After more than a year in the making, a major effort to overhaul Routt County’s zoning and subdivision regulations is nearing its conclusion after officials released a final draft version of the proposed set of codes last week.

If adopted, the proposed code language — referred to as the Routt County Unified Development Code and combined under a single, 305-page document — would repeal county zoning and subdivision regulations adopted for unincorporated Routt County in the early 1970s, and last amended in 2011.

The regulations included in the final draft were formulated to support the county’s 2022 Master Plan in a “clear and efficient” manner to address matters such as future growth, housing, and economic development, according to the draft document.

A May 9 memo sent to the county by the consulting firm hired to work on the regulations update, Design Workshop, provides a high-level description of the proposed changes to the code, along with a summary of the regulations’ key concepts.

Among the drafted zoning and subdivision rules, a proposed 7,500 square-foot cap on the size of houses built in unincorporated Routt County has received the most public feedback to date.

At an April 18 public hearing, county planning officials presented a list of nine options regarding the house size limit proposal to a standing room only crowd.

The final draft version of the regulations produced last week lays out a home-size calculation system that would exempt basement and accessory structure space from home-size cap up to 4,000 square feet, with the amount of square feet over that cap counting towards the 7,500 square foot limit.

Garages of 750 square feet or less would also be exempt from the total size of a single or two-family dwelling unit, but any amount over that would be counted in the house size figure.

The drafted regulations include two options for dealing with single-family homes built on all current and future Land Preservation Subdivisions.

The first would exempt all Land Preservation Subdivisions from the 7,500 square foot house size limit. The second would introduce a “sliding scale” mechanism whereby the home size limit would be related to the amount of land placed in a remainder parcel.

For example, a remainder parcel that is 60 acres in size or less would limit home sizes to 7,500 square feet. For larger parcels, home sizes would be allowed to increase anywhere between 9,500 square feet and 13,500 square feet, depending on the amount of remaining land.

Almost 50% of the 5,093 homes currently constructed in unincorporated Routt County range in size between 1,600 and 3,500 square feet, according to data provided by the county’s planning department.

There are 136 homes currently over the size of 7,500 square feet, including three residences over the size of 15,000 square feet, and one — the largest existing home in unincorporated Routt County — that exceeds 17,500 square feet.

Another major component of the proposed draft regulations includes the consolidation of multiple zone districts and the addition of several new ones, along with overlays to standardize development and allow for various levels of development in designated “growth areas” of the county.

The regulations add a category for each proposed zone district identifying requirements for creating new lots in all of the proposed zone districts — a move meant to reinforce a goal of the county’s Master Plan “to direct growth into growth areas and allow lower density development in more rural areas.”

Growth areas are classified between three tiers, with different growth objectives for each tier:

Tier 1 includes incorporated municipal growth centers such as Steamboat Springs, Hayden and Oak Creek; Tier 2 focuses on three “targeted growth areas” to include Stagecoach, West Steamboat Springs and the unincorporated area surrounding Hayden; and Tier 3 pertains to small established communities such as Phippsburg, Milner and Clark.

With recent news suggesting future development of a private resort in the Stagecoach area by a luxury real estate firm, Discovery Land Company, the finalized draft zoning regulations also add language concerning use standards pertaining to golf courses and ski resorts — amenities that are included in Discovery’s vision for the project.

Adding environmental and land use standards for those recreational entities, the draft regulations further lay out employee workforce housing requirements that would mandate golf courses and ski areas to provide year-round housing to 15% of their employees.

Additionally, all large scale developments — projects defined as having “a substantial impact on the character of Routt County owning to their size, nature or location” — would be required to build workforce housing and address at least one identified “community need.”

Those needs include public infrastructure improvements, open space or historic preservation, or other projects of community benefit such as parks and trailhead construction.

A copy of the final draft version of the zoning and subdivision regulations, including map images, can be reviewed at NavigateYourRoutt.com along with a “redline” version of the of the document showing changes made from an initial draft produced April 4 and a copy of the May 9 memo.

The county will host a pair of public hearings on the final draft document May 16 at 6 p.m. and May 21 at 9:35 a.m. The meetings will be held at the historic Routt County Courthouse at 522 Lincoln Ave. in Steamboat Springs inside the Board of County Commissioners hearing room.

Public comment may also be submitted online at NavigateYourRoutt.com or by sending an email to planningdept@co.routt.co.us.