Greeley City Council approves corrections to new development code, removing omissions like accidentally forbidding childcare centers in residential zones
By Kelly Ragan
For a hot second, the City of Greeley’s development code technically forbade childcare centers and preschools (yes, even the existing ones) from residential zones. Whoops.
The omission came about with the new development code the city adopted in 2021.
“As you try on new codes, you sometimes discover there were errors or omissions,” said Becky Safarik, assistant city manager, at a recent city council meeting. “As we have applicants that come forward and we realize there’s either something that’s not clear or something that needs to be adjusted, we’re going to batch those and bring them forward.”
At a recent meeting, Greeley City Council approved an amendment to update the code to include several revisions.
This batch includes other kinks:
Minor variances
Minor variances allow for small exceptions to various zoning codes without the rigmarole of public hearings. The update clarifies that variances for setbacks, building location, or building height do indeed qualify as minor when they do not exceed one foot or 10% of the requirement, whichever is less.
Neighborhood meetings
The 2021 revised code required applicants interested in Planned Unit Developments to hold neighborhood meetings.
In the update, the city removed the requirement for meetings on PUDs and the implied requirement for neighborhood meetings on rezonings and preliminary subdivisions, reverting back to the way things were before the 2021 overhaul.
Park land dedication
The new code used an outdated formula to calculate appropriate park land dedication, according to city staff,. It had been using a household size of 2.7 people. The update brings that number up to a cool 2.74 per household using the newest Census numbers.
Home occupations
This is for the folks running businesses out of their homes. The updated code required business license renewals every three years and required business owners to notify abutting property owners of their business license application.
The revisions bump that renewal down to every two years but does not require applicants to notify nearby property owners.
Landscaping
The 2021 code required people to screen visual impacts (think things like outdoor storage) from streets.
The revisions require folks to screen visual impacts from rights-of-way instead.
Noticing
The 2021 updated code required applicants to mail notices to nearby property owners to alert them about neighborhood meetings and public hearings regarding nearby development.
The revisions now require the city to mail notices instead, with the applicant footing the bill. The idea is to improve awareness of proposed projects, according to the city.