Woodland Park panel recommends keeping 309 Willow Street zoned downtown commercial

The Woodland Park Planning Commission voted 6–0 on Jan. 8 to recommend that the City Council retain Central Business District zoning for the property at 309 Willow Street, rejecting a council‑initiated proposal to return the lot to Urban Residential.

The vote followed a public hearing in which staff described the parcel’s zoning history, commissioners asked for background on how the area had been zoned, and the property owners and neighbors spoke against the council’s proposal. Planning staff noted the parcel is designated single‑family on the city’s 2022 comprehensive plan future land use map but said council has authority under Charter §15.7 to initiate a rezoning for an individual property.

Property owner Elizabeth Horitz, who identified the family’s address as 309 Willow Street (also listed as 306 Chester Avenue in meeting materials), said she and her husband have owned the parcel for about 20 years and that they were not notified in advance of a work session referencing their address. "We were super disappointed," Horitz said, asking staff not to recommend "a forced, a zoning change" applied against an owner’s wishes. Robert Horz, who also spoke for the property owners, argued CBD zoning is appropriate as a transition from Highway 24 and warned the council‑initiated action could be perceived as "selective enforcement" and raise regulatory‑takings concerns.

Supporters who spoke at the hearing urged the commission to respect the owners’ reliance and prior approvals. Jay Knight, a renter at one of the owners’ properties, said the owners had been "very transparent" and urged the commission to view CBD as appropriate for downtown blocks. Pat Mahone, a Teller County resident, expressed broader concerns about property rights.

Staff and the city attorney framed the hearing as quasi‑judicial: City Attorney Nina Williams reminded the commission to confine its decision to the record and applicable code factors. Senior Planner CJ Gates summarized the parcel’s history: it was zoned Urban Residential before 1996, the owners requested and received a rezoning to CBD to operate a nonprimary short‑term rental (Ordinance 1503, approved Oct. 2, 2025), and the council voted on Dec. 4, 2025 to initiate a zone‑district change for the single lot back to UR. Staff said notices were mailed to adjacent owners within 150 feet and no written public comments had been received prior to the hearing.

Commissioners debated whether reversing the earlier rezoning would amount to "spot zoning" or "zoning creep," and several said a consistent, city‑wide approach to transitional zoning would be preferable to changing single lots. After discussion and minor edits to the proposed recommendation language, Commissioner Ken Kennedy moved that the commission recommend the City Council retain the Central Business District zoning for Lot 1, Block 12, Foster's Addition (309 Willow Street). The motion was seconded and the roll call vote passed 6–0.

Staff announced the city council public hearing on the matter is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, at 6 p.m. in the same council chambers. The Planning Commission’s recommendation and the hearing date are the next procedural steps; the city council will make the final zoning determination.