RetoolCOS will provide a modern, user-friendly code to help property owners with land development.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – City Council today approved the first comprehensive update of the City’s zoning and subdivision ordinance in several decades. A part of the RetoolCOS project, the new Unified Development Code creates a modern and more user-friendly approach to zoning and subdivision regulations to fit the needs of the City as directed by PlanCOS, the 2019 Council-adopted comprehensive planA comprehensive plan is a guiding document that provides a framework for city policies and priorities regarding the physical development of the city. It is a long-range vision of what we want our city to become and is a tool for making decisions about how that vision should be achieved. It outlines strategic steps to make the vision a reality and provides targeted and strategic planning of the physical development of the city..
The Unified Development Code is the zoning and subdivision ordinance that governs how property owners can use their land, including regulations such as building height, setbacks from property lines, application procedures, parking and landscaping requirements, along with how residents and neighborhoods can participate in the land development process.
The new code includes logical and intuitive organization, useful illustrations, cross-references, and consistency in review procedures. The project follows three years of community and stakeholder engagement and public meetings with residents and experts from across Colorado Springs.
“Improving and modernizing the City of Colorado Springs’ land development regulations will make it easier for property and business owners to understand and use,” said Planning and Community Development Director Peter Wysocki. “We are thankful for all those who played a role over the last several years in helping to update our Unified Development Code as part of RetoolCOS. The new code will help implement the vision for the City established in PlanCOS and help ensure we are positioned to address future growth, redevelop aging and functionally obsolete sites, and enhance existing neighborhoods.”
More information can be found at coloradosprings.gov/retoolcos.