In the near future, development proposals for residential and commercial properties could face significantly more restrictive preconditions than they do today.
That’s because petitions for two citizen-initiated ordinances have met the threshold for submission to the Estes Park Town Board for acceptance as is, or for that elected body to refer the issues to town residents in a special municipal or coordinated election to determine whether or not proposed development constraints should be enacted.
Both initiated ordinances are related to development requirements in the Estes Park Development Code, including all applications for rezonings and planned unit developments.
One of the initiatives would eliminate the density bonuses in RM Multi-Family Residential zoning districts for attainable and workforce housing and the associated building height limits.
The second initiative calls for two-thirds of property owners within 500 feet or less from the outermost boundaries of property proposed for rezoning or for a PUD to provide written approval of the plan.
Should the proposed ordinances be accepted by the town board, or approved by residents, development proposals such as annexation, zoning, and PUD proposals from Elkhorn Lodge and the previous proposal from Springhill Suites along with the Estes Park Housing Authority’s plans for its property on Riverside Drive, the Fall River Village PUD, and the Fish Hatchery Development are examples of future proposed projects that could be affected.
Town Clerk Jackie Williamson issued a notice of petition sufficiency to the petitioners on June 13, verifying that 246 valid signatures from registered voters within the Town limits had been received.
In accordance with C.R.S. title 31, a voter protest may be filed through June 25 with the Town Clerk for failure of any portion of a petition or circulator affidavit to meet the requirements of the title. The content of the ordinances is not grounds for protest.
If no protests are received by the Town Clerk, the Town Board will consider the petition at its July 8 meeting.
The board’s options will be to adopt the ordinances as submitted or refer the ordinances to the voters at a special municipal or coordinated election. A majority vote of registered electors is required to approve the ordinance. Click here for Town Board meeting information. Click here to review the petitions and notices of sufficiency. For more information, please contact the Clerk’s office at 970-577-4777.