City staff outlines Central Business District vision, 60-foot height limit and sign code changes at Castle Pines City planning session

At its Aug. 22 meeting, the Castle Pines City Planning Commission held a study session on the city’s Central Business District and the proposed Unified Land Development Code (ULDC), led by Community Development Director Donna Burkes.

Burkes opened the session by explaining how the comprehensive plan, zoning and site-improvement plan review interact and presented the city’s economic-development vision for the Central Business District (CBD). She said the west, or legacy, side of the CBD covers roughly 130 acres made up of 52 lots, 29 of which are developed (28 commercial, one multifamily), with 13 vacant lots and 10 drainage or open-space tracts along Castle Pines Parkway.

The presentation reviewed existing zoning: a standardized business district, the Parkway Plaza planned development (PD) and the Canyons PD mixed-use area. Burkes said staff is combining the city’s zoning and subdivision codes into a single ULDC and will use the update to reexamine permitted uses, development standards, the site-improvement plan process, design guidelines and sign allowances.

On uses and approvals, Burkes explained the difference between principal, accessory and “use by special review” categories and noted two uses in the list are marked as protected and cannot be removed; she explicitly identified a church as one protected use. Commissioners raised questions about several specific uses — including indoor firing ranges — and focused on where noisy or intensive uses should be sited and how to design mitigation measures such as setbacks, landscaping, berms or walls to protect adjacent single-family neighborhoods.

Burkes reviewed development standards currently embedded in the business-district zoning. “The maximum height is 60 feet,” she said, and described setback rules that include 40 feet from Castle Pines Parkway and wider setbacks from residential edges. Commissioners debated whether allowing taller structures in some locations would promote increased density and tax revenue or whether higher buildings would change the area’s character. One commissioner said the community’s existing walkable, lower-rise character should be preserved.

Commissioners also discussed process questions: which applications should be administrative versus those that would require Planning Commission review, whether applicants should be required to hold neighborhood outreach before hearings, and how to tighten approval criteria so projects are more predictable for developers. Several commissioners said criterion “e” — that a proposal “furthers the public health, safety and welfare” — is vague and needs clearer definition or guardrails.

Burkes described the site-improvement plan review: SIPs are required for commercial and multifamily projects, are checked for technical compliance and alignment with design guidelines, and include courtesy notices for adjacent property owners. She said the Planning Commission is typically the decision-maker in the current process, with City Council the appeal authority in many cases.

The sign code was another focus. Burkes said the existing sign code is dated and allows large building-frontage signs with a 50-square-foot minimum and currently does not permit electronic message centers. Commissioners suggested tighter limits on brightness and animated content, discussed ground versus building signage and temporary sign allowances for new businesses or special events.

Burkes said a draft ULDC is in preparation and that staff expects to continue working with the Planning Commission and City Council; public outreach is anticipated beginning next year. Upcoming agenda items mentioned for the commission include a site-approval plan for a trailhead in the Canyons and a proposed study session on traffic-impact analysis.

Procedural action: the Planning Commission approved the July 25, 2024 meeting minutes during the same session. The meeting adjourned at 7:13 p.m.

What’s next: staff will continue drafting the ULDC, schedule additional study sessions (including traffic-impact analysis) and plan public outreach next year; commissioners asked staff to return with clearer approval metrics and more detail on use-by-special-review processes and neighborhood outreach expectations.