Larimer County staff urge clearer guidance on state Strategic Growth, Vital Lands reports and flag local-authority concerns

Larimer County officials told commissioners on Sept. 22 they broadly agree with Colorado Department of Local Affairs draft guidance meant to inform local comprehensive plan updates under SB 24-174 but urged clearer language and stronger attention to mountain communities and local authority limits. Rebecca Everett, the county's Community Development Director, reviewed the Strategic Growth Report, the Vital Landscapes and Resources Report and an accompanying Strategic Growth Policy Scan that DOLA is issuing ahead of 2026 deadlines.

The reports were created to inform local updates to comprehensive plans required by SB 24-174, a 2024 state law that seeks to encourage housing production and related planning. Everett said the Strategic Growth Report focuses on land-use strategies that "promote the development or redevelopment of vacant and underutilized infill parcels" and that the Vital Landscapes report is largely a best-practices resource on conserving habitat, agricultural lands and open space. "This is pretty directly aligned with Larimer…