Agreement Between Windsor and Weld Focuses on Development Goals
Published on February 24, 2017
Weld County and the town of Windsor have finalized their coordinating planning agreement, including their common development standards, making Windsor the first municipality to have completed this process with the county’s planning department.
The proposed common design standards, which apply only to unincorporated county lands within Windsor’s identified Growth Management Area (GMA), will ensure that development within this area is consistent with the county and town’s desire regarding items such as site access, screening, lighting and signage.
“Completing this agreement with Windsor is a great step toward working together on development,” said Commissioner Barbara Kirkmeyer, coordinator for the planning department this year. “This agreement will help us maintain consistent design and development goals for projects near Windsor’s boundaries, which is beneficial for both the town and for the residents.”
It is certainly no secret Weld County has seen a lot of growth in the past several years. And when that growth occurs in unincorporated areas of the county near municipalities, the county recognizes the need to work with those municipalities to ensure consistency with certain design elements.
“When a developer wants to site a development within a Coordinated Planning Area, the planning department first asks the developer to reach out to the municipality and discuss annexation,” explained Planning Director Tom Parko. “If the municipality and developer cannot agree on terms of an annexation, the developer can proceed with the project under the county’s process”
It is at this point when the common development standards come in to play – ensuring the development, while not in the municipality, is consistent with the municipality’s development goals.
“Windsor is the first municipality to take advantage of this process with the county,” said Kirkmeyer. “Elected officials from Windsor, the Board of Commissioners and the Planning Department worked hard to develop these standards, and the result is something everyone is happy with.”
The county is hoping to work with all of the municipalities to develop these agreements in accordance to each municipality’s development and growth goals. “It’s always good planning when the county and a municipality work together to achieve common standards and work cooperatively on regional issues,” said Parko. “That’s what these agreements will allow us to do.”
To learn more about Coordinating Planning Agreements, please visit the Planning Department web page at www.weldgov.com or call Tom Parko at 970-400-3572.
From Weld County Code:
ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMON DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS. Municipality and County shall, within one (1) year of the effective date of this CPA, attempt to agree to establish common development standards within designated areas, which may include areas within Municipality’s boundaries and/or within the THREE (3) MILE AREA. Common development standards should include, but not be limited to, roadways (types, widths, horizontal design, access and spacing) and drainage (on-site, off-site, discharge, easements, and regional facilities).
Weld County – Windsor Coordinated Planning Agreement
Common Development Standards: Section 5 of the CPA indicates that the Town and County shall “attempt to agree to establish common development standards within designated areas” within one year of the effective date of the CPA. The following development standards are proposed to mitigate negative impacts between potentially incompatible land uses and to establish consistency between development that occurs in unincorporated Weld County in close proximity to development within the Town of Windsor:
The following development standards are adopted in accordance with the Coordinated Planning Agreement (CPA) between Weld County (County) and the Town of Windsor (Town) dated August 10, 2015 and shall apply to the Town of Windsor’s Growth Management Area (GMA) as depicted in Exhibit A:
Site Access: Development as defined in Section 2.1 of the CPA shall utilize shared access points or other mutually approved alternatives to the adjacent county road to avoid multiple driveways onto future arterial roads as identified in the respective transportation plans of the County and Town.
- Screening: Development proposing outdoor storage and/or non-residential uses that may have negative impacts on neighboring residential properties within 1,000 feet shall be screened from view by opaque fencing, earth berms, dense landscaping, hardscaping or any combination of these methods. For the purposes of this section, opaque fencing shall not include chain-link fencing with slats.
- Lighting: All lighting fixtures, including wall pack lighting and other service area and security lighting, shall be full cutoff fixtures and mounted so that light is directed downward. Light sources shall be concealed or shielded so as to minimize up-light, spill-light, glare and unnecessary diffusion on neighboring properties.
- Signage: Freestanding signs shall meet a minimum setback distance of fifteen (15) feet from the property line and are encouraged to be mounted on a monument base. Pole-mounted signs are prohibited. Such signs shall not exceed sixteen (16) feet in height or seventy-two (72) square feet per side of sign.
- Paving of parking lots: All parking lots and driveways which are designed to be used for employee, visitor or customer parking with direct access to a Town street shall be paved with asphalt, concrete or other material mutually approved by the County and Town. Additionally, all parking lots and driveways shall include an approved method of tracking control to prevent tracking of mud and debris onto Town streets.