Pel-Ona Architects & Urbanists, in collaboration with Peter J. Park, LLC and Metta Urban Design, conducted the audit and rewrite phases of the new zoning code for the City of Golden, CO. The code was adopted by the City Council in two phases: first phase in 2022, second phase in 2023.
Preserving the small town character, increasing housing diversity by permitting and encouraging small lot, small building developments, enabling inclusion of small business opportunities in mixed-use corridors were among the primary objectives used in crafting the new code. The code brought in two important innovations: compounds with multiple accessory buildings and clusters where regular lots are subdivided into multiple mini-lots with cottages. The result is a user-friendly code that encourages more diverse, inclusive, and well-loved development. The team crafted 46 building form types and assigned them to 9 building form zones in various combinations.
Each of the 46 building form types are presented in the code with a diagrammatic plan and a bird’s-eye perspective. Above are, from left to right, Courtyard Frontage Compound, Four Cottage Compound, and Cluster of Detached and Attached Cottages.
A comparison of the same lot under different building form types that permit similar amount of building floor area: on the left is a four-unit rowhouse building, on the right is a five-cottage compound. Each of these may be appropriate in different contexts. Creating multiple building form types allow us to better respond to the scale and character of the context.
Excerpts from the adopted Golden Zoning Code Rewrite document
