Planning commission schedules master-plan review and sets workshops on STRs, ADUs and subdivision regulations

The Custer County Planning Commission set dates to review the county master plan and to hold follow-up workshops on short-term rental (STR) regulations, accessory dwelling units (ADUs)/guest houses and subdivision regulations.

Commissioners agreed to a master plan review and workshop process and selected dates for upcoming sessions. During discussion members indicated the master plan has not been comprehensively reviewed in many years and should be revisited section by section; one commissioner noted the plan contains broad goals but lacks specific implementation steps the commission can enforce.

The commission set a master-plan review meeting for Wednesday the 19th (staff to confirm final start time and room). Commissioners discussed times during the meeting — both 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. were referenced in the record — and staff said they would notify participants of the confirmed time and room. The commission also agreed to hold an STR workshop for the second week of March and tentatively set Monday, March 10 at 1 p.m. as an STR workshop focused on density, lot size, water availability and house-rule enforcement. Commissioners additionally agreed to schedule work on subdivision regulations later in the year; a session was proposed for the third Wednesday in August.

Commissioners said the workshops should address specific regulatory gaps the commission encountered in recent STR reviews: how the county defines and treats ADUs and guest houses, whether STR density limits should vary by unincorporated community (for example, Rosita), and how water augmentation plans and court-supervised augmentation regimes affect eligibility for additional residences on a parcel. One commissioner summarized the planning challenge this way: “The master plan addresses things in broad strokes. It does not address anything specific.”

Staff and commissioners also discussed coordination with neighboring municipalities’ experiences (Westcliffe was mentioned) and noted enforcement issues raised during the STR application reviews, including dark-skies concerns and exterior lighting at an STR that neighbors said lit up a valley.

Next steps

Staff will circulate formal meeting notices with confirmed times and rooms for the master-plan review and the STR workshop, and will add an STR/ADU discussion to the planning commission’s agenda for the next regular meeting. The commission asked staff to prepare background materials, including a copy of the master plan and a map of STR density in Rosita and other unincorporated communities, in advance of the workshops.