Routt County commissioners on July 29 voted to adopt a set of updates to the Unified Development Code and approve associated rezonings, following presentations from county planning staff and a public comment period. The motion to adopt the package was made by Commissioner Redmond and passed by the board.

County planning staff said the amendments fall into three broad categories: clarifications and clerical fixes, a set of associated rezonings to better match zoning to existing neighborhood lot patterns, and a separate set of housing guidelines and studies the UDC will reference. Michael Swope, planning staff, told commissioners that the package was “largely the same as the previous ones” but included follow-up items from the planning commission and public input.

The clarifications correct typographical and readability issues, and add or tighten uses the county decided to regulate explicitly. On crypto-mining, staff said the UDC would allow small-scale operations only as an accessory use on existing oil well sites, not as a primary use. “It is basically to be added as an accessory use for oil wells,” Michael Swope said, and staff noted the county has a small number of active wells (staff gave a count of roughly eight active wells, 13 total permits and about 20 related special-use permits) and intends to keep accessory mining to a scale and placement that minimizes impacts.

The code also explicitly adds a new permitted use category for natural medicine — adoption language that staff said draws from Colorado Proposition 122 (the Natural Medicine Health Act), sample regulations from other counties and local zoning practice. Swope described the draft as a “mix of the state statute itself, some similar legislation from other counties, and then existing … uses with similar impacts.” Staff said the UDC would define a “natural medicine business” and then list subcategories such as cultivation facilities, healing centers and testing facilities, with details placed in the separate housing-and-use guideline documents the code will reference.

Another change drew strong public interest: riding arenas on residential properties. The revised code would treat private riding arenas as a distinct accessory land use and allow private arenas up to 15,000 square feet with up to 4,000 square feet of heated space, subject to limits so the heated portion counts against existing 4,000-square-foot accessory caps. Christie (planning staff) explained the adjustment was intended to prevent a “double-dipping” scenario in which a property owner could assemble multiple accessory structures to create far more heated accessory space than intended.

The package also includes a limited set of associated rezonings, primarily converting small enclaves of legacy parcels zoned general agriculture (AF) but platted under five acres into a Mountain Residential (MR) district that better reflects existing lot sizes and development patterns. Planning staff said the goal is to reduce the number of ad hoc variances required on very small, pre‑zoning lots and to provide consistent rules for those clusters in places such as Mad Creek, Deer Mountain Estates and other older subdivisions. Staff said they mailed property owners twice and were meeting with concerned owners to explain the changes.

On housing, the board approved language that moves many of the implementation details — definitions, eligibility, employee-generation factors and resale rules — out of the UDC and into a separate housing guidelines document that the UDC will reference. The guidelines are intended to be an administratively updated, “living” document maintained in consultation with regional housing authorities. Staff said employee housing will be built to an assumed occupancy for planning (1.5 persons per bedroom for mitigation calculations) while legal occupancy limits remain governed by building and life‑safety code.

Several members of the public and housing specialists attended and asked questions about exemptions, well and septic grandfathering, and enforcement of commercial conditional uses. Planning staff repeatedly noted that the rezoning was intended to enshrine protections in code (for example, confirming whether preexisting properties may continue to use well and septic where appropriate) and to reduce the need for repetitive variance requests.

Commissioner Salinas asked for further follow-up on several public concerns, including the details of what would be permitted under MR zoning for existing small lots and outreach to property owners. Commissioners emphasized they expect staff to continue outreach and to bring additional clarifications if needed.

The board approved the UDC adoption motion, which included the associated rezonings and a friendly amendment authorizing the chair to sign the resolution. The planning commission had recommended adoption earlier in the process.