FAQ

LDO is the Land Development Ordinance which is Title (chapter) 13 of the Parker Municipal Code.

The LDO contains standards and regulations that govern land use, development and growth within the Town. Its purpose is to “preserve and promote the public health, safety and welfare of the inhabitants of the Town and the public generally and to encourage and facilitate the orderly growth of and expansion of the Town.”

The LDO Modernization Project is a rewrite of the standards and regulations, also known as the ‘code.’ This is the first comprehensive update to the LDO. The project strives to achieve the following goals and outcomes: 

• Align Town regulations with the community’s vision, goals and policies from the Parker 2035 Master Plan
• Incorporate new zoning tools and best practices
• Provide better predictability & transparency for the Town, our citizens, property owners and developers.
• Enhance the minimum required development quality in Parker
• Integrate adopted Parker design standards
• Clarify & streamline procedures and processes
• Create a modern, user-friendly document

The Town initiated the project, along with the project consultant Clarion Associates, to modernize and replace the LDO which was originally adopted in 1981 from Douglas County Zoning as part of the incorporation of the Town. Portions of the LDO have remained unchanged for over forty years, while others have been amended and expanded incrementally in response to policy changes.  These incremental revisions have created gaps, inconsistencies and ambiguity within the regulations.

The LDO Modernization Project has been completed in two phases.   These phases were created to provide a more clearly defined work process and included the following –

Phase 1 (Project Charter):  The Project Charter is a guiding document that established the roadmap to develop a ‘plan to do the project’.  This component of the project included analysis of the current LDO, community outreach and engagement including open houses, a Diagnostic Report and an Annotated Outline. The Project Charter provided a clear path/roadmap on how to rewrite/draft the LDO. 

Phase 2 (Writing the LDO):  Drafting (rewriting) the proposed LDO in three (3) separate installments called Modules:

1. Module 1 – Zoning Districts & Uses
2. Module 2 – Development Standards
3. Module 3 – Administration and Procedures

Town staff and the project consultant held community open houses for all draft modules as well as posted the drafts on the project website for citizens to comment on.

Adoption of the LDO is tentatively scheduled for Spring of 2024.

The proposed new LDO includes the establishment of new zoning districts and the modification of existing zoning districts. However, the adoption of these Zone Districts  will not take effect until the Official Parker Zoning Map is amended to locate these new and modified districts – after the adoption of the replacement LDO. The existing zoning districts will remain in effect until then.