Fort Collins City Council OKs land use code, cuts density plan for some neighborhoods

A new land use code got initial approval from a majority of Fort Collins City Council late Tuesday, but not before it was amended to remove the potential for duplexes from exclusively single-family neighborhoods.

Council voted 5-2 to adopt the code on its first reading. It'll have one more vote, scheduled for Oct. 17. Council members Kelly Ohlson and Susan Gutowsky voted against approval.

Council member Shirley Peel proposed the amendment to strike the provision in the draft code to allow duplexes in the low-density residential zone, known as RL. This zone encompasses 23% of all land in the city.

The code as presented to council Tuesday would have allowed duplexes as long as one of these conditions was met:

• It's on a lot that is 100 feet or wider.

• One unit is deed-restricted affordable housing.

• It uses the existing structure.

• The lot is within a quarter-mile of current or future high-frequency transit.

But council voted 6-1 to accept Peel's amendment.

In proposing it, Peel said she has agonized over the land use code and as she has spoken with residents, she concluded the community is split right down the middle.

"I'm always about meeting halfway" and finding compromise, she said, and asked if anyone on council would support removing four items for reconsideration at some point in the future: one item allowing duplexes in the RL zone, one allowing triplexes in low-density Old Town and two that allowed six-plexes and cottage courts in medium density Old Town. Ultimately, her amendment addressed only duplexes in the RL zone.

With so much community disagreement, she said it felt tempting to simply refer the land use code to voters, fearing its passage will only lead to another community effort to repeal the code, followed by a potential future ballot measure that would cause more delay.

But there's so much in the code that is good and that most people can support, she said. Removing the toughest sticking points and returning to them in the future could allow progress to continue, she said.

Ohlson said it didn't make sense to "go after" existing neighborhoods when they make up such a small percentage of the density increases the city hopes to achieve: Fully residential zones make up 6% of the potential increase in density under the new code. Mixed-use zones make up 71%, and commercial zones make up 23%.

But because he was unwilling to consider revisiting duplexes in the RL zone at a future date, Ohlson voted no on Peel's amendment.

Council member Julie Pignataro voted against the amendment, saying the revised code is already a compromise. She said it was disinformation to say the revised code was essentially unchanged from the repealed code, as some residents who spoke during public comment expressed.

The new draft does address community concerns heard when the process was rebooted earlier this year and is different from the repealed code, she said.

In voting to approve the code Mayor Jeni Arndt read a prepared statement: "What I'm really voting for in my heart is the future of Fort Collins," she said.

"Fort Collins is fundamentally an idea. It's an idea that we all belong here. That we're creators, innovators, students, retirees, families, people of all racial, social, economic backgrounds, gender identities, abilities, sexual orientation."

Fort Collins is in the Smithsonian as a city of invention, she said: "We're creators. We tolerate failure because we value giving something new a try.

"In this vote, I think it's the very idea of Fort Collins that's at stake.

"Fort Collins can't stand still in time. The concept is that we look forward and we plan for the future while preserving the idea that is Fort Collins, and it's the idea that makes Fort Collins a place we all love, a place where we wave at each other even though we don't know each other yet. And that is why I feel so passionate about the land use code.

"I'm willing to take compromise, I'm willing to keep working on this together with this community.

"To me, this is a 10-year plan, and with further reductions it might be a 5-year plan. I'll take it. We're moving forward, and we're going to do it together."

In voting no, Ohlson said he opposed the code as written in 2022 and opposes this code now because of its accessory dwelling unit (ADU) provisions, "the emphasis on alienating, for 3% perhaps of the land mass ... a large percentage of people in this town."

"The distrust that it builds for their local government, to me, (the code is) not worth the cost."

He said it's not fair to change the rules of the game on those who already purchased homes with certain expectations.

Ohlson said he is open to discussion that actually might create affordable housing, such as by mandating it: "This could could actually harm affordable housing" if homes that are already affordable are torn down to make way for something new.

Mayor pro tem Emily Francis said council has been talking about affordable housing for a long time and housing is vital to the community's success: "The No. 1 thing I hear about is that it's an intergenerational issue," for older adults trying to downsize so they can age in place, families struggling to make ends meet and kids who are homeless.

"No, we cannot grow our way out to affordability, but we can intentionally plan for the future of our community," she said.

Francis said the code is the linchpin of the city's housing, climate and transportation goals.

Gutowsky said she opposed the code, largely because there is no mandate for affordable housing. "We encourage, we recommend, but there's no teeth."

She doesn't think this code helps the people who need it most — those earning 30% or less of the area median income, and the focus should be on them.

She also has concerns about investors converting houses into rentals that aren't affordable housing.

Are ADUs going to be allowed everywhere?

The code as passed still allows all residential zones, other than manufactured housing, to have an accessory dwelling unit.

How would density change in other residential zones?

In low-density Old Town, to be known in the future as OT-A, single-family homes are allowed, and ADUs are only allowed if a lot is 9,000 square feet or larger. Under the code as passed, up to three units could be allowed on a lot if one of these conditions is met:

• It's a duplex plus an ADU.

• It uses the existing structure.

• It includes a deed-restricted affordable housing unit.

In medium-density Old Town, to be known as OT-B, up to four units are currently allowed on a lot. Five units would be allowed under the new code. Six units would be allowed if both of these conditions are met: One unit is affordable housing and the development uses the existing structure.

The new code also defines a housing type called cottage courts, which incorporate courtyard features, but only on larger lots.

In low-density mixed use zones, or LMN, there would be no cap on density for units that include affordable housing. For other projects in the zone, the cap would increase from nine units per acre to 12 units per acre.

What does the new code allow HOAs to regulate?

It says homeowner associations can enforce their covenants for external aesthetics, "including, but not limited to, site placement/setbacks, color, window placement, height, and materials with the intent of furthering compatibility with the existing neighborhood."

This could include setting rules for whether ADUs can be located inside a home or external.

But an HOA provision can't prohibit or have the effect of prohibiting ADUs when the city's code allows them, according to the new code language. It also prohibits HOAs from disallowing subdivision of a lot if the land use code allows it.

Will there be an owner-occupied requirement for ADUs?

After two summer work sessions, council was in support of adding a provision requiring the property owner to live on a lot whenever there is an ADU, either in the main home or additional unit.

But Senior Assistant City Attorney Brad Yatabe said Tuesday there are some legal concerns about it. There are prohibitions against laws that discriminate against certain individuals or business owners. For example, a local person can comply with a requirement to live on-site, but someone who lives farther away cannot.

Now the code stipulates that if the owner doesn't live on the property, they can designate a resident manager instead.

Mayor Jeni Arndt asked staff to clarify what other cities are currently mandating.

Other notable provisions

• The code would expand affordable housing incentives to more places in the city. It also would create incentives not just for rental housing projects but also for owner-occupied projects.

• It would lengthen the term that an affordable housing development would have to remain price restricted, from 20 years to 60 years.

• It would relax parking requirements for multiunit projects, but especially for affordable housing, as an incentive.

• It would allow basic development review for affordable housing projects to help projects qualify for state funding.

What isn't changing?

• Occupancy rules (U+2).

• The overall development review process, which includes requirements for public meetings.

• Landscaping requirements.

• Historic preservation requirements.

• Environmental/natural resources requirements.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Fort Collins land use code gets council OK with amendments to one zone