A long, arduous process is nearing its end as a public hearing has been set for adoption of the new Unified Development Code for the City of Woodland Park.

The hearing will be held at the March 5 meeting of the Woodland Park City Council. The code repeals and replaces Titles 16, 17 and 18 of the Municipal Code and repeals Section 5.24.

Director of Planning & Building Services Karen Schminke presented the ordinance at the Feb. 19 city council meeting.

“It’s been a long, very detailed journey,” Schminke said.

Long and detailed indeed. The proposed unified code covered 234 pages in the council’s meeting packet.

“This document shows an incredible dedication by members of this community to take a look at our development regulations and restructure them into a much more user-friendly, easier-to-follow document,” Schminke said.

Councilperson Catherine Nakai brought up questions about stables in residential areas. That discussion is expected to be a part of the public hearing.

Bergstrom Park compensation

One of the final items on the Tava House checklist was punched as compensation was set for the portion of the Bergstrom Park property lost due the installation of a CDOT-required turn lane from Eastbound US 24 onto Center Street.

The chunk of property was a 1,263-square-foot parcel that was previously part of the rest area parking lot along with a small, landscaped strip between the parking lot and the sidewalk.

Tava has already installed the turn lane along and relocated the sidewalk and the parking lot access, plus moved an EV charging station.

City Manager Aaron Vassalotti presented two land price comps with a very wide disparity. One was at $10.25 per square foot and the other was at $17.72 per square foot.

Council chose to use a number between the two, setting the value at $15.85 per square foot and giving credit for the $14,077 Tava has already spent.