At staff briefings, the commissioners gave the OK to the Planning and Zoning Division to begin the public process of making changes and revisions to two sections in the Jefferson County Zoning Resolution.  

The first proposed revision is to the definition section of the Zoning Resolution.  New definitions and others will be amended to provide clarity and consistency to citizens and employees.  Some of the changes include:

• Access and Contiguity - this definition clarifies an addition of residential floor area to an existing dwelling.
• Commercial Vehicles - this amendment would allow many vehicles that have been historically classified as a commercial vehicle to be parked and stored on a residential property.
• Short-Term Rental - this definition was added to identify and clarify this use.

The second proposed change is to the section regarding Official Development Plans (ODP) and Special Use (SU) documents.  Currently the Zoning Resolution requires a graphic for ODP and SU documents.  The proposed change would make it discretionary and also eliminate the need to provide ODP and SU documents on mylar prior to recording. 

ODP and SU documents are required to be 24 x 36 inches with written restrictions and a graphic.  This format works well when there is a need to graphically portray specific use areas or other important features of a property.  However, it does not work well in circumstances where there is no benefit to showing the information graphically.  Since the Zoning Resolution does allow the Director of Planning and Zoning to approve alternative sizes, in cases where a graphic is not needed, staff could allow ODP and SU documents to be reduced to 8.5 x 11.

The reduced size and elimination of the graphic and mylar will save applicants both time and money by making it easier for them to work with staff to create the documents on their own instead of having to hire a consultant to prepare the documents. 

Draft changes of the definitions, along with a previously proposed regulation on short-term vacation rentals, are posted for public comment on the Planning and Zoning website.  The proposed changes for the ODP and SU should be available for public comment in late July.  After the public comment period, the drafts will go before the Planning Commission and then the Board of County Commissioners.  Both meetings are open to the public.