Category: Land Development Code

Timeline Determined for “Second Phase” of Land Development Code Amendments

On Tuesday, February 22nd, Longmont City Council settled on a timeline for the “second phase” of amendments to the Land Development Code (LDC). These amendments encompass not only that portion of the LDC dealing with riparian setbacks and wildlife protection, but also the timeframe for completing supporting tools/documents such as a sustainability system for evaluating development and that portion of the Wildlife Management Plan that deals with development along riparian corridors/near open space areas.

This timeframe indicates August 1, 2019 as the due date for such amendments. The timeframe was based off of a timeframe developed by City Staff (see below).

Timeline for second phase LDC amendments as proposed by City Staff. Except for the RSVP and Main Street Corridor, these pieces of the LDC have a deadline of 8/1/2019.

To view the full discussion of the Longmont Development Code amendment priority and timeline discussion, watch the following video, which has been cued up to the start of that discussion:

https://youtu.be/4wTjEhe5HiE

Land Development Code Updates on 1/22 City Council Agenda

Longmont City Council will be discussing the timing and priority of updates to the second phase of the Land Development Code (which includes the parts of the code dealing with habitat and riparian protections) during the Tuesday, January 22nd City Council meeting. The City Council meeting will be held at 7:00pm at the Civic Center. The City has contracted with Clarion Associates to make the development code updates.

Stand With Our St. Vrain Creek is asking that citizens concerned about our St. Vrain river corridor attend the January 22nd council meeting and to wear green. It is important that council prioritize changes to the development code that strengthen restrictions on development along the riparian corridor in order to protect this important resource.

In preparation for the meeting, City staff has provided the following documents. Click on the picture of each document to access the link to the full text.

thumbnail of CC memo 01222019thumbnail of Clarion memo 01222019thumbnail of riparian current codes 01222019

 

ACTION ITEM: Attend Longmont City Council Meeting at 7pm on Tuesday, January 22nd

City Council will be reviewing and scheduling the projects they want to pursue in 2019 at the January 22nd City Council meeting. One of the these projects is the revisions to the riparian section of the Land Development Code (LDC). Staff will ask council to prioritize the projects in the order they wish staff to work on them. Also council members will be asked to choose which recommendations of Stand With Our Saint Vrain Creek’s 4/1/2018 letter they wish to include in the LDC revisions.

We ask that you please attend this council meeting and consider speaking during public invited to be heard urging council members to prioritize revisions to the riparian section of the LDC to strengthen protections and to direct City staff to amend the LDC to reflect all recommendations in Stand With Our Saint Vrain Creek’s 4/1/2018 letter.

What: City Council meeting

When: Tuesday, January 22, 2019 at 7pm

Where: Longmont Civic Center 350 Kimbark Street, Longmont CO 80501

If you can’t attend the meeting, please consider contacting Longmont City Council at the following email addresses:

Brian.Bagley@longmontcolorado.gov Mayor

Polly.Christensen@longmontcolorado.gov Mayor Pro Tem, Council Member At Large

Aren.Rodriguez@longmontcolorado.gov Council Member At Large

Joan.Peck@longmontcolorado.gov Council Member At Large

Tim.Waters@longmontcolorado.gov Council Member Ward 1

Marcia.Martin@longmontcolorado.gov Council Member Ward 2

Bonnie.Finley@longmontcolorado.gov Council Member Ward 3

Or you can use the contact form: https://www.longmontcolorado.gov/departments/city-council/how-to-contact-city-council/city-council-mayor-contact-form

ACTION ITEM: Attend Longmont City Council Meeting at 7pm on Tuesday, October 2nd

Stand With Our St. Vrain Creek has been collecting resident signatures on a petition asking Longmont City Council to protect our St. Vrain Creek corridor from damaging urban development. Specifically, we’re asking Council to delay any development/redevelopment in proximity to St. Vrain Creek until:

  1.  The Federal Emergency Management Agency approves the new flood plain maps,
  2.  The Resilient St. Vrain (RSVP) flood mitigation project’s plans and funding are in place, and
  3.  The Land Development Code’s sections concerning riparian protection and wildlife management are updated.

It does not make sense to develop areas when the new floodplain designation could change and when the design for the entirety of the RSVP has not been determined. In addition, any development/redevelopment should be done under an updated Land Development Code rather than an outdated code that is 17 years old.

We’ll be presenting the petition on Tuesday, October 2nd during that evening’s public invited to be heard portion of the City Council meeting at 7pm at the Civic Center (350 Kimbark Street). In addition, we’ll be presenting City Council with postcards from residents asking that City Council maintain the 150 foot riparian setback and enact stronger protections for our riparian areas.

We ask that you please attend this council meeting to show your support for our St. Vrain corridor and area wildlife. Please wear green.

What: City Council meeting

When: Tuesday, October 2, 2018

Where: Longmont Civic Center 350 Kimbark Street, Longmont CO 80501

First Reading of Updated Land Development Code

Thank you to those who attended the Open Forum on Tuesday night and spoke up for our wildlife, open spaces, and riparian corridors!

