The Boulder City Zoning Board at its Dec. 2 meeting discussed a number of potential changes to current zoning ordinances, including creating a commercial district along Main Street, abandoning formal lot size requirements for new construction, fencing restrictions, and a more streamlined process for evaluating conditional-use permit applications.
“We’re really close to having a full draft for your new zoning regulations,” said Great West Senior Planner Jerry Grebenc, who is advising the Zoning Board on its zoning update effort. “We don’t want three story office buildings built right up to the property line across the street from single family homes, but we also want to make sure that administrating the zoning isn’t too difficult.”
Grebenc suggested that the Zoning Board create a half-block wide downtown commercial district, stretching along MT-69 from Jefferson High School to the Boulder Town Hall, that would make Boulder’s existing Main Street construction compliant to city code despite proposed changes.
The Zoning Board had previously considered including the downtown in a mixed-use district, but realized that, while allowing for potential residential construction, the mixed-use approach would make most Main Street businesses non-compliant with city setback requirements, which dictate buildings must be placed, within their lots, 30 ft from the street and 10 ft from the side and back property lines.
Should a commercial district be formed, existing residences within its boundaries would be unable to be rebuilt as homes should they be destroyed and would have to be rebuilt as commercial businesses. The Zoning Board is exploring the possibility of creating a mechanism similar to a conditional-use permit that would allow for residential building.
The Zoning Board also postured that it would change its conditional-use permit application process, and no longer require a public hearing before the Boulder City Council before considering applications. A plea will be heard directly before the Zoning Board, with a recommendation then sent to the City Council.
The Zoning Board also suggested that existing property setback requirements created implicit yet enforceable lot size minimums and that no additional regulation was necessary. They also considered limiting privacy fences to six feet in height.
