To: Honorable Mayor and Members of Town Council
From: David L. Corliss, Town Manager
Title
Resolution of the Town of Castle Rock, Colorado in Opposition to Statewide Land Use and Zoning Preemptions in Senate Bill 23-213
Body
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Executive Summary
As Town Council is aware, the General Assembly is considering Senate Bill 213, which (if enacted and stands after litigation) drastically alters town and city land-use regulations. It has several components mostly targeted at removing the ability of a town to enforce and enact single-family zone districts. The bill purportedly allows multifamily dwellings to be built in any single-family district covered by the bill, regardless of existing zoning, homeowners association protections or planned developments. The Town is stripped of its authority to require parking or occupancy limits for these uses. The Colorado Municipal League (CML) has prepared a detailed summary of the proposal, and this is included in your agenda packet (Attachment C). Staff recommends the adoption of a resolution (Attachment A) and letter opposing the bill (Attachment B).
Town legal staff is also analyzing possible legal challenges under the bill that, at the appropriate time, can be discussed with Council.
The bill has several unworkable provisions and vague definitions that, taken to extreme measures, may halt all residential development and imperil meeting our responsibility for providing services - such as water and wastewater services - to new, if not existing, development. For example, because the bill does not impose its mandates on unincorporated county areas (such as Highlands Ranch, Bell Mountain Ranch or Sterling Ranch), it has the effect of encouraging suburban sprawl into rural ag and ranch land along the Front Range as property owners seek protected single-family residential areas. Another example is that the bill has provisions for “key corridor” areas that appear to allow multifamily residential uses in all, or more commercial, areas without parking requirements - continuing the bill’s theme to remove or reduce auto use for Colorado residents. While the bill purports to seek additional housing and affordable housing, the bill will actually only create confusion, cacophony and a flight to more remote, unincorporated property, where single-family neighborhoods can be built and maintained. The effect of SB 213 is to substantially diminish the value of Castle Rock single-family homes in current single-family neighborhoods, because the unplanned placement of multifamily uses among detached single-family homes will be negatively viewed as a drastic diminution in the value of property.
This is all in an environment where Castle Rock has been part of the solution for adding housing in Colorado. From 2018 to 2022, Castle Rock added 4,862 single-family homes and 1,578 multifamily units. Since adoption of new Town laws in 2018, the Town has approved 82 accessory dwelling units (ADUs) to our community (this includes both stand-alone units and basement accessory dwelling units). The Town has substantial entitled development rights for both single-family and multifamily residences that property owners/developers can build in the future. Castle Rock has about 8,400 multifamily unit entitlements authorized - in places the Town has zoned for such uses - that can be built on today - without the SB 213 mandate of placing this more intense use next to existing single-family-zoned residences. This year, Town Council approved a 200+-unit multifamily project for low-income seniors in Castle Rock - again, in a location planned for such uses, not next to a single-family neighborhood. Castle Rock is doing its part to add housing of all types in Colorado. With adoption of SB 213, the likelihood of the Town annexing for more residential uses appears dim, because the Town cannot ensure the quality of such new developments, as SB 213 strips Town authority over the quantity of residences and Town Code compliance for such developments.
The reasons for opposition to SB 213 are substantial, as outlined in the attached CML briefings and our proposed opposition letter.
Recommended motion
“I move to adopt the Resolution as introduced by title, and authorize signing of letter in opposition to Senate Bill 213.”
Attachments
Attachment A: Resolution
Attachment B: Opposition Letter SB23-213
Attachment C: CML Analysis of SB23-213, Land Use