Council schedules public hearing on parking requirement changes for assisted‑living use

The Town Council on Jan. 28 approved first reading and set a Feb. 11 public hearing for an amendment to Article 5 of the Timnath Land Use Code that would change parking requirements for institutional uses such as assisted‑living facilities.

Planner Miss Graves told council the proposed amendment follows a review prompted by a development proposal for an assisted‑living facility. Staff surveyed 10 neighboring jurisdictions and Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) data and found Timnath’s current ratios (0.82 to 1.36 stalls per bed in the parking table) exceed local averages and the ITE 85th percentile. Graves said comparable projects and survey data favored a lower ratio; staff recommends a standard of 0.59 spaces per bed (a Loveland‑standard) and a clarified formula of one space per three beds plus one per employee on the largest shift.

Council members asked technical questions about community engagement, on‑site consultant participation and slide clarifications. Graves said the amendment would combine use categories under institutional uses, tidy the table of use categories, and better align the code with state law and real‑world operating data. Planning Commission recommended approval and staff recommended moving the amendment to public hearing. Council approved first reading and set the Feb. 11 public hearing by unanimous vote.

If adopted after the hearing, the change will reduce permitted parking for assisted‑living and similar institutional uses and is intended to avoid oversupply of parking, lower development costs and improve efficient land use, Graves said.