HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES Study Session EP Planning Commission 2023-01-17Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado January 17, 2023
Minutes of a Study Session of the PLANNING COMMISSION of Estes Park, Larimer
County, Colorado. The meeting was held in the Town Board Room, 170 MacGregor
Avenue in said town.
Commission: Chair Matt Comstock, Vice-Chair Matthew Heiser,
Commissioners Joe Elkins, Howard Hanson. Chris Pawson
Attending: Comstock, Hanson, Heiser, Pawson
Also Attending: Director Jessica Garner, Senior Planner Jeff Woeber,
Planner I Kara Washam, Town Attorney Dan Kramer, Town
Board Liaison Barbara MacAlpine, Recording Secretary
Karin Swanlund
Absent: Elkins
Chair Comstock called the meeting to order at 12:30 p.m.
New planner Kara Washam and new Commissioner Chris Pawson were introduced.
Consultants Mike Scholl and Matt Ashby from Ayres gave a report on medium-density
housing, or “The Missing Middle.” This has been an ongoing discussion, beginning in
August of 2021. It has been delayed due to the Comprehensive Plan rewrite and the
new Housing Needs Assessment (HNA). The new HNA suggests 2,700+ housing units
are needed in the Estes Valley. Medium density is the blending of single-family housing
and large, high-density apartment complexes. This is in contrast to the traditional lots or
units-per-acre practice. The community decides the definition of “middle” and
establishes the rules.
Benefits of medium-density housing options:
Workforce
Different stages of life
Support for transit options
Walkability
Improved neighborhood character
Opportunity for more attainable housing
Diverse price points
Multi-step process:
New zone district
Rezone applications
platting/site planning
Permitting
Planning Commission Study Session January 17, 2023 – Page 2
There are at least two options on how to integrate current neighborhoods into higher density:
-Missing Middle Open-higher scale, walkable/transit, more urban design,
-Missing Middle Limited-less dense, lower scale, natural focal point, sensitive to existing
development
The process is about customization, rules you must follow, guidelines for consideration and
adding details of how to make it work.
-Determine where zoning designation is appropriate in the geographic component
-Do areas correlate to all or a portion of the missing middle?
-What checks and balances are necessary for each category?
-Important to connect this process to the Comprehensive Plan
Director Garner stated that diversity is needed at all levels: housing, income, and age.
The accessible, easy places to build are no longer available, so we have to look deeper
and get creative.
This topic will be continued at the February 21 Study Session.
Chair Comstock adjourned the Study Session at 1:30 p.m.
Karin Swanlund, Recording Secretary