County officials rezone 20 properties next to Lyons
Boulder County commissioners decided to rezone 20 properties just outside of the town of Lyons’s formal boundaries during a public hearing on Tuesday, potentially setting the stage for property owners to annex their land into the town in the future.
All 20 parcels sit within a three-mile radius of the Lyons town limits, with several of them near the town’s eastern boundary at the intersection of U.S. 36 and Colo. 66.
Of the 20, 19 now have agricultural zoning. One property along the North St. Vrain Creek with a business zoning, was changed to a rural residential zoning designation with Tuesday’s vote.
The 20 properties previously had zoning designations of business, commercial, general industrial and transitional, which are classified by government planners as higher intensity zone districts.
The agricultural designation is commonly seen as lower intensity zoning. All landowners can legally continue as they have been operating, according to county documents.
“Zoning is really intended to set the stage for the future and support the county’s goals, the town’s goals,” Hannah Hippely, long range planning division manager at the Boulder County Community Planning and Permitting Department, told commissioners.
“We seem to have a mismatch between some of those goals in our comprehensive plan and this zoning.”
Hippely said that the significant amount of environmental resources in the area has led the county to question keeping the higher intensity zoning. The changes are aimed at preserving the natural resources that the properties encompass as part of the St. Vrain Creek floodplain. In addition, current zoning map designations were made in 1965, and the last look the county took at the map was in the mid-1980s, Hippely said.
“The town of Lyons has grown a lot since the 1960s,” Hippely said.
Supporters of the amendment said that putting most
of the properties under agricultural zoning will make
it easier for Lyons to annex the properties as the town continues to grow.
“When the time comes, and they are ready to be redeveloped, it will be highly advantageous to go ahead and annex (them) into Lyons,” Commissioner Claire Levy said.
A few local business owners and their representatives raised concerns about the changes during a public comment period. Land use and real estate attorney David Eisenstein urged the commissioners not to modify zoning of two commercially zoned properties at the intersection of U.S. 36 and Colo. 66, arguing that the business owners on the land would be harmed by a transition to agricultural zoning.
“Please recognize that
these are commercial, retail properties located at a busy intersection, and they should not be zoned something that differs from their current and historic uses,” Eisenstein said, referencing the two commercially zoned properties.
Paul Frysig, who owns a stone supply business nearby, expressed concerns about financial losses because of the zoning change.
“If you change any of those zonings to anything but commercial, my life savings are going to be reduced to half,” Frysig said.
Commissioner Marta Loachamin addressed some of the concerns by stressing that the amendment doesn’t demand any change in use for the businesses on the properties.
“The intent is not to stop
anyone’s livelihood or their business,” Loachamin said.
Lyons mayor Hollie Rogin told commissioners the rezoning will provide more incentive for the town to annex the properties in the future.
“We are grateful and recognize that this demonstrates your support for our continued independence and success,” Rogin said. “The town and the county are not competing agencies for urbanization, but rather partners for the betterment of our communities.”
Mark Browning, a Lyons citizen, echoed Robin’s support of the zoning changes and its efforts to bring more eastern corridor properties into the town limits.
“I think that’s the best thing for Lyons,” Browning said.