Lyons weighs growth overlay as staff cite water capacity above housing need

Lyons staff told the Planning and Community Development Commission that the town’s documented water supply could support about 300 to 400 additional single-family-equivalent housing units or commercial equivalents — more than the 87-household need identified in the town’s regional housing assessment. Commissioners pressed staff for a clearer account of actual available capacity as Lyons works to meet Colorado’s SB 24-174 housing-planning requirements.

The discussion took place July 27 as the town considered a draft strategic-growth overlay. The overlay would not approve development; it would identify areas where redevelopment or infill could be appropriate as Lyons updates its comprehensive plan.

Draft overlay areas

Based on staff’s presentation and commissioner discussion, the draft focuses on Lyons’ eastern corridor and Highway 36/downtown commercial areas. Potential areas include the old CDOT site, the Blue Cross site, the riverbend/automotive area and downtown commercial blocks. Staff said the eastern-corridor boundary would remain relatively tight along the highway and initially stop at the southern town boundary, though it could expand to additional parcels not owned by the county or protected by easements.

Commissioners discussed the gateway, post office area, underused parcels and the looping/stone-yard area as possible additions or refinements. Staff said some parcels were included because they are among the few physically feasible places for growth and could improve the feasibility of development south of the highway.

The draft would leave out Apple Valley and South St. Vrain, where staff said the comprehensive plan does not anticipate large-scale annexation or growth and infrastructure is not present. It also generally excludes county-owned or open-space land, conservation easements and other constrained properties. Staff described the north side as limited by the blue-line water-service boundary, topography and infrastructure challenges. Sandstone Park and some larger parcels also were excluded.

Staff recommended not drawing the overlay around existing residential neighborhoods. Questions about duplexes, triplexes and other residential infill would instead be addressed through existing comprehensive-plan policies and possibly a later discussion of the R1 zone. The boundaries remain preliminary: staff’s July 27 presentation shows commissioners discussing revisions, not adopting a final map.

Water capacity and housing need

Staff said Lyons’ current supply, including its arrangements for water treatment through Longmont, leaves capacity for about 300 to 400 additional single-family equivalents. Commissioners and staff compared that estimate with the 87-household figure from the DRCOG regional housing-needs assessment, while noting that the figures measure different things: infrastructure capacity versus households not served by the local housing market.

The comparison does not mean Lyons has committed to building 87 homes or that all estimated water capacity is available at every site. Commissioners asked staff to distinguish actual capacity from desired or theoretical capacity. Staff said the strategic-growth exercise should first identify where growth is appropriate from a land-use perspective, then account for water, wastewater, stormwater and other infrastructure constraints.

According to staff, Lyons has used the DRCOG regional housing-needs assessment for the needs-assessment portion of the state process. Staff also said the town sent its water-supply documentation to the Colorado Department of Local Affairs for review and did not expect major changes to that element.

State requirements and next steps

Colorado’s SB 24-174 requires covered local governments to publish a housing-needs assessment and add water-supply and strategic-growth elements to their comprehensive plans by Dec. 31, 2026. The strategic-growth work is intended to identify policies and sites that can support housing and limit sprawl; the water element addresses the location and adequacy of supplies and facilities.

The state’s current DOLA housing-plans guidance says housing action plans must be posted locally and submitted to DOLA by Jan. 1, 2028, with updates at least every six years. During the meeting, however, Lyons staff described the deadline as the end of 2028 and said consultant support could begin Jan. 1. The town should clarify the discrepancy before treating its schedule as final.

Staff said the overlay would be revised using the commission’s comments, then circulated to other boards and commissions. The sequence discussed at the meeting was review in August and September, a return to the Board of Trustees in late September or early October, additional public engagement, and a return to the board and commission before submission in December.

No final overlay or comprehensive-plan amendment was approved July 27. Staff’s next documented tasks are to revise the map, continue the required water and strategic-growth work, and bring the material back for public and elected-official review. The commission’s request for a more precise capacity accounting remains unresolved.