Planning and Zoning Commission

AGENDA Council Chambers Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Englewood, CO 80110 Tuesday, July 21, 2026 ♦ 6:30 PM 1. Call to Order 2. Approval of Minutes Draft July 7, 2026 Minutes Planning and Zoning Commission - 07 Jul 2026 - Minutes - Pdf 3. Public Forum This is an opportunity for the public to address the commission regarding items not on the agenda. Commissioners and staff will not engage in a dialogue or answer questions during this time. Speakers may be directed to staff or other sources for responses at a later date to questions raised during Public Forum. Presentations are limited to three minutes. Questions and comments may be emailed to commdev@englewoodco.gov Please register at the link below to address the commission: https://englewoodco-gov.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_zq7o4RISRy-Yebxq-x65eQ 4. Study Session Water Supply Element and Strategic Growth Element Requirements Staff Report - Pdf 5. Staff's Choice 6. Attorney's Choice 7. Commissioner's Choice 8. Adjourn Please note: If you have a disability and need auxiliary aids or services, please notify the City of Englewood (303- 762-2405) at least 48 hours in advance of when services are needed. Page 1 of 21  Draft MINUTES Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Tuesday, July 7, 2026 COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Michele Austin Carl Adams Noah Kaplan Colin Haggerty Aaron Martinez Brenda Hubka Amy Cesario COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: David Wrensen Eric Montiel Stephen Ruddell-Lopez STAFF PRESENT: Will Charles, Senior Planner Collin Wahab, Planning Manager Jaxon Higgins, Assistant City Attorney 1. Call to Order Chair Martinez called the meeting to order at 6:30 pm in the Englewood City Council Chambers. 2. Approval of Minutes Approval of the June 16, 2026 Minutes Moved by Member Amy Cesario Seconded by Member Brenda Hubka MOTION TO AMEND THE JUNE 16, 2026 MINUTES TO REFLECT COMMISSIONERS ABSENT AND TO APPROVE THE MINUTES AS AMENDED. For Against Abstained Michele Austin x Carl Adams x Noah Kaplan x Colin Haggerty x Aaron Martinez x Brenda Hubka (Seconded By) x Amy Cesario (Moved By) x 7 0 0 Page 2 of 21  Planning and Zoning Commission July 7, 2026 Motion CARRIED. 3. Approval of Findings of Fact Approval of Findings of Fact - Case VAC2025-001 Moved by Member Michele Austin Seconded by Member Amy Cesario MOTION TO APPROVE FINDINGS OF FACT FOR CASE VAC2025-001. For Against Abstained Michele Austin (Moved By) x Carl Adams x Noah Kaplan x Colin Haggerty x Aaron Martinez x Brenda Hubka x Amy Cesario (Seconded By) x 7 0 0 Motion CARRIED. Approval of Findings of Fact - Case VAC2025-002 Moved by Member Michele Austin Seconded by Member Amy Cesario MOTION TO APPROVE FINDINGS OF FACT IN CASE VAC2025-002. For Against Abstained Michele Austin (Moved By) x Carl Adams x Noah Kaplan x Colin Haggerty x Aaron Martinez x Brenda Hubka x Amy Cesario (Seconded By) x 7 0 0 Motion CARRIED. 4. Public Forum 5. 2026-06 Nonconforming Residential Uses Page 3 of 21  Planning and Zoning Commission July 7, 2026 6. Staff's Choice 7. Attorney's Choice 8. Commissioner's Choice 9. Adjourn The meeting adjourned at 7:20 pm Page 4 of 21 TO: Planning and Zoning Commission THRU: Collin Wahab FROM: Dillon McBride DATE: July 21, 2026 SUBJECT: Overview of the Water Supply Element and Strategic Growth Element Requirements Request The community development department requests that the planning and zoning commission provide support and direction for the planning team to bring the Englewood Comprehensive Plan into state compliance by completing a Strategic Growth Element and a Water Supply Element. Background Colorado law (SB 24 174) requires all Colorado municipalities, counties, and regional planning commissions with a comprehensive plan to adopt both a Strategic Growth Element and a Water Supply Element by December 31, 2026. Water Supply Element The Water Supply Element is intended to help jurisdictions evaluate their available water resources, understand constraints, and apply that information to land use and development decisions. It should also guide the implementation of water conservation policies and identify long-term water infrastructure needs. Strategic Growth Element The Strategic Growth Element focuses on strategies that reduce sprawl, encourage infill development, address housing needs, and support fiscally and environmentally sustainable infrastructure and services. State law defines this element as a component of the comprehensive plan that promotes development or redevelopment of vacant and underutilized parcels in already developed areas, particularly near existing or planned transit and job centers, while discouraging dispersed, sprawling development patterns. Compliance Framework Communities must adopt both elements by December 31, 2026, and update them every five years. Compliance status will be used as a scoring and prioritization factor for 34 state grant programs across agencies including the Department of Local Affairs (DOLA), the Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT), the Colorado Energy Office (CEO), and the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT). Compliance will influence prioritization but will not affect basic eligibility or result in withholding of funds. Page 5 of 21 Summary of Proposed Changes Completion of these two elements will create new appendices to the current comprehensive plan. These appendices will remain current for a five-year period and may be