OFFICE, RETAIL, INDUSTRIAL & MOUNTAIN COMMUNITY CENTERSOFFICE, RETAIL, INDUSTRIAL & MOUNTAIN COMMUNITY CENTERSAccommodate retail, office and light industrial land uses which are compatible with the character of the rural mountain community and are of a scale which supports residential development in the area.
1. Provide commercial and light industrial activities that are needed for the convenience of local residents and provide limited employment opportunities.
2. Ensure that commercial and light industrial activities are compatible with surrounding land uses in terms of visual appearance, traffic generation, water and sewer requirements, noise and air quality impacts.
3. Locate commercial and light industrial land use in mountain community centers to avoid strip development along roads, especially along Golden Gate Canyon and Coal Creek Canyon Roads.
In addition to the following policies, the criteria in the Mountain Site Design Criteria section which apply to office, retail, industrial and mountain community centers should be followed.
Red text identifies policies which can be applied in the land use review processes.
1. All new retail, office and light industrial development should be processed as Planned Development.
2. All new retail, office and light industrial development should comply with applicable criteria in the Mountain Site Design Criteria section.
The mountain community centers proposed for the North Mountains area are intended to minimize the pressure for strip development along the roads by designating areas where commercial and light industrial development could occur. These centers would provide convenient access to goods and services needed by local residents and should be either convenience or neighborhood centers in size. They should be sited and designed to be compatible with the surrounding area.
Revegetation of disturbed land in mountain areas is difficult given the lack of irrigation water, the thin layer of top soil, and the short growing season; therefore, land disturbance should be minimized.
Benefits to residents would include fewer miles driven to purchase goods, get to work, and take children to athletic activities, music lessons, etc. This reduction in miles driven would contribute to better air quality in the mountains and the metropolitan region, and lower transportation costs.
The centers are not intended to provide the major employment opportunities nor to duplicate the diversity of goods and services found in the commercial and light industrial areas which exist in the metropolitan area.
Each mountain community center is described in more detail on the following pages. Policies which are common to all mountain community centers are listed first. Specific land use recommendations and design policies are listed for each center. These centers are shown on the Summary map (see maps).
Designated mountain community centers are:
North Mountains Nonresidential |
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| Gross Leasable Area (GLA) | |
| Existing | 41840 Sq. Ft. |
| Buildout existing zoning | 45840 Sq. Ft. |
In addition to the following policies, the applicable criteria in the Mountain Site Design Criteria section which apply to office, retail, industrial and mountain community centers should be followed.
Boxed text identifies policies which can be applied in the land use review processes.
1. Preservation of existing vegetation for screening and erosion control should be a priority in site plan development.
2. Landscaping should emphasize the use of vegetation which needs minimal water to live. Earth shaping in conjunction with the creative use of rock are alternative techniques which should be considered.
3. Safety should be a primary concern when access plans are developed.
4. Mountain community centers should be designed to serve the daily needs of residents and tourists.
5. The criteria in the Mountain Site Design Criteria section should be applied to all nonresidential development.
1. Retail, office and compatible light industrial activities should be located inside mountain community centers.
2. Mountain light industrial development that is compatible with mountain community center land uses should be located inside mountain community centers to concentrate employment and traffic, provide convenience, and to avoid proliferation of light industrial development outside of designated mountain community centers.
Light industrial activities compatible with the mountain community center concept are those which have the characteristics of mountain light industrial uses. These are:
a. building(s) of a scale compatible with a rural mountain environment and consistent with the Mountain Site Design Criteria section policies for landscaping, open space, visual, architecture, scale, and mass, etc.;
b. automobile and truck trips that do not exceed 5.45 trips per day per 1,000 square feet of GLA;
c. operations which do not pollute, and do not produce noise, smoke, glare, vibration, fumes, hazardous and other adverse environmental impacts which extend beyond the property line;
d. fabrication and manufacturing processes should be limited and all activities should be enclosed;
e. commercial activity should be limited and restricted to low volume wholesale sales, repair, rental, or servicing of any commodity which is manufactured, fabricated, processed, or warehoused onsite;
f. outside storage, including heavy vehicles, should be limited, suitably screened, and substantially set back from adjacent properties and public areas; and
g. a significant percentage of the site should remain in natural open space.
3. New rezonings should allow only those uses which can be supported by the legal and physical presence of water as determined by the hydrologic study described in the Water & Sanitation section, unless service will be provided by a public water and sanitation district or a public water district.
1. This mountain community center should be a neighborhood center where the services and goods available are needed daily by residents within the community.
2. The existing commercial and light industrial center at this location should be incorporated into the overall design for this center when an Action Plan is done.
3. A minimum of 25% open space should be provided.
Implementation Strategy 1. The County should do an Action Plan for this area and include, as a minimum, representatives from the community, existing businesses, property owners, the Jefferson County Public Works Division, Health Department, Planning Department, Open Space Department, Colorado Department of Transportation and Regional Transportation District. The purpose of this plan should be to draft a conceptual design for redevelopment of this center.
