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Staff proposes splitting Elbert County EDZ into east and west with narrower allowed uses
Summary
County staff presented a draft to split the county’s Economic Development Zone into two zones (East and West), cutting an existing list of roughly 85 allowed EDZ uses to about 40 for the east and 14 for the west; commissioners asked for map blowups, clarifications on specific uses, and possible small expansions near I‑70/Highway 86.
County staff presented a draft plan at the Oct. 20 Elbert County work session to divide the county’s single Economic Development Zone (EDZ) into two separate zones — EDZ East and EDZ West — and to significantly narrow the list of uses allowed in each.
Jennifer, a county staff member, told commissioners the single EDZ currently allows about 85 land uses countywide. The draft breaks that list into a more tailored set of uses for EDZ East (roughly 40 uses focused along I‑70 and Highway 24) and EDZ West (about 14 uses for more rural areas). The goal, she said, is to "be general but specific," matching allowed uses to the characteristics of each corridor.
Commissioners discussed particular line items they want clarified or removed from the EDZ list. Questions included whether outdoor firing ranges and raceways should require the standard special use review rather than EDZ fast‑track approval; how the code defines "minor" versus "major" oil and gas facilities; and whether urgent care should be added as its own land‑use category (staff said it could be added but would require specifying allowed underlying zoning districts).
Map boundaries and parcels drew extended discussion. Staff presented a rough draft map and said it was produced with the assessor's office; commissioners asked for larger blown‑up maps on easels, requested parcel blowups around County Road 166 and Highway 86, and asked staff to review why certain parcels were excluded. Several members suggested modestly expanding the EDZ near the I‑70 interchange/AGOT area to encourage commercial investment around highway exits.
Why this matters: Splitting the EDZ and narrowing allowable uses could change the permitting pathway and timeline for many commercial and industrial projects; uses allowed in an EDZ site plan can avoid rezoning and an extra public meeting in some cases. Commissioners emphasized tailoring allowances to local community expectations and to the comprehensive‑plan survey results staff reviewed.
What comes next: Staff will prepare larger high‑resolution maps, mark up the draft land‑use table with suggested additions (for example, urgent care) and exclusions (for example, certain noisy outdoor uses), and accept individual feedback from commissioners before returning the package for formal consideration. No regulatory changes were adopted at the work session.
