Planning commission recommends denial of site-plan review changes after wide public opposition; asks staff for further study

The Boulder County Planning Commission on March 19 recommended denial of docket DC 24-003, a proposed land use code text amendment to site plan review (Article 4-800), and certified the docket to the Board of County Commissioners for action. The recommendation passed unanimously and included a request that the county moratorium on developments tied to the topic be lifted while staff pursues further study of alternatives.

Staff presented the proposal as a response to BOCC direction to examine increases in average house size and the effect of site plan review on neighborhood character, sustainability and affordability. "The Board of County Commissioners expressed concerns with the increase in house sizes and the rate by which larger houses are being proposed in unincorporated Boulder County," said Ethan Abner, long-range planner with Boulder County Community Planning & Permitting. Staff said permit and census data showed average new-home size in the unincorporated county trending higher than the national average (staff cited roughly 3,900 square feet for county new homes vs. about 2,417 square feet nationally using U.S. Census definitions used in staff…