Breckenridge council reviews zoning rewrite, announces Citizens Academy and Christmas parade

Breckenridge city staff told council members they are moving forward on a zoning rewrite intended to simplify residential classifications and create a downtown district, and officials announced a Citizens Academy program and the chamber's Dec. 11 Christmas parade.

City Manager (Speaker 4) said the rewrite began in May and staff and consultants will review materials Dec. 15, with a Planning & Zoning public hearing set for Jan. 5 and council review on Jan. 6. He said the update replaces generic R‑1–R‑4 labels with clearer categories such as single‑family, duplex, townhome and mobile‑home classifications and creates commercial tiers including a new downtown district. "We're creating the downtown district," he said, and noted the Breckenridge downtown development council attended one of the public meetings.

The manager also announced the Citizens Academy will run again beginning in January as a nine‑month, monthly program that concludes with recognition in October. City Secretary (Speaker 5) told the council the chamber's annual Christmas parade will run on local streets on Thursday, Dec. 11, and the city and local schools will share traffic‑control and scheduling details on social media.

The announcements precede further public engagement on the zoning rewrite; staff said public comments received at meetings will be incorporated and that the package contains no large substantive changes beyond reclassification and added transparency. The council did not take policy action on the zoning rewrite during this meeting.

Next steps: staff will circulate the draft to council and the Planning & Zoning body for the scheduled reviews and public hearings, and will advertise the Citizens Academy openings when registration opens.