Boulder County commissioners uphold 500‑square‑foot limit on Davidson detached garage

Boulder County commissioners on May 15, 2025 upheld a director’s determination that limits a proposed detached garage at 382 Crescent Lake Road in Crescent Lake Estates to 500 square feet, rejecting an appeal by the property owners that sought approval for a 1,200‑square‑foot garage.

The decision sustains Community Planning and Permitting’s March 18, 2025 director’s determination, which had conditionally approved a maximum total residential floor area of 4,094 square feet for the parcel and limited any new detached garage to 500 square feet. Amber Knott, a planner with the Community Planning and Permitting Department, told the board that staff “does recommend the board of county commissioners uphold the director’s determination for SPR 25‑0021 Davidson detached garage, including the size limitation, limiting the development to a maximum of 500 square feet.”

The applicant, represented by agent Benjamin Granlund, asked commissioners to approve the 1,200‑square‑foot garage and argued the project is low‑impact and largely hidden from public view. Granlund said the property’s 923‑square‑foot walkout basement should not be counted toward the neighborhood‑size presumption because it is below grade and screened by topography, and he said neighbors have submitted letters of support. “We request that the board move to approve the project as originally proposed at 1,200 square foot,” Granlund said.

Staff and the commissioners disagreed with the applicant’s interpretation of the code. Knott presented a neighborhood size analysis showing the parcel’s existing above‑grade residential floor area is 3,594 square feet; if the garage were approved as proposed the total would exceed the county’s presumed compatible size for the defined neighborhood. Knott also noted that the assessor’s above‑grade data indicate the parcel would be the largest in the neighborhood even if the walkout basement were excluded.

Commissioners said they were sympathetic to the applicant’s outreach to neighbors but must apply the land‑use code consistently. Commissioner Stoltzmann said the county “doesn’t use vegetation as a screen,” calling out the risk that trees may be removed over time and thus cannot be relied on to mitigate visibility impacts. Stoltzmann also described the county’s practice for evaluating walkout basements, saying portions with windows or that are not fully subterranean are treated as visible floor area for the purpose of overcoming the size presumption.

Commissioner Levy, who moved to uphold the director’s determination, echoed that approach and emphasized the board’s role in applying the code uniformly. The motion to uphold staff’s recommendation carried; the record does not show a roll‑call tally beyond commissioners’ statements of support during deliberations.

The appeal under docket SPR‑25‑0021 was filed March 31, 2025. The applicants, David and Patricia Davidson, argued topography and the parcel’s private access easement limit public visibility and therefore justify counting less square footage toward the neighborhood presumption. Knott told the board that 364 Crescent Lake Road is currently under docket review and is not an approved development, clarifying a point raised in the applicant’s presentation.

The board’s action leaves the director’s limitations in place: the parcel’s presumptive compatible total remains 4,094 square feet and the detached garage approval remains capped at 500 square feet. The applicants noted the project was submitted before a county moratorium on increased square footage and asked that the application be reviewed under the prior code; commissioners did not adopt a different regulatory interpretation during the hearing.

Docket and code references: SPR‑25‑0021 (Davidson detached garage); director’s determination issued March 18, 2025; applicant appeal filed March 31, 2025; relevant provisions cited in the hearing include Article 4‑806 A2(b) of the Boulder County land‑use code regarding neighborhood compatibility and mitigation of visibility impacts.