Time is running out to influence Fort Collins land use code. Here's why it matters

A draft of Fort Collins' new proposed land use code is now out, leaving about five weeks for consideration and any changes before final approval by City Council.

If you haven't been following this issue over the past year or more, here's what to know and why it matters:

Why care about the land use code?

It determines the look and feel of Fort Collins and its capacity for residents. It lays out how dense building can be, design standards, what kinds of uses are appropriate for different zones, how projects are reviewed and more.

In 2021, the city launched a process to rewrite the code, informed by the city's larger Housing Strategic Plan and including pandemic-era public outreach. The changes set out to allow more housing types, housing capacity and infill while remaining compatible with neighborhoods; to enable and incentivize more affordable housing; and to make the code more user-friendly, among other goals.

Everyone knows housing prices in Fort Collins have been on a steep incline. The median price for a single-family home stands at $625,000 now. It was $419,000 five years ago and $276,000 a decade years ago, according to Coloradoan reporting.

Proponents of changes say more housing density and diversity will moderate price escalation, allowing more people who work in the city to afford to live here rather than commuting. They say that also helps with regional traffic congestion and keeping greenhouse gas emissions lower.

But planned changes sparked concerns from others that neighborhoods would lose the character that drew them there in the first place. They say the changes will lead to quality of life issues, such as more noise, traffic and parking problems.

So after council approved the code late last year, a group of concerned residents petitioned to try and repeal it via ballot initiative. Instead of referring it to the ballot, council opted to repeal the code itself, renew public outreach and bring forward a code to address concerns.

Nine months later, a draft code is complete, at more than 500 pages. Like the repealed code, it also encompasses many things that don't seem to be controversial.

If you don't feel like reading through the latest draft, here are the things to know and what's next.

How is the proposed code different than what's in place now?

• Nearly every homeowner could have an accessory dwelling unit, as long as setback requirements are met. The exception is those who live in mobile home parks. Right now, ADUs, known as carriage houses in the current code, are allowed only on larger lots in Old Town's zoning districts.

• Existing neighborhoods could have one or two more dwelling units per lot, depending on the zone. Again, a project has to meet setback standards to get approval. In low-density residential (RL) where only single-family homes are allowed now, the code would allow a maximum of two units. In the low-density Old Town zone (NCL), where ADUs are allowed only on large lots, up to three units total could go on a lot. In medium-density Old Town (NCM), up to six units would be permitted instead of the four allowed today. In the low-density mixed-use zone (LMN), where higher density is already allowed, there would be no cap on density for affordable housing projects.

• 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 relaxes parking requirements for multiunit projects, but especially for affordable housing, as an incentive.

How does the proposed code compare with the repealed code?

It's a step back from some changes the repealed code.

• Instead of allowing up to three units in the low-density residential zone, it would allow up to two units, with some conditions. A two-unit project would have to comply with one of the following: be on a 100-foot-width lot, use existing structures, be located within a quarter mile of high frequency transit, or be an affordable housing development.

• Instead of allowing three units in the low-density Old Town district if it includes affordable housing, the code proposes that the project either integrate an existing structure or include affordable housing. This was meant to address concerns that developers would scrape lots to add density.

• Instead of allowing five units in a medium-density Old Town district without conditions, it would require a project to incorporate the existing structure. But like the repealed code, it would allow up to six units if the project includes affordable housing.

• Unlike the repealed code, the new code wouldn't change the development review process, which includes requirements for public meetings, after all. But it would allow basic development review for affordable housing projects to help projects qualify for state funding.

• The new draft more specifically addresses the impact on housing covenants, also known as homeowners association rules. It says that while covenants can regulate aesthetics, including site placement, they can't limit the number and type of dwelling units if city code says they can be allowed.

What's next?

The draft code will be presented to the Fort Collins Planning & Zoning Commission on Sept. 27 for feedback. Commissioners can offer recommendations and suggest changes for City Council to consider.

Council will discuss and is set to vote for the first time on the draft on Oct. 3. They may make changes to it at that time, approve it or reject it.

Council will vote on it a second time on Oct. 17, and they can still make changes to it, approve it, or reject it.