The updated Land Development Code is scheduled to go before City Council for a first reading on Tuesday, July 24 at 7pm at the City Council Chambers (350 Kimbark Street). A second reading is tentatively scheduled to follow on August 14. This update includes the following change (in bold) to the regulations related to the protection of rivers/streams/wetlands/riparian areas:

15.05.020 Protection of Rivers/Streams/Wetlands/Riparian Areas

F. Setbacks

3. Variances from the Setback Standards

***

a. Increased Setbacks

***

b. Reduced Setbacks

The city council, with a recommendation from the planning and zoning commission under section 15.02.060.I.3, shall reduce the setbacks if it determines that the setbacks are greater than necessary to protect river/stream corridors, riparian areas, and wetlands. The setbacks shall not be reduced to a level below the minimum necessary to provide such protection. The following criteria shall be used to identify circumstances where riparian setback reductions may be warranted:

This is an important change as it places the authority to approve or deny a request for a variance from the 150 foot riparian setback with the City Council, which is an elected body subject to voters, rather than with the Planning and Zoning Commission, the members of which are appointed. Thank you, Councilmember Waters for making this motion!

Further updates to the Land Development Code that deal with the protection of rivers/streams/wetlands/riparian areas, and habitat and species protection will come after the first phase of the Land Development Code is enacted. However, this first phase of the Land Development Code does include updates to 15.02.040, which includes standards for notifying the public about proposed developments. In this section (Table 2.2), only property owners within 300 feet of a proposed development will be notified that the developer is seeking some type of variance.

Stand With Our St. Vrain Creek is asking those of you who care about the health of our riparian areas and wildlife to contact your Council member(s) and urge them to support a more robust public notification process for development applications near St. Vrain Creek and our other open space and riparian areas. These areas are public amenities enjoyed by all Longmont residents and so all Longmont residents should be notified of, and have a say in, development applications adjacent to these properties.

 

 

 

 

 

 

ACTION ALERT: Land Development Code Updates

Longmont’s Planning and Zoning Commission will be holding a public hearing on the updates to the Land Development Code on April 25th at 7pm at the Civic Center (350 Kimbark Street). Please consider attending and speaking in favor of protecting our riparian corridors and Open Space.

Though the sections on habitat and riparian protections are not being updated at this time so their updates coincide with the revamp of the City’s Wildlife Management Plan, the section of the code involving public notification regarding developments IS being updated. Because ALL Longmont residents benefit from the St. Vrain corridor and the City’s Open Space, ALL Longmont residents should be notified when a development application is submitted for a property adjacent to the St. Vrain or City Open Space and not just those residents living within 1000 feet of the proposed development.

If you don’t wish to speak or can’t make it to the P&Z meeting on Wednesday, please submit comments ahead of time via email or by calling 303-651-8330.

Reminder: Land Development Code Public Meeting

The City of Longmont is holding 2 public meetings tonight on the proposed updates to the City’s Land Development Code. The two meetings, which will be identical in content, are being held at the Longmont Museum’s classroom at 400 Quail Road from 3:30pm to 5:00pm and 6:00pm to 7:30pm.

While the update to the Land Development Code doesn’t include changes to the sections of the code dealing with species protection and riparian setbacks, please consider attending one of the two meetings, or sending in comments, urging the City to strengthen these provisions. It is particularly important that they hear from YOU that the 150 foot riparian setback must be retained.

Comments can be sent to the Planning & Development Services Department at 303-651-8330 or via email at longmont.planning@longmontcolorado.gov.

Next Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting 1/24/18

The next Planning and Zoning commission meeting is scheduled for 7pm on January 24th at the Civic Center (350 Kimbark Street) where the commission will continue to go over the Land Development Code.

The agenda for the P&Z meeting states that “no substantive changes are proposed to [the sections of the Development Code dealing with protection of rivers/streams/wetlands/riparian areas and habitat and species protection] pending the Open Space and Trails Master Plan and Wildlife Management Plan updates, plus ongoing work on Resilient St. Vrain and the St. Vrain Blueprint.” HOWEVER, it would be good for P&Z to hear support for maintaining the 150-foot riparian setback, closing loopholes to the 150-foot setback in the Development Code, and strengthening protections for open space and natural areas, including the St. Vrain Creek corridor.

Please consider speaking during the Public Invited to Be Heard section of the meeting. You may also email City Planning and Development Services Director Joni Marsh to submit written comments.

Land Development Code Updates Open For Public Comments

The City of Longmont is currently updating its Land Development Code (chapter 15 of the Longmont Municipal Code) and taking public comment. Comments can be submitted to the Longmont Planning and Development Services Department via phone by calling 303-651-8330, via email by writing to longmont.planning@longmontcolorado.gov or by filling out this online form.

The Land Development Code contains requirements relating to development in the city, including the 150-foot setback for development/redevelopment along St. Vrain Creek and minimizing light pollution in areas of important wildlife habitat. The entire Municipal Code, including the Land Development Code can be read here.

Though these are good first steps, the Land Development Code’s protections for St. Vrain Creek and other sensitive wildlife habitats within the city could be strengthened by:

  • Expressly prohibiting artificial lighting within Longmont’s greenways, open spaces, and riparian corridors;
  • Establishing light fixture shielding requirements and vegetation buffers to minimize the impacts of light and noise pollution from nearby development on greenways, open spaces, and riparian corridors;
  • Restricting building heights adjacent to riparian areas; and
  • Minimizing the amount of impervious materials that contribute to storm-water runoff (e.g. concrete sidewalks and parking lots) near streams and other bodies of water.

We urge you to submit comments in support of stronger protections for Longmont’s natural areas, especially the St. Vrain Creek riparian corridor.