Routt County planning staff presented a multi-part update to the Unified Development Code (UDC) and related rezonings during a July 7 work session that covered technical corrections, new state-required uses and housing-policy details.

Why it matters: The UDC changes clarify long-standing ambiguities, implement state-mandated uses (natural medicine), create standards to permit limited crypto-mining at oil-well sites and set county expectations for employer- and developer-driven housing mitigation obligations.

Michael (Planning) summarized the updates as three primary areas: clerical clarifications and usability fixes, associated rezonings to place historic sub-5-acre lots into a Mountain Residential (MR) zoning district, and a new set of housing guidelines intended to operationalize employee, affordable and workforce housing sections of the UDC. The housing guidance will be maintained separately from the UDC and administered through an agreement with the applicable housing authority (the Yampa Valley Housing Authority was involved in drafting and review).

On crypto-mining, Michael said the UDC will allow small accessory crypto operations only at oil-well sites to use excess gas after all other uses are exhausted; the county limited typical device footprints and required setbacks and noise/visual controls so mining cannot become a primary use. Planning staff recommended standards that would allow small, shed-sized mining equipment at producing well sites, with size and screening limitations.

Natural medicine (state-authorized use after Proposition 122) will be added as a regulated category covering cultivation, product manufacturing, testing and healing centers, generally as conditional uses in most zone districts and by-right in commercial/industrial zones. Staff proposed standards in a new UDC section (referenced during the meeting) to align county rules with state statute and peer jurisdictions’ approaches.

Michael described a change to indoor riding-arena allowances: private arenas may be larger than the former 4,000 square-foot accessory cap so long as the extra area is not heated, and a 15,000 square-foot heater-limited ceiling was proposed to accommodate typical private arenas while avoiding commercial-level facilities.

On rezonings, staff showed the board maps of several historic subdivisions (Zirkelville, Billings Block, Mad Creek Village, Panorama Way and others) with narrow lots and explained that agriculture-and-forestry (AF) setbacks produced unbuildable envelopes on many lots. The proposed MR zoning reduces side setbacks to create reasonable by-right building areas while retaining waterbody setbacks and preventing new density.

On housing, staff previewed guidelines that will set definitions, employee-generation rates (a nexus study), eligibility and affordability metrics. The UDC retains a 15% mitigation requirement but staff and the YVHA recommended replacing a strict floor of 60% Area Median Income with a policy that caps units at 120% AMI while targeting an average of 80% AMI across obligated units. The planning commission will continue to review the changes at upcoming hearings.

Ending: Staff will refine draft language to reflect Housing Authority feedback and legal review, present the rezonings to planning commission on July 17, and return to the board for final action later in the cycle.