How do I give feedback?

• Planning & Zoning Commission meeting, 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 27, City Council chambers at City Hall, 300 LaPorte Ave. You can join remotely at https://fcgov.zoom.us/j/98805022052.

• City Council meeting, 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 3. You'll be able to join remotely, and the link will be posted on the City Council agenda that is released the week prior.

• Contact your City Council representatives, whose contact information is available at www.fcgov.com/council.

• Share your feedback by clicking on the yellow box on the city's land use code page, www.fcgov.com/housing/lucupdates.

What do people in favor of more density say about the land use code?

"We support it and we think it's a step in the right direction, but it doesn't go far enough," said Chris Conway, a Fort Collins resident and member of the YIMBY Fort Collins group that advocates for more housing choices. YIMBY stands for "Yes in my backyard."

He said the code should further reduce parking minimums and allow triplexes in more places, and review processes should make it easier for small contractors to create housing.

"We need to streamline that process," he said, because only big corporate builders have the resources to navigate the process in place now.

Flexible housing like ADUs and more inexpensive housing options like apartments are key to making the city a place that can accommodate all kinds of people, said Conway, a teacher who lives in a detached ADU in Old Town.

Conway said many of the housing types and density written into the new code are already in place in parts of the city, including his own, and said that has led to a neighborhood that is vibrant, serves diverse households and creates community.

He says the land use code changes will make it easier for kids who grow up here, like he did, to live here. It'll make it easier for residents to age in place, for immigrants to find a home and for teachers, nurses, graduate students and the elderly to get relief.

He believes if people experienced the changes in real life, they wouldn't be afraid of them.

"Most people, when they actually think about it, will see that making a little extra room for different types of people in their neighborhood is not actually something they don't want," Conway said on a recent tour of his street. "I think what people are worried about is ... change on its face. But if they come and look around my neighborhood, this isn’t gonna seem foreign to them, it's not gonna seem scary and really different from them. ... There’s gonna be a few more people that are a little lower income than in their neighborhood, and to me that ultimately brings strength to the neighborhood."

A duplex and triplex, in his neighborhood, is "oftentimes just a house that has two or three doors on it.”

What do people concerned about density say about this draft?

Ross Cunniff, a founder of Preserve Fort Collins, which formed to repeal the code last year, also said the city has taken some baby steps in the right direction with the latest changes, but he said the problem is that the changes still propose increased density in already-built-out neighborhoods.

"We're in favor of density where it makes sense," such as in future development areas and the Old Town corridor, he said.

As far as allowing ADUs basically everywhere, Cunniff said if that were the only issue, he might only grumble about it. He said allowing duplexes in low-density residential zone is the moral equivalent of ADUs.

But parking and traffic still remain concerns, and the city should ratchet up street calming activities, like road designs that reduce speeds and road diets that reduce lanes available for vehicles. "Let's do more of that so roads don't become raceways."

But Cunniff contends the code still creates a profit-motive incentive for developers in certain areas of town, especially Old Town, to scrape homes and increase density, and the protections don’t do enough or result in housing that is affordable enough.

Cunniff also believes increased density won't do much to mitigate prices. "The most optimistic thing you can say about it is you might bend the curve," he said.

He hopes for more changes to the draft before council votes on it Oct. 3. There's no real hurry, he said, because any new council members elected in November won't be seated until January.

"Get it done right rather than rush it through," which was the biggest concern the first time around, Cunniff said.

"I’m hoping that they’ll be receptive to people’s comments, whatever option they pick," he said, noting there's a difference between being agreed with and being heard. Last year, for example, he said lots of productive comments never got acknowledgement, and that makes people feel like they're not being heard.

Noah Beals, development review manager with the city, said he believes the criticisms were heard and addressed in the latest draft.

For example, the requirement that higher-density projects integrate with existing structures means lots can't be scraped to add density.

"I think this new proposed code really does address a lot of the concerns that we did hear from both sides, or all sides. And so, I think this draft is hearing and responding to all the outreach that we did."

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Fort Collins land use code draft is out: How to weigh in