To: Honorable Mayor and Members of Town Council
Through: David L. Corliss, Town Manager
From: Mike Hyman, Town Attorney
Tara Vargish, PE, Director, Development Services
Title
Ordinance Amending Various Sections in Titles 16 and 17 of the Castle Rock Municipal Code Regarding Zoning (First Reading) [including home occupations/businesses, uses, and development and parking standards]
Body
________________________________________________________________________________
Executive Summary
Staff is requesting Town Council approval on first reading of an ordinance amending various provisions in Titles 16 and 17 of the Castle Rock Municipal Code. This companion ordinance arose from work on the proposed Chapter 8 public nuisance update. Implementing and cross-referencing the new Chapter 8.01 nuisance framework prompted a review of Titles 16 and 17 and the related cleanup amendments needed for consistency, clarity, and administration.
That coordinated review led to updates to zoning administration, definitions, development standards, use tables, noise, parking, and other longstanding housekeeping items, including a pending cleanup of the home occupation regulations.
Purpose
Town Council is being asked to approve the ordinance on first reading. The ordinance is intended to:
• Coordinate Titles 16 and 17 with the new Chapter 8.01 nuisance framework and complete the related code cleanup identified through that review;
• Complete other longstanding administrative and housekeeping items, including the pending home occupation cleanup;
• Clarify subdivision procedures, zoning administration, definitions, development standards, and use regulations; and
• Update parking terminology and improve the function of the off-street parking table.
If approved on first reading, the ordinance will return to Town Council for second and final reading in accordance with the Municipal Code.
Discussion
Chapter 8.01 Coordination and Related Code Cleanup
The new Chapter 8.01 nuisance framework prompted the broader code review reflected in this ordinance. As staff traced nuisance terminology, enforcement cross-references, and related standards through Titles 16 and 17, staff identified additional cleanup needed for consistency. This companion ordinance incorporates those updates and keeps the subdivision and zoning codes coordinated with Chapter 8.01.
Subdivision and Zoning Administration
The ordinance adds a reasonable-access criterion for subdivision plats and procedures for vacating plats. It also clarifies the short title of the Zoning Code, limits acceptance or approval of land-use applications while violations remain outstanding unless the application will remedy or mitigate the violation, authorizes qualifying building-envelope adjustments, and updates utility and Planned Development provisions. A brief summary is provided below, and more detail for each code section is provided in Attachment A.
Definitions, Uses, and Development Standards
The ordinance adds or updates definitions for several land uses and floor-area measurements; updates child-care and group-home terminology; clarifies selected residential development standards; updates the place-of-worship use table; revises Use by Special Review and Downtown Design Review Board provisions; and adds maintenance requirements for unsafe fences, walls, and hedges.
The ordinance also clarifies noise standards applicable to business/commercial and industrial properties and aligns the terminology and cross-references used throughout the Zoning Code.
Parking Standards
The ordinance clarifies the use of gross floor area and gross leasable area in parking calculations and repeals and reenacts the off-street parking table to aid in use of the table. This off-street parking table is now organized alphabetically by use and includes consistency in parking ratios.
Home Occupation and Neighboring-Jurisdiction Consistency
As a longstanding cleanup item, the ordinance updates home occupation regulations that have remained largely unchanged since the mid-1990s. The limited amendments remove outdated categorical restrictions and retain operational standards addressing neighborhood compatibility, including traffic, parking, noise, outdoor storage, employees, and residential character.
Staff also reviewed the regulations of Douglas County, Parker, Lone Tree, and Castle Pines. The proposed cleanup improves consistency with neighboring jurisdictions, which generally regulate home occupations through operational standards focused on neighborhood compatibility rather than broad categorical prohibitions.
Staff Recommendation
Staff recommends that Town Council approve the Titles 16 and 17 ordinance on first reading. The Chapter 8.01 coordination review prompted many of these cleanup amendments, which align related provisions and improve clarity, consistency, and administration of the Town's subdivision and zoning codes.
Proposed Motion
"I move to approve Ordinance No. 2026-___, An Ordinance Amending Various Sections in Titles 16 and 17 of the Castle Rock Municipal Code Regarding Zoning, on first reading."
Alternative Motions
"I move to approve Ordinance No. 2026-___, An Ordinance Amending Various Sections in Titles 16 and 17 of the Castle Rock Municipal Code Regarding Zoning, on first reading, with the following changes: ____________________."
Attachments
Staff memorandum
Attachment A: Summary of Titles 16 and 17 Code Amendments
Attachment B: Ordinance - Titles 16 and 17 Amendments