incorporated into any full update of the comprehensive plan undertaken by the City of Englewood during that time. The creation of the Strategic Growth Element and Water Supply Element will not directly amend Title 16 of the Englewood Municipal Code. However, the development of these elements may identify new policy recommendations that could inform or lead to future updates to Title 16. ATTACHMENTS: Staff Presentation Page 6 of 21  Water Supply & Strategic Growth Elements for Comprehensive Plans Presented By: Dillon McBride, Senior Planner Page 7 of 21  Overview • Background on required elements • Water Supply Element • Strategic Growth Element •Q&A • Staff questions for P&Z Page 8 of 21  Background The 2024 CO Legislative cycle passed a sweeping set of laws related to housing, land use, growth, and development. Municipalities and counties are responsible for implementation and compliance. Page 9 of 21  Requirements • SB24-174 mandates a Water Supply Element (WSE) be added to a Comprehensive Plan by Dec. 31, 2026, updated every 5 years. • SB24-174 requires adoption of a Strategic Growth Element (SGE) be added to a Comprehensive Plan by Dec. 31, 2026, updated every 5 years. Page 10 of 21  Compliance framework • Compliance for both the Strategic Growth and Water Supply Element will factor in the scoring and grant prioritization for 34 different opportunities across multiple State agencies. • Compliance status is measured by the completion of specific analyses but does not require specific methods for conducting these analyses. Page 11 of 21  Water Supply Element • Purpose: clarify water supply capacity and constraints to inform future land use decisions. • Outcome: appendix to comprehensive plan. • Path Image source: DOLA Page 12 of 21  Where we are now • Initial conversations between Planning Staff and Englewood Utilities Department to understand WSE requirements. • The City would be starting from a strong baseline. • 2023 Water Efficiency Plan covers a lot of the required information. • Recent City Code updates: Landscaping requirements for development (Title 16); Water use restrictions & Water Waste (Title 12) Page 13 of 21  Water Supply Process Phase 3: Phase 4: Phase 1: Phase 2: Phase 5: Goals & Water to Coordination Assessment Adoption Policies Growth • Coordination • Quantify and • Outline water • Outline estimated • Adoption and between Planning document water goals (carry over water needed acceptance & Utilities Staff supply/demand from Water based on future meetings with • Check in with • Document existing Efficiency Plan) growth projections Planning and Planning and water efficiency • Outline potential • Anticipate 2 Zoning Zoning policies new water months Commission and Commission • Anticipate 2 efficiency policies City Council • Check in with City months • Anticipate 2 • Anticipate 2 Council months months • Anticipate 1-2 months Page 14 of 21  Strategic Growth Element Purpose: • Describe existing and potential strategic growth policies. • Analyze vacant or underutilized land near transit or job centers for infill or redevelopment. • Incentivize communities to plan for a more compact, sustainable growth pattern to maximize infrastructure and transportation investments and limit sprawl. Outcome: Appendix to comprehensive plan Page 15 of 21  Strategic Growth Element • Several factors may be considered; three are required. • These required factors can be analyzed using either low-tech or high-tech methods. • Low-tech approaches rely on qualitative input; high-tech approaches use geospatial analysis Image source: DOLA Page 16 of 21  Where we are now • Staff have engaged with DOLA to understand process and timeline to compliance. • Outlined initial scope of anticipated steps and time needed to understand scale of work. • SGE is a more sophisticated process with less initial resources to inform the process. Page 17 of 21  SGE as an opportunity • While required, it can also be locally informative. • Fast-track existing conditions analysis for the next Comprehensive Plan update to inform future land use scenarios and build out possibilities • Convening of cross-departmental stakeholders on strategic growth can serve the City well as a launch for other long-range planning considerations. Page 18 of 21  Strategic Growth Process Phase 2: Phase 4: How Phase 5: Phase 1: Phase 3: Initial Definitions and do we get Implementation Coordination analysis baseline there? Plan • Conversations • Document existing • Analyze vacant • Identify potential • Adopt strategic with Planning and “strategic growth parcels opportunities growth element Zoning policies” • Analyze based on Phase 3 • Anticipate 2 Commission & • Determine underutilized analysis with months Council definition for parcels/land Council and • Convene Core “underutilized • Discuss vacant and Planning Team parcels” underutilized Commission. • Convene Technical • Anticipate 2 parcel analysis • Identify potential Advisory months with Planning new strategic Committee Commission & City growth policies for • Anticipate 2 Council Englewood with months • Anticipate 3-4 Council and months Planning Commission Page 19 of 21 • Anticipate 3-4 months  Q&A Q Page 20 of 21 화 Ehnglewood  Questions for P&Z • How would Planning Commission like to be updated/involved in the development of these elements? • Are there any major concerns? • Are there any initial considerations that staff should include during the early stage of the development of these elements? • What questions do you have for staff? 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