For the first time in more than 20 years, Greeley gets a development code update. Here are the highlights.
By Kelly Ragan
The city will update its development code for the first time in more than 20 years, largely in an attempt to increase the variety and affordability of housing in Greeley.
City council voted unanimously to approve the final updates at a meeting Sept. 21.
The changes aim to follow the vision put forward by the Imagine Greeley Comprehensive plan adopted in 2018.A significant chunk of the updates aim to address the concept of “missing middle housing,” which generally means options other than single-family homes. Here are some of the highlights.
Housing options
The city’s Comprehensive Plan outlines a priority to include a wide range of housing options to help communities grow and adapt with changing markets and demographics. The plan aims to encourage a variety of price points and lifestyles.
The city has tackled some of that with updates to allow for smaller lot sizes. The update code also addresses encouraginges more housing types and sizes and requires a mix in larger developments, according to the city. The revisions include:
Shifting the regulations to emphasize options such as duplexes, townhomesand small apartment buildings in the Residential-Medium and Residential-High density zone districts rather than only on single-family homes
Reduces the minimum lot size in the Residential-Low zone district — think single-family homes — from 6,000 square feet to 4,500 square feet and provides additional options for even smaller lot sizes in the Residential-Medium and Residential-High zone districts.
Provides additional options for Accessory Dwelling Units (think a granny flat or mother-in-law suite, which functions as an attached or detached accessory apartment on the property) in the Residential-Medium zone districts
Clarifies regulations related to manufactured housing and adds additional options for other small-format housing types, like mobile homes.
Over the summer, city staff, the Greeley Planning Commission, and city council engaged in robust discussion over occupancy limits.
A plan approved and recommended by the Greeley Planning Commission (a scaled back version of the city staff recommendation) proposed allowing medium-density residential zones to tie the number of unrelated people living together to the number of bedrooms in the home.
In June, city council voted to quash changes to the city’s occupancy limits in a 5-1 vote. Councilmember Tommy Butler was the lone no-vote.
Planned unit developments
This change works in conjunction with the newly established allowance for smaller lot sizes. Until now, a PUD was one of the only ways a developer could work with smaller lot sizes with single-family homes.
A PUD allows for more flexibility and creativity in a specific area because that area is all developed under one master plan.
Until the development code update, the two-step PUD process could be costly and time-consuming, according to the city.
The code update allows for a couple significant changes that aim to simplify the process.
It creates a one-step PUD process that treats a PUD more like a zone district. So, it’s less cumbersome to establish.
New developments such as The Cache, a 788-acre metro district out west, is an example of a project taking advantage of a PUD.
It also includes smaller lots and other housing types in some residential zone districts, along with adjusting the setback standards to account for smaller lot sizes, according to the city. The allowance of additional housing types (think duplexes and townhomes) is an effort to encourage a more diverse housing mix.
Non-conformities
Zoning regulations change over time as different city councils vote on new standards.
That means that some structures throughout the city may be in zones appropriate for industrial work but are used for single-family homes. That’s because, until the 1980s, residential homes were allowed in non-residential zones. While that changed, the houses were grandfathered in under a “nonconforming” tag.
While the nonconforming designation let homeowners stay in their homes, it put restrictions on their ability to expand or make changes to the structure. Even if they wanted to refinance their mortgage, they could run into trouble.
The development code update aims to tackle this.
It offers options to encourage folks to stay in their existing homes, a reflection of city council’s priority to maintain established neighborhoods.
The idea is to allow for housing rehabilitation, infill development, and neighborhood improvement projects.
So, how does that read in the code itself?
As long as previously “nonconforming” properties comply with the other zone district standards (read: don’t get too wonky), homeowners can make changes.
Parking requirements
The city’s Comprehensive Plan aims to cut back on large parking lots. The goal is to encourage more folks to walk and bike using planning and design to make the city less dependent on cars.
So, the development code update makes some changes to parking requirements, including
Incorporates the current parking maximums and providing a range of options for any parking request that significantly exceeds the required minimum parking
Incorporates existing flexibility for parking and adds specific criteria for a new emphasis on on-street parking, bicycle parking, and shared parking
Coordinates with updates to the landscape code
Perimeter landscaping
The city’s Comprehensive Plan aims to ensure that design and construction positively contribute to the character of the community (read: make it look good, not ugly). Landscaping is a big chunk of that aesthetic consideration.
Landscaping offers a buffer that eases the transition from one part of the city to another. In the previous code, there was some overlap on terms such as perimeter landscaping and buffer yards, which caused some confusion.
The development code update combines overlapping regulations for simplicity’s sake.
Placemaking
The city’s Comprehensive Plan prioritizes creating distinct community focal points to create a sense of place. It outlines that newly developed neighborhoods should be designed to connect, enhance, and reinforce that sense of community.
The development code update addresses this placemaking concept with a couple revisions.
Enhances neighborhood identity features and amenities to create a sense of place
Strengthens open space connections to existing, surrounding residential and commercial developments
Encourages active commercial areas by allowing buildings to be built closer to the public sidewalk, provided the entrances have additional windows and parking is located to the side or rear
Increases opportunities for people to gather and mingle by allowing plazas and other similar areas to contribute to open space requirements.
Simplification of standards
It’s been nearly 25 years since the city’s development code was last updated. The city admits it wasn’t always easy to follow or understand – hence the goal to simplify and streamline.
One of the goals of the update, according to the city, was to comprehensively reorganize, reformat, and update the existing code to create predictable, flexible regulations with clear criteria and options for creative solutions.
In an effort to make the code more user-friendly, the code includes these changes:
Provides clear intent statements and design objects to help guide decision making and support the goals, objectives, strategies and action items found in the 2018 Imagine Greeley Comprehensive Plan, Strategic Housing Plan, and Council 3-Year Priorities
Provides clear and simple standards to create a predictable development process
Revises the existing alternative compliance process to help staff and applicants find creative design options and solutions
Consolidates related code requirements and standards into easy-to-read tables and charters for easier use
Provides diagrams and illustrations for better understanding