January 27, 2026 Land Use Code Update Workshop
January 27, 2026 Land Use Code Update Workshop
The Lafayette City Council held a workshop on January 27, 2026, to review the preliminary findings of the comprehensive Land Use Code update. The meeting featured presentations from consultant teams regarding form-based codes, affordable housing strategies, and impact fee analyses. Council members engaged in detailed deliberations on policy directions, specifically regarding missing middle housing, neighborhood-serving commercial uses, and height flexibility outside of Old Town. The session concluded with the Council directing staff to synthesize public feedback and present specific numerical options for inclusionary housing and impact fees before the final adoption phase.
Consent Calendar
- [No items discussed or approved under a separate consent agenda during this session; all agenda items were addressed directly.]
Public Comments & Testimony
- [No formal public comments were recorded in the transcript; the session featured council questions and staff presentations.]
Discussion Items
Form-Based Code and Land Use Structure
- Elizabeth Garvin (Clarion Associates) presented updates on the draft consolidated code, emphasizing the implementation of the Legacy Lafayette Comprehensive Plan. Key points included:
- Neighborhood Districts: Proposed form-based districts requiring a mix of housing types (duplexes, triplexes) for parcels over 2 acres, and a "neighborhood center" requirement for developments on parcels of 20 acres or larger. Council members questioned the applicability of the "20-minute walk" rule to existing neighborhoods with limited pedestrian infrastructure (e.g., around 95th and Arapaho), with staff clarifying that the standard applies to future site planning and requires safe crossings, but does not mandate immediate redevelopment of existing lots.
- Old Town: Specific form-based standards were proposed to maintain the existing scale (2-3 bays wide) and character while allowing for adaptive reuse. Council members confirmed understanding that the code regulates form (building type, setbacks) rather than architectural style or immediate property values.
- Adaptable Mixed-Use (AMX): Discussed as a tool for the gradual redevelopment of large sites (e.g., former big-box stores) into integrated neighborhoods. Staff highlighted examples like Belmar and Broomfield's Flat Iron to illustrate feasibility. Council members inquired about the feasibility of these transitions in the current economic climate and the potential for different developers to participate over time.
- Council Feedback: Councilor Boulter noted that these forward-looking form-based codes apply to very limited greenfield or large-scale redevelopment opportunities, contrasting with the bulk of the city's existing development. Councilor Jensen and others emphasized the need to ensure the code does not preclude future evolution as market conditions shift.
Policy Considerations: Height, Missing Middle, and Commercial
- Three Policy Questions: Staff asked for guidance on:
- Missing Middle Housing: Allowing infill (duplexes, triplexes) in existing single-family neighborhoods.
- Neighborhood-Serving Commercial: Allowing retail in residential areas (e.g., cafes), with specific concerns raised by Mayor Tem about alcohol serving.
- Height Flexibility: Allowing up to four stories outside Old Town, contingent on specific public amenities or affordability.
- Council Positions:
- Missing Middle: Mayor Barnes and Councilor Jensen expressed strong support, viewing it as low-hanging fruit to assist seniors and increase housing options. Councilor Johnson agreed, noting the need to ensure compliance with existing HOA covenants, though state law (2024) provides some override authority for housing.
- Neighborhood Commercial: Councilor General expressed concern regarding alcohol service in residential zones but acknowledged the potential for other non-alcohol retail if operational standards (hours, noise) are strictly enforced. Councilor Fridland noted the need to clarify operational language (e.g., "shaded" hours) and ensure noise ordinances apply.
- Height Flexibility: Councilor Giuliano argued the current question was poorly framed compared to the Comprehensive Plan, which limits height increases to specific contexts (affordable housing, transit hubs). Councilor Fridland suggested linking height bonuses to tangible, ambitious benefits (e.g., sustainability features, public amenities) rather than general flexibility. The consensus was to narrow the scope to Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) areas and specific corridors (e.g., 287, South Boulder Road) rather than applying it broadly.
Affordable Housing Strategies (Inclusionary Housing & Impact Fees)
- Molly Fitzpatrick (Root Policy Research) and Matt Prosser (Economics and Planning Systems) presented on two potential tools:
- Inclusionary Housing: Discussed the trade-off between "breadth" (percentage of units set aside) and "depth" (income level, e.g., 50% vs. 80% AMI). Councilor Johnson suggested a focus on 50-60% AMI for rental and potentially higher for ownership to foster stability. Councilor General emphasized the need for production over fee generation, while Councilor Fridland noted benefits of both dispersed housing (e.g., Willoughby Corner) and centralized community facilities.
- Impact Fees: Matt Prosser presented a Nexus study indicating a maximum defensible fee of $34/sq ft for residential and significantly higher for non-residential. He noted that current market conditions (high interest rates, material costs) may limit the fee level the market can support. Councilor Jensen asked about incorporating sustainability incentives into the fee/inclusionary model to lower the effective cost of ownership.