2. The objectives for the plan should be to:
a. rehabilitate the stream corridor;
b. improve the quality and extent of services and physical appearance;
c. provide pedestrian access;
d. improve traffic access and parking capacity;
e. provide landscaping and visual impact mitigation;
f. create a stream-side park and other community facilities; and
g. increase the economic viability of the center.
3. The Action Plan should include the following:
a. Access and parking plan for the center, including the expansion parcels.
b. Landscape plan for the center which identifies the mitigation measures necessary to reclaim mountain scarring and unrevegetated areas.
c. Design for a park and other public community facilities.
d. Designated park-n-ride location for ride sharing and RTD buses.
e. The funding source(s) required to implement the Action Plan recommendations. Techniques which could be used include creation of special overlay zone or improvement districts, public/private joint ventures, grants, and awards.
f. An implementation schedule which establishes completion dates and assigns responsibilities for each action.
4. The Action Plan Group should be responsible for presenting the Plan to the public for review and comment, and to the Jefferson County Planning Commission for adoption.
1. This mountain community center should be a convenience center with a minimum of 25% open space. The development should have the appearance of smaller stores and offices and avoid an unbroken expanse of walls. Development should be located in one, not more than two, quadrant(s) of the intersection.
2. If and when the County Shops are moved, this location should be considered for commercial or community land use.
1. Representatives from the community, the Grange, property owners, and the County Planning, Public Works, and Health Departments should be consulted about proposals for this center's development.
2. The objectives for this center should be to provide for convenience shopping and enhance fire protection for area residents. The plan for this site should include:
a. access and parking plan which provides for shared parking;
b. criteria for structures which would blend with the existing terrain, i.e., the structures should avoid expanses of unbroken walls and should have an architectural finish compatible with the rural mountain setting;
c. established setbacks from the roads for structures;
d. techniques which make maximum use of the topography and existing vegetation to provide screening; and
e. a program which addresses cut and fill standards, scarring, erosion, and revegetation, to be implemented within the first year.
3. The Golden Gate Fire District should be consulted about locating a fire station at this site.
1. This mountain community center could be a convenience center, with a minimum of 25% open space.
2. Development of this center could include offices, community facilities, convenience shopping, and appropriate services which will be used by area residents.
3. The types of community and commercial activity considered desirable include: convenience store, non-drive through facilities, craft suppliers, studios, medical and veterinary offices, other professional services offices, etc.
1. Representatives from the community, the Jefferson County Public Works Division, Health, Planning, and Open Space Departments, Regional Transportation District, and other appropriate agencies should be consulted about proposals for this center's development.
2. The objectives of the site plan should be to:
a. improve the quality and extent of services available,
b. provide pedestrian/equestrian and bicycle access from adjacent residential areas,
c. provide safe traffic access and adequate parking capacity, and
d. provide landscaping and visual impact mitigation.
3. The site plan should include the following elements.
a. An access and parking plan.
b. A landscape plan which identifies the mitigation measures necessary to minimize scaring, revegetate disturbed ground, establish standards for screening, architectural treatment, i.e., colors, materials, heights, and building mass.
Because existing vegetation is sparse in this area, the visual impacts associated with development of this center will require greater attention to the scale and architectural finish of structures.
c. A park-n-ride location with shelter, telephone, and seats.
d. A public travelers rest stop with public restroom facilities to serve the needs of tourists and commuters.
F. Crawford Gulch Road/White Ranch Area1. This mountain community center should be a convenience center with a minimum of 25% open space.
2. Uses allowed in this center could include convenience retail and cottage industries, e.g., artist studios, craft shops, etc., to serve the need for convenience shopping and services of the nearby residents, tourists and visitors to White Ranch.
3. The site plan should provide for safe access, landscaping and land shaping.
4. Structures should be designed to blend with the existing terrain, i.e., should avoid expanses of unbroken walls and should have an architectural finish compatible with the rural mountain setting.
Changes in mountain community center boundaries should be the exception, not the rule. The following criteria should be considered when mountain community center boundary changes are proposed.
1. The proposed project will meet an unmet community need.
2. The proposed project cannot be accommodated within the mountain community center.
3. Better site design can be achieved.
4. Impacts on surrounding areas can be adequately mitigated.
5. Expansion is contiguous with the mountain community center.
6. The expansion will not result in strip development.
7. Traffic access points are safe and do not result in the proliferation of driveways on the primary access roads.
8. The traffic pattern of the proposed project and existing traffic movements can be integrated within the mountain community center.
9. Additional traffic does not adversely affect the roadway network capacity.
10. The services and facilities required by the proposed project will be available, and the quality of existing services will not be adversely affected.
11. The character of the mountain community center can be maintained and enhanced.
12. The balance of uses within the mountain community center can be maintained.
1. No new retail zoning should be allowed outside of designated mountain community centers except as provided in other policies. Office and service uses can be located outside of community centers when these uses are at the same scale provided for under "cottage industry".
