Pitkin County Planning & Zoning Commission members voted unanimously Oct. 20 to approve text amendments to the Valleys of Capitol Creek and Lower Snowmass Creek (VCLS) overlay district and forward the changes to the Board of County Commissioners with three revisions the panel requested.

The commission adopted the caucus‑sponsored changes with edits from staff, adding a prohibition on new free‑market duplex and multifamily units in the overlay, codifying referral of special event permit applications to the appropriate neighborhood caucus, and removing proposed pesticide and inorganic fertilizer standards for additional countywide review. Debbie (motion) and Suzanne (second) moved the resolution; the roll call vote was recorded as unanimous.

Why it matters: the VCLS overlay, created by ordinance in December 2023, implements a caucus master plan adopted May 2, 2023. The caucus and staff said the proposed edits are intended to protect rural character, limit building scale and reduce land‑use impacts such as noise and traffic from events. Staff and caucus representatives disagreed on which standards should be placed in code versus left to the master plan or referral comments, and on the county's capacity to enforce some technical standards.

Leslie Lamont, senior planner in the county Community Development Department, told the commission the overlay was established by BOCC ordinance and that she had omitted a small area zoned public — "That's where the post office is" — from an earlier memo. Lamont said the overlay already limits maximum final residential floor area and restricts the use of transferable development rights and quota allotments to enlarge homes. She described staff edits that keep enforceable site‑plan review criteria while de‑emphasizing highly detailed items staff judged difficult to enforce (for example, exact mulch depths or homeowner garden irrigation practices).

Tim Malloy, representing the Valleys of Capitol Creek and Lower Snowmass Creek Caucus, said the caucus drafted the amendments from its master plan and asked the commission to adopt several measures. "We are appreciative of the opportunity to be before you to look at this change that has grown from the master plan," Malloy said. He told the commission the caucus wants to make explicit in code that multifamily, condominium, townhome and trailer‑home units be prohibited in the caucus area and to add a footnote to Table 4‑1 that would bar "new free‑market duplex dwelling units, mobile homes and multifamily dwelling units" in the overlay.

On enforcement and scope, Malloy and commissioners debated whether detailed standards for landscape irrigation, water conservation and pesticide use belong in the land‑use code limited to this overlay area or should be adopted countywide through other mechanisms. Malloy said the caucus selected the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances as a science‑based reference for pesticides and fertilizers and asked the commission to consider the list; staff and several commissioners said the list and enforcement mechanisms need broader vetting and likely belong in a countywide policy/code discussion. As one commissioner put it, adding the list to a single overlay would raise difficult enforcement and consistency questions across the county.

On special events, the caucus proposed adding the sentence, "The community development director shall refer all special event permit applications to the appropriate recognized caucus for review and comment prior to issuance of a permit." Staff said current code already requires notification and referral in relevant sections (for example, Section 1‑61‑50 and the referral section in the land‑use code) and that in practice staff refers special event permits to caucuses. Commissioners agreed to codify referral for special events to simplify staff practice and remove ambiguity about the phrase "when appropriate." Malloy and multiple commissioners flagged rising pressure from event uses in caucus areas as a reason to require referrals.

The commission instructed staff to update Exhibit A to reflect the panel's changes and to return the amendments for consideration by the Board of County Commissioners on the scheduled BOCC hearing date (staff noted a November 5 BOCC date for these recommendations). Staff will also further research and draft countywide language and a potential enforcement approach for pesticides and inorganic fertilizers before those items are adopted.

Votes at a glance: the commission approved a resolution forwarding the VCLS overlay text amendments with three changes: (1) retain/reinstate explicit intent language and add a footnote to Table 4‑1 prohibiting new free‑market duplex/multifamily units in the overlay; (2) require referral of all special event permit applications to the appropriate caucus; (3) remove the pesticides and inorganic fertilizer standards from the exhibit for further countywide review. The motion was made by Debbie, seconded by Suzanne, and passed unanimously.

Next steps: staff will revise the resolution exhibits to reflect the commission's instructions, further vet the pesticide/fertilizer language for possible countywide policy/code placement and proceed toward the BOCC hearing date noted by staff.