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Guiding Growth in Golden
ity Council is (at the time of printing) considering a 120 day moratorium on several key residential growth-related applications. As a result of recent increased development activities throughout Colorado and specifically in Golden, we’ve seen the construction of new structures within existing neighborhoods that are of a larger mass and scale than the surrounding homes, and are felt by some to be out of step with the neighborhood character goals outlined in Golden Vision 2030 and the Comprehensive and Neighborhood Plans. A group of concerned residents requested that staff look at existing zoning regulations, and Planning Commission and City staff are now in the process of reviewing potential amendments to the Golden Municipal Code that seek to address the bulk, mass, and scale concerns raised by the community. The 120-day moratorium will preserve the status quo and allow City Council the time needed to investigate, consider, and adopt amendments, if advisable, to the Golden Municipal Code. The moratorium will prevent the following applications from moving forward until it expires:
• T he acceptance and processing of applications for, and the issuance of, any building permit for new two dwelling unit structures in the R2 and R3 zone districts. • The acceptance and processing of applications for a Special Use Permit to allow more than 75 percent of a building in C1, C2, M2, and CMU zone districts to be used for residential purposes. • T he acceptance and processing of applications for site development plan approval for multiple household dwelling buildings. The duration of the moratorium imposed by the ordinance is reasonable in length and is no longer than is required for the City to properly develop, adopt and implement an initial phase of potential amendments to the Golden Municipal Code pertaining to regulations for the affected uses. It is our goal that owners and developers of real property affected by this ordinance, and who desire to construct new structures, will not be unfairly prejudiced by the imposition of the short, temporary moratorium proposed by the ordinance. To stay up-to-date on growth-related information, visit the Guiding Golden page www.GuidingGolden.com.
How Can Golden Shape Future Development?
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olden created a number of visionary documents over the past decade that were based on extensive community outreach and citizen input. The most visionary of these documents is Golden Vision 2030 (created in 2010), which contains the community’s “Heart and Soul” values. This two-year public engagement process netted a set of value statements that were used as the basis for the City’s Comprehensive Plan (2011), which contains the City’s policies related to land use and future development. Following the adoption of the Comprehensive Plan, Planning Commission and staff embarked on a number of new neighborhood plans in the community, which are considered
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areas of focus within the Comprehensive Plan, beginning with the Central Neighborhoods Plan (2012). The idea is to translate the community values into land use goals for specific areas of town. You can find all of the community plans completed to date on the City’s website at: www.cityofgolden.net/ CommunityPlans. With all of this work to define community values and goals in recent years, many in the community are asking why some new development does not seem to measure up to these aspirational value statements. The answer is that values, policies and goals can provide the foundation for land use regulations, but they are not
enforceable. In order to carry the force of law, the important elements of these policy documents must be translated into zoning regulations. Zoning is what Planning Commission and staff use to review new development applications and decide whether or not the applicant/ developer is meeting the requirements for Site Plan approval. If the zoning regulations do not adequately match the community’s visionary documents, then the focus for change should be on revisions to the zoning regulations. A good example of how neighborhood plans have been translated into zoning regulations in the past can be found in the Central Neighborhoods planning process. This outreach effort involved
