Planning commission backs 2025 Land Development Code update, recommends vinyl siding ban and approves preliminary‑plat change

The Commerce City Planning Commission on Sept. 2 recommended that City Council adopt a comprehensive update to the Land Development Code (LDC) intended to implement the 2045 Comprehensive Plan and modernize the city’s development rules. The commission also voted separately to recommend an immediate amendment to the existing code to prohibit vinyl siding, and to add preliminary‑plat procedures (public preliminary plat hearings with administrative final‑plat approval).

Interim Community Development Director Mike Sutherland introduced the item and described the LDC update as one of two major, interrelated long‑range planning projects following adoption of the 2045 Comprehensive Plan. Consultant Brian Mabry of Kendi Keyst Collaborative summarized the nearly 600‑page public‑hearing draft. Heather Vidlock, planning manager, presented staff’s recommended language and described specific topics raised previously in joint study sessions, including motor‑court design, build‑to‑rent policy, the vinyl‑siding prohibition and preliminary‑plat procedures.

The draft LDC reorganizes zoning districts to match comprehensive‑plan character areas, replaces the current use lists with a consolidated use…