A planning process to update Cortez’s land-use code could conclude in fall 2019.

City planning staff in late October released a draft update to the code. The process began in 2015, when the city budgeted $200,000 for the code update, funded by a $50,000 award from the Gates Family Foundation, a $100,000 grant from the Department of Local Affairs and $50,000 from city coffers.

After about fours years of working with consultants, conducting public workshops and discussing the issues with the Planning Commission, a draft is now on the table.

“Now is the time for the Planning Commission and council and the public to say, ‘We do or don’t agree with this,’” City Planner Tracie Hughes said.

A major driver for the update process was the Community Heart and Soul advisory team, which supported a Cortez Community Storybook published in 2015. The storybook established eight core values: friendly people, importance of place, small-town feel, community activities, diversity, education, business and agriculture.

“Those are kind of the main values that this process identified that we are trying to implement with the land-use code,” Hughes said. “It’s kind of striking a balance between being business-friendly and maintaining a small-town feel.”

The updated code adds design standards for commercial structures, specificity on landscaping requirements and simplifies the approval process for certain site plans and building permits. Under the existing code, projects with permitted uses – also known as “use by right” – have to go through staff, the Planning Commission and City Council for approval.

“That just doesn’t make sense,” Planning and Building Director Sam Proffer said. “It’s a redundant system.”

The update would allow staff to approve the projects administratively. Proffer said staff won’t make controversial decisions – planners would just determine whether a project meets code.

Proffer said that simplified process will make it easier for developers to obtain building permits and site plans. But other changes in the update adds requirements for commercial buildings.

Currently, there are no design or aesthetic standards for commercial buildings. Someone could build a plain metal building and the city would have no say in how it looks, Hughes said. The code update would change that.

Draft design standards are divided into two sections: buildings under 10,000 square feet and over 10,000 square feet. Hughes said most small businesses fall under the smaller category, so design standards aren’t as stringent compared with medium and large retailers, like Family Dollar.

If the updated code is approved, the city would require smaller commercial buildings to include “decorative material” on 60 percent of the street-facing side whereas the larger stores would need decorative materials on 75 percent of the street-facing said.

The draft also cleans up language in the landscaping section. The update would add a minimum landscape surface ratio for each zoning district and specifies the plant types needed.

The update would require one overstory tree, two ornamental trees and two shrubs for every 2,000 square feet of landscape area at a commercial, industrial or multifamily property.

“I just feel like we’re trying to make the land-use code clearer with regards to what is expected so we can be consistent,” Hughes said.

Proffer said many of the proposed changes came about from to suggestions from stakeholders in the community.

A revamped chapter on commercial signage could also impact local businesses.

The code update includes several tables that set out specific requirements for temporary ground signs, permanent ground signs, wall signs, projecting signs and display duration based on material. Hughes said there is a proliferation of signs that shouldn’t be allowed, but enforcement is difficult.

“It takes a lot of time and energy from a code enforcement perspective to constantly monitor whether or not somebody is doing something under a permit,” she said.

The draft update clarifies requirements and language regarding carports, fences and accessory buildings on residential properties.

The Planning Commission discussed changes to carport regulations in August 2017, and those recommendations have been added to the draft.

Hughes said she brought the issue of self-installed metal carports to the Planning Commission primarily because the carports were often placed in the front-yard setback – but all structures are required to be built behind the setback.

The proposed code would allow metal carports to extend into the front yard only if the materials and colors are compatible with the primary structure and has three sides open with the enclosed side abutted to the wall of the residence. They also cannot be more than 16 feet high.

A section about residential fences outlines specific height requirements for fences and prohibits certain materials like sharp-pointed fixtures, barbed wire and electric fences.

There are also added provisions on storage sheds. The draft code would require detached accessory buildings to be 5 feet from the side lot line and prescribe certain design standards.

“These little things seem so insignificant, but really they are the things that affect the average citizen,” Hughes said.

The Planning Commission reviewed the draft code twice in late 2018. Hughes said staff will provide an update to City Council in early 2019 and will conduct public workshops. She said the entire code update could be approved by City Council by fall 2019.

The 447-page draft land-use code is available on the Cortez city website, at www.cityofcortez.com/478/Land-Use-Code-UPDATE.

sdolan@the-journal.com