After more than a year of public meetings, surveys, and drafting, the Town of Estes Park is preparing to unveil the halfway point in what could become one of the community’s most significant planning documents in decades.
The Town Board of Trustees will review the 50-percent draft of the proposed development code during a two-hour study session Tuesday, July 28, beginning at 4:30 p.m. The draft is intended to modernize the town’s land-use regulations while aligning future development with the Estes Forward Comprehensive Plan.
The review follows a July 21 open house at the Estes Park Museum, where residents circulated among large display boards mounted on easels that outlined the code update process, highlighted major themes, and explained what portions of the document have been completed. Estes Park planning and engineering staff were on hand to answer questions, as was Eric Krohngold, a principal with Design Workshop, the consultant for the development code update.
While many zoning code rewrites focus primarily on technical standards such as setbacks, lot sizes, and permitted uses, the proposed Estes Park code takes a broader approach.
“It’s not a cookie-cutter code,” said one architect who lives in Estes Park part-time after reviewing the draft. Rather than concentrating only on “setbacks,” he said, the document demonstrates “imagination” by attempting to shape the kind of community Estes Park wants to become.
That philosophy, he said, is evident throughout the draft.
The draft of the code, to date
Rather than serving only as a rule book, the proposed code begins by defining a vision for future development. Its stated purposes include protecting wildlife habitat and riparian corridors, preserving downtown’s historic character, encouraging innovative housing design, promoting quality civic design, supporting resilient infrastructure, and implementing the community’s comprehensive plan.
The approach reflects a shift seen in many newer development codes nationwide, where regulations are designed not only to control growth but also to advance long-term community goals.
Among the draft’s most distinctive features is the way it incorporates wildlife and environmental stewardship into land-use planning.
Instead of treating wildlife protection as a separate environmental issue, the draft weaves habitat protection, floodplains, stream corridors, and sensitive natural areas into the framework of development regulations. The emphasis recognizes wildlife as one of Estes Park’s defining community assets and seeks to make conservation part of routine planning decisions rather than an afterthought.
The document also places an unusual emphasis on readability. Throughout the draft, illustrations explain how setbacks, building heights, stream buffers, and lot measurements are calculated. Those diagrams accompany detailed written standards intended to reduce ambiguity for applicants, staff members, and property owners alike.
Another change articulates how building height is measured and regulated. The issue gained prominence following the construction of the three-story Prospector Apartments along Colorado Highway 7, a project that drew criticism from some residents who argued the buildings were out of scale with Estes Park’s traditional mountain character.
The proposed code includes detailed methods for measuring buildings on sloping sites and prevents developers from artificially increasing allowable building height by importing fill or altering natural grades. At the same time, it provides specific standards for rooftop solar panels, mechanical equipment, decorative architectural features, and clock towers, balancing flexibility with neighborhood character.
Renewable energy is accommodated more explicitly than in older zoning codes.
The draft allows solar equipment under defined conditions while requiring rooftop mechanical systems to be screened and incorporated into a building’s architectural design. Rather than treating sustainability and aesthetics as competing priorities, the code attempts to address both simultaneously.
Public participation is another area where the proposal departs from traditional development review.
For projects requiring public hearings, applicants would be required to hold neighborhood meetings before submitting formal applications. Neighbors would receive 15 days’ advance notice; applicants would be expected to present their proposals and respond to questions, and written summaries of the discussions would become part of the public record. Residents who disagree with an applicant’s summary could submit their own written responses for inclusion in the file.
The draft also seeks to make the approval process more predictable by clearly defining review procedures, timelines, decision-making authority, and appeal processes. The stated goal is to improve efficiency while giving applicants, neighbors, and decision-makers a clearer understanding of how projects move through the system.
Even the language reflects a different philosophy
Instead of relying exclusively on legal terminology, the draft explains mandatory versus discretionary standards and provides plain-language descriptions of how many regulations are intended to work. The result is a document that, while still technical, is noticeably more accessible than many municipal zoning ordinances.
Perhaps most importantly, the draft repeatedly emphasizes characteristics unique to Estes Park.
Its stated objectives reference mountain landscapes, rivers and streams, floodplains, wildlife habitat, the historic downtown, tourism, and the community’s year-round economy. Rather than adopting a generic model code, the draft appears tailored to local conditions and priorities.
Town officials describe the current document as a working draft that remains subject to revision.
The development code update began in February 2025 and has included open houses, pop-up events, surveys, public dialogues, and community deliberations. The draft is currently under staff review. Additional public deliberations are planned for August, and residents may submit comments through a survey posted on the town’s website.
The July 28 study session is expected to give trustees their first opportunity to discuss the 50-percent draft in detail before the document advances toward a final version later this year.
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