2. When industrial development is proposed which will serve the needs of residents but has visual, noise and other impacts which are not appropriate inside mountain community centers, it may be located outside mountain community centers when impacts associated with these uses can be mitigated. Examples of this type of development: heavy equipment, LP gas facilities.
This type of industrial development may be located outside of mountain community centers only when all of the following criteria are met:
a. traffic will use collector roads with existing Golden Gate Canyon Road and Coal Creek Canyon Road access;
b. a minimum of 80% of the site remains in natural open space;
c. the height of any building does not exceed 35';
d. it is proposed as a Planned Development;
e. the visual resource corridors, specifically the visual foreground, are preserved along roads, especially Golden Gate Canyon, Coal Creek Canyon and Clear Creek Canyon Roads;
f. adverse impacts i.e., air, visual, noise and odor, can be mitigated;
g. traffic will not go through residential communities;
h. it complies with the recommendations in other sections of the Plan; and
i. it complies with the Mountain Site Design Criteria section.
3. Cottage industry should be allowed when it meets the following criteria for cottage industry in rural areas:
a. it is located on or near road junctions, unless the traffic volume is low or can be mitigated;
b. it is a Planned Development;
c. it has the characteristics of art and craft work, technical and professional support services, and light assembly, repair and manufacture;
d. it does not have more than 3 employees;
e. it is a limited, low volume retail activity;
f. the traffic impacts are similar to residential use;
g. the architectural quality and size of buildings is equivalent to residential quality;
h. outside storage is very limited and screened, with substantial setbacks from adjacent properties;
i. the percent of site coverage does not exceed that of neighboring residential development;
j. noise, smoke, glare, fumes, vibration, hazardous and other adverse environmental impacts do not exceed those associated with a residential use.
4. Home occupations under the current County Zoning Resolution are allowed for a limited range of businesses such as professional services, consulting, tutoring, craft work, small repair services, and art studios. While the County does not enforce covenants which may limit or prohibit home occupations, residents are advised to review applicable covenants prior to applying for home occupation status. This Plan endorses a continuation of the home occupation regulations, with amendments that will accomplish the following objectives.
a. Allow an increase in the permitted number of employees from 1 to 2.
b. Require that the residence to be used is the principal residence of the applicant, not a secondary one.
c. Provide adequate off-street parking.
d. Impose limitations on home occupations allowed on very small residential lots more strictly than on larger lots which can better absorb impacts. Office, Retail, Industrial & Mountain Community Centers
e. The use, storage, or production of any hazardous materials, substances, by-products, residue, or wastes should comply with all applicable local, state and federal regulations.
f. Prohibit adverse effects from noise, odors, smoke, glare, or vibration beyond that associated with adjacent uses.
5. Churches, schools, bed and breakfasts and group homes should be allowed when:
a. the architectural quality and size of the building(s), the percent of site coverage and traffic impacts are similar to those of surrounding land uses.
b. off-road parking is provided and screened from adjacent properties.
If these land uses are not able to meet the foregoing criteria they should:
1) be located inside mountain community centers, or
2) meet the resort policies.
Conformance with the appropriate criteria in the Mountain Site Design Criteria section should be demonstrated.
6. Resort development: Gambling activity in adjacent Gilpin County could increase the potential for the development of destination resorts which provide recreational and leisure time activities. These land uses should be permitted when the following criteria are met.
a. The development is a planned development.
b. The development site is 35 acres or larger.
c. A minimum of 80% of the site is retained in open space.
d. The development is buffered and/or screened from the public access road.
e. Private access is provided that meets the requirements of the Transportation and Public Facilities, Services & Utilities sections of this Plan.
f. The development will have limited impact on the surrounding community.
g. The scale of the development is compatible with a rural mountain environment.
h. The requirements of County and State regulatory agencies for water and sewage disposal can be met.
i. Traffic generated by the resort can be accommodated by the road system.
j. Access to public open spaces can be maintained or improved.
k. There is minimal external signage.
l. The recommendations in other sections of this Plan and the Mountain Site Design Criteria can be met.
m. This type of development does not become the predominant land use in the general area.
n. The types of use which could be permitted include campsites, cabins, RV parking, lodges, hotels, apartments, condominiums, restaurants, or any combination thereof.
o. Onsite commercial activity should be directly associated with the resort, ancillary to the development, of a scale compatible with the development and the rural mountain environment.
1. Mixed use development proposed in the City of Golden at the intersection south of State Highway 93 and Golden Gate Canyon Road will provide many benefits to the Golden Gate Canyon Road and Clear Creek corridor residents and minimize the impacts on the mountain community. The uses planned for this center include: motel, restaurant, offices, retail establishment, RTD transfer location, and public traveler's rest area.
This type of development at this location would benefit the study area by:
a. reducing the distance and time of commuting;
b. reducing the pressure on the study area to accommodate such intense development; and
c. improving access to goods and services for area residents.