- Council Positions:
- Councilors requested a more detailed "fees vs. production" analysis based on the 2022 Needs Assessment. Councilor Johnson suggested targeting 50-60% AMI and prioritizing production of units over fee collection, though acknowledged the value of fee revenue for community facilities.
- Councilors expressed interest in expanding incentives to include Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), suggesting the City explore financing options and pre-approved plans to make ADUs more affordable, rather than just relying on market-rate incentives.
- The Council directed staff to synthesize the feedback and return with specific numerical options (set-aside percentages, AMI targets, and fee rates) for a future vote.
Key Outcomes
- Consensus on Direction: The Council expressed general support for moving forward with missing middle housing and neighborhood-serving commercial (with alcohol restrictions), while requesting further refinement on height flexibility to align strictly with Legacy Lafayette goals for specific corridors and affordable projects.
- Action on Inclusionary Housing: Councilors agreed to explore a model that prioritizes unit production over fees, with targets likely around 50-60% AMI for rentals and consideration for owner-occupied housing. They requested a review of the 2022 Needs Assessment to guide specific metrics.
- Future Steps:
- Staff will synthesize over 2,000 community comments and the Council's feedback.
- A follow-up presentation is required to present specific numerical proposals for the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance (e.g., specific set-aside percentages and AMI levels) and the Affordable Housing Impact Fee.
- The final draft of the Land Use Code is anticipated for the first quarter of 2026, with adoption hearings planned for the second quarter.
- A separate process regarding ADU incentives and PUD (Planned Unit Development) negotiations will continue in parallel streams.
Meeting Transcript
There will be no study on any ideas. And we'll start with the first one. So our land use code update. I'll turn it over to that. Yeah, great. Thank you, Mayor and Council. So um short agenda, but long presentation. So we're really excited to be here as we are kind of approaching the finish line for our land use code update to give you updates around it. It's gonna be a three-part presentation. Um starting off with kind of kicking off with our um long-range planning manager, Phil Kleiser, who's been leading this project, and then we'll turn it over to Clarity and Associates, and then road policy, and then economic and planning systems. So each section will kind of have a pause for questions. Um, but as always, feel free to ask as you see fit. So I will turn it over to Phil Click. Thank you, Mayor, members of council. It's great to see you, and thank you for dedicating your first workshop in twenty twenty-six to our projects. We appreciate it. Um so we're here, we have our full consultant team with us today. Um Elizabeth Garvin from uh Claring Associates, Molly Fitzpatrick from Policy Research, uh, and uh Prosser from Economic and Planning Systems or EPS. Um, as um mentioned, we'll be having we'd like to split this up into first hour land use code, second hour um affordable housing, and with the code, we'll you'll hear from Elizabeth about the general updates that we've made over the past year and developed and released to the for the community to respond to. And then we'll get very specific into some code that's not yet um fully drafted and released, and that's specific to form-based codes. And so those will look at um how to create complete walkable new neighborhoods. Um, it'll look up how to preserve old towns of character, um, and how to guide mixed use development along our major corridors. And Molly and Matt will help us walk through a conversation about potential policy options for affordable housing, including potentially reinstating an inclusionary housing ordinance, development incentives, and updating our affordable housing impact fee. But first, just as a quick just a couple of notes policy context wise, you know, they have the Can I ask a logistical question? So I can't see behind me. Can we take Kyle off the screen so we could also have it up there? Or should I move or what would be the thing? I think they're planning to put the presentation on both once. Okay. Okay. Thank you. Does that sound okay? Perfect. As policy context, the legacy lafayette comprehensive plan sets that long-term vision for the community over the next 20 years. And it also guides a lot of different city decisions ranging from city budgeting, uh, department plans, strategic plans, capital investments, and specific to tonight development regulations. The comprehensive plan was adopted back in 2021, and you can't see these, but we've adopted several other plans since then, including the economic development and housing strategic plan, our multimodal transportation plan, the wildlife plan and the climate action plan, as well as others. And so one of the big components of this project is looking at those policies and implementing them through this land use code. We've developed the draft code in three parts what we called modules. We've released those to the community pretty much shortly after we've gotten them from the consultant. And so we've kind of taken a transparency first approach where we get it out there quickly. And we've and we've um briefed council three times each time we've released those modules over the past year. And to get us to that point where we are today, we would be remiss not to mention and think the land use code working group, two of the members of which are here on council this evening. Um they've been a big part of getting us to where we are. Just as a reminder, that group includes the planning commission, uh, reps from city boards and commissions, and five community members with different expertise and backgrounds. We've met a dozen times, um, and they've got given us some really helpful um advice and practical advice on specific code sections on just topics in general of looking at different options as well as advising on community engagement. Uh and speaking of community engagement, so we really focused on the working group on that first part of the project just to get something developed. And so with these projects, it's most helpful when the community has something to respond to. Uh, and so we've um kind of since then, more recently in the fall, we've turned more towards the community at large in terms of engagement. And so in the past month, you may have received a postcard mailing that we sent to addresses in the city. Um, we have a community-wide survey that's currently live.
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