Elbert County planning commissioners adopt tighter language for economic chapter, drop conservation‑easement endorsement

ELBERT COUNTY, Colo. — The Elbert County Planning Commission on June 16 adopted a more concise, county‑focused version of Chapter 6 — Employment and Fiscal Sustainability — of the county comprehensive plan and moved to remove prescriptive language encouraging conservation easements, after a multi‑hour work session that pitted preservation priorities against proposals to broaden economic opportunity.

Commissioners reviewed three drafts side‑by‑side — the consultant Kimley‑Horn draft and two commissioners’ edits — and agreed by voice vote to favor the streamlined wording proposed by one participant, referred to in the meeting as Kevin, for multiple subsections and strategy bullets. Jennifer, the staff presenter, opened the session and framed it as a work session with no other business to be taken.

The vote followed repeated comments stressing the county’s rural character and the desire to avoid "suburban‑scale" growth. "I don't want to grow Aurora in Elbert County," Kevin said while explaining a proposed bullet that seeks job creation without requiring suburban‑scale development. Commissioners asked that the approved text explicitly acknowledge the county’s agricultural heritage and quality of life while making room for job creation and measured economic growth.

Discussion also addressed the county's existing housing capacity. Speakers noted the county has "entitled more than 9,000 future housing units," a figure raised during the session to argue there is substantial development capacity without approving additional large subdivisions in the near term. Participants also cited audit material and infrastructure costs in arguing for fiscal caution; meeting speakers referenced a 2024 audit line showing roughly $3.6 million in reimbursements to the Independence metro district for paving and related impact fees as an illustration of the county covering infrastructure expenses tied to remote development.

On conservation, commissioners debated whether to include conservation easements as a county strategy. Several members argued easements are a private tool landowners may use and that the county lacks a concrete strategy or funding mechanism to promote them; others said easements can preserve long‑term rural character. The group moved to remove prescriptive language endorsing conservation easements from the chapter, noting that easements are available to private landowners and that the plan should avoid recommending private choices without an associated county program.

Commissioners asked staff and the consultant to check and, where needed, update graphics and data sourcing. Several speakers recommended moving source citations (including the American Community Survey) to the beginning of the section and ensuring the most recent ACS release (2026 release covering data through 2024) is used.

Other edits commissioners approved in principle or by consensus included adding language recognizing remote work and broadband access as economic assets, reorganizing "planning direction" to precede specific goals and strategies, and keeping selected graphics for readability while improving captioning and data dates. The meeting included numerous textual edits to strategy bullets — for example, replacing undefined terms such as "sprawl" with fiscal‑impact language or defined planning objectives.

The voice vote adopting Kevin’s language for the reviewed portion was taken without a formal roll call or recorded tally; staff will circulate a consolidated, cleaned draft of the two chapters and return the plan for further review at a July 21 work session. Jennifer told the commission staff will prepare the edits and updated materials in advance of that meeting.

What happened next: staff will circulate a consolidated draft with the agreed edits and updated graphics before the next work session on July 21, 2026. The commission did not adopt any new regulatory changes at the meeting; it approved wording for the comprehensive plan chapter, which is a guiding document.