{"id":23913,"date":"2025-01-23T16:13:11","date_gmt":"2025-01-23T23:13:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/cortez-shares-draft-of-land-use-code-encourages-input\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T04:44:21","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T04:44:21","slug":"cortez-shares-draft-of-land-use-code-encourages-input","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/cortez-shares-draft-of-land-use-code-encourages-input\/","title":{"rendered":"Cortez shares draft of land use code, encourages input"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The
The most recent land use code open house at the Cortez Chamber of Commerce on Dec. 17, 2024. (Cameryn Cass\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

For the first time in almost 30 years, the city of Cortez is updating its land use code.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe city has grown and needs have changed,\u201d according to the city website<\/a>. \u201cThe (existing) code contains errors and inconsistencies.\u201d<\/p>\n

The work on updating it first began in April 2023.<\/p>\n

Since then, there\u2019s been 40 community listening sessions, multiple open houses, presentations, and the formation of a Land Use Code Advisory Committee.<\/p>\n

City officials and planners at Logan Simpson, a company the city hired to help with updating the code, agreed they\u2019ve tried to include the public from the start.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s always going to be differences in opinion, but in general we are getting a lot of positive feedback and support,\u201d said McKayla Dunfey, an associate planner at Logan Simpson. \u201cWe\u2019ve been hearing that this code feels appropriate for Cortez.\u201d<\/p>\n

The most recent attempt at public outreach was with an open house at the Cortez Chamber of Commerce on Dec. 17.<\/p>\n

Poster boards distilled the contents of each chapter down to a series of bullet points and included charts and graphics.<\/p>\n

The drafted chapters recently released online<\/a> mimic the simplified contents of the poster boards to make the 260-page document a bit friendlier, Dunfey said.<\/p>\n

In fact, a lot of updates to the code are in the name of user-friendliness, and they\u2019ve added visuals, charts and images to do it.<\/p>\n

The changes do not alter intent or location of existing zones.<\/p>\n

Instead, the changes are in what people and developers can do within the zones, Dunfey said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re trying to, in a lot of cases, reduce the barriers to building different housing options,\u201d said Dunfey. \u201cReducing some of these barriers can help with making housing more affordable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Which is important in Cortez, where \u201cjobs and population have been increasing more quickly than the housing supply,\u201d according to the city\u2019s 2023 housing needs assessment.<\/a><\/p>\n

That assessment indicated that more housing types \u201cacross the entire continuum\u201d are needed in Cortez, a sentiment that the community echoed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe key message and what we\u2019ve heard from the community is the need for more flexibility in housing types,\u201d Dunfey said.<\/p>\n

Changes in dimensional standards in Chapter 3, then, \u201callow for more opportunity for not super-dense, but dense<\/em>r, development,\u201d Dunfey said.<\/p>\n

Reducing setbacks on a property is a way to achieve this.<\/p>\n

It \u201callows for more flexibility on where you can situate your building on your property,\u201d which could further \u201callow you to incorporate more units because there\u2019s more space to place your building,\u201d Dunfey said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe like to clarify that we\u2019re not changing the zoning map, we\u2019re changing the rules of what you can do within those zones,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The draft code also touches on bike lanes, and says they\u2019re \u201cpreferred, but not required,\u201d especially protected ones.<\/p>\n

In Chapter 5, they\u2019ve proposed to reduce the number of required parking spaces from two to 1\u00bd for new multifamily dwelling units and a number of other housing types, like microhomes and duplexes.<\/p>\n

Parking requirements are calculated based on a property\u2019s number of \u201cdwelling units.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those reduced parking requirements cost developers less and it gives them more space to build.<\/p>\n

One thing the existing land use code does not mention is exterior lighting, so they\u2019ve included \u201csome basic standards\u201d in the updated one.<\/p>\n

Dunfey said that people had a lot to say about lighting.<\/p>\n

Some wanted the area to become dark sky compliant, while others preferred the existing laissez-faire approach.<\/p>\n

They took the \u201cmiddle ground,\u201d and said that exterior lighting should be downward directed and fully shielded as to not cross property lines.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the future, there\u2019s opportunity to build on these standards,\u201d Dunfey said.<\/p>\n

With these changes and updates, Dunfey said, \u201cexisting units are grandfathered in,\u201d so \u201cIt\u2019s not like you\u2019ll have to change anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just next time you replace your lighting cause it went out, you\u2019ll need to comply with the new code,\u201d Dunfey said.<\/p>\n

Lighting, landscaping was a major talking point.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt hasn\u2019t been an issue, just more of a question,\u201d said Jennifer Gardner, a senior associate planner at Logan Simpson.<\/p>\n

The land use code already mentions it, and includes a list of water-wise plants and materials, Gardner said.<\/p>\n

\"A
A graphic in the proposed updated land use code that details industrial landscaping requirements. (Logan Simpson\/Courtesy photo)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Another
Another graphic that details landscaping requirements in the proposed land use code for Cortez. Landscape requirements do not apply to single-family developments or smaller. (Logan Simpson\/Courtesy photo)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The proposed edits go a step further in setting standards and buffer requirements \u2013 which don\u2019t apply to single-family or smaller scale developments \u2013 for reasons beyond aesthetics.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest question has been why do we even need landscaping,\u201d Gardner said.<\/p>\n

Landscaping deters erosion, improves soil health, and reduces stormwater runoff and \u201cheat island effect,\u201d which is what happens in cityscapes that are devoid of plants: They\u2019re warmer than their rural counterparts.<\/p>\n

Trees provide a savings in energy. In the warmer months, they provide shade; in cooler months, they block wintry winds.<\/p>\n

Plus, aesthetically, landscaping \u201cmitigate(s) visual conflict between different use types.\u201d<\/p>\n

Land use wasn\u2019t the only thing updated in the code; administration and procedures were also revamped.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo everyone understands process they\u2019ll go through for a development application,\u201d Dunfey said. \u201cThe clearer the code is, the easier it is for staff, the planning commission, and City Council to make decisions on development proposals,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

And so Chapter 6 was updated to be a bit less ambiguous.<\/p>\n

The code\u2019s penultimate Chapter 7 is new and concerns historic preservation.<\/p>\n

A lot of that content is the same and used to be in Chapter 6, but was split off to its own section because historic preservation has little to do with administration and procedures.<\/p>\n

Looking ahead, first look below to find the next steps in adopting the proposed code, taken from the city of Cortez\u2019s website:<\/p>\n

On Feb. 18 at 6:30 p.m., the Planning and Zoning Commission will review the proposed land use code update.<\/div>\n
On Feb. 25 at 7:30 p.m., City Council will hold the first reading of the proposed land use code. There is no public hearing at this meeting. <\/div>\n
On March 11 at 7:30 p.m., City Council will hold the second reading and adoption for the proposed Land Use Code. There is a public hearing at this meeting.<\/div>\n

The public is encouraged to provide feedback and input before Feb. 18.<\/p>\n

Contact Community and Economic Development Director Rachael Marchbanks: rmarchbanks@cortezco.gov<\/a> or (970) 564-4046, or contact Community & Economic Development Specialist Helen West: hwest@cortezco.gov<\/a> or (970) 331-0213.<\/p>\n

Use this online form<\/a> to submit comments directly to the city.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

public\u2019s deadline for questions and comments is Feb. 18<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23914,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[21,28,193,29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-23913","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-cortez","tag-headlines","tag-land-use","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23913","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23913"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23913\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":78317,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23913\/revisions\/78317"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23914"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23913"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23913"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23913"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=23913"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}