
  • The PUD process would require notices to those within 300 feet. The staff must find that it would “benefit the community,” and their recommendation then goes to the Planning Commission, which would hold a public hearing. The Planning Commission makes recommendations to the Town Board. As we have seen over the years, the Planning Commission and Town Board rarely significantly modifies or denies a project due to public comment, so that process offers little protection. 

Please tell the Town Board to reject the proposal. Individuals interested in signing an online petition can click here.