Lyons weighs preliminary growth overlay as staff cites capacity for 273 more water connections
The proposed overlay would identify potential infill and redevelopment sites near jobs and transit but would not rezone land or require development.
Lyons is considering a preliminary growth overlay to identify vacant or underused properties and corridors near jobs and transit, while town staff estimate the existing water system could support about 273 additional single-family-equivalent connections.
The overlay is part of the town’s work to add strategic-growth and water-supply elements to its comprehensive plan under Colorado’s SB 24-174. At an Aug. 10 joint workshop, staff said the map could help identify realistic locations for infill and redevelopment while accounting for sprawl, infrastructure and economic feasibility. No formal action was taken.
Staff’s presentation to the Board of Trustees and Planning, Community and Development Commission identified possible areas including commercial properties, larger parking lots, automotive properties, the riverbed corridor, a partially developed node near Stone Canyon and some unannexed properties. The draft approach generally excluded residential-agricultural land and town parks. Trustees also asked staff to consider the post office, town-owned parking areas and properties in the Walls/Sandstone area, but the meeting did not establish that those sites would be included.
The overlay would not change zoning, require an owner to build or prevent the town from considering development outside the mapped area. Staff said it should not be interpreted as an annexation plan or development mandate. The map still must be refined to identify individual properties and incorporate information such as floodplain and floodway boundaries.
Staff compared the potential growth areas with a regional housing-need estimate of about 187 homes. The town receives treated water from Longmont in exchange for raw-water rights, including Lyons’ native St. Vrain Creek rights, Colorado-Big Thompson water and Lake Macintosh water. Staff said a three-quarter-inch connection generally requires one CBT unit, which costs roughly $60,000, or about 1.4 to 1.5 Lake Macintosh shares, which cost about $15,000 each.
The approximately 273-connection estimate is based in part on a code allowance of 260,000 gallons per year for a three-quarter-inch connection. Larger connections count as multiple single-family equivalents: a one-inch connection as two and a two-inch connection as eight, according to staff. The meeting record did not include a complete worksheet showing how the estimate was calculated from remaining capacity, existing commitments and other assumptions.
Infrastructure requirements and costs also remain unresolved. The town’s strategic-growth staff memo says the analysis must consider infrastructure needs, service needs, long-term fiscal impacts and estimated costs. Staff said the next phase would develop test sites, including a possible Town Hall redevelopment, and prepare high-level cost estimates for mapped areas lacking infrastructure. No specific projects, dollar amounts, funding sources or construction responsibilities were presented Aug. 10.
Staff expected to return with a refined package to the Planning, Community and Development Commission in late October, followed by review by other boards and commissions and the Board of Trustees. The required overlay work is targeted for completion by Dec. 31, 2026, with a housing action-plan phase planned for 2027. The Aug. 10 meeting agenda did not set a date for possible public hearings before adoption. The Aug. 24 meeting mentioned during the workshop concerns a subdivision, not the overlay.