Planning and Zoning Commission

The Commission is also the final decision making authority regarding land use proposals including overall development plans, project development plans and any planned unit developments that remain from the City's previous land use regulations. In addition, the Commission coordinates with the Poudre and Thompson school districts and the Larimer County Planning Commission.

Some knowledge of Land Use Code is helpful.

15-20 hours per month

The members of the Planning and Zoning Commission are resident volunteers. They welcome your participation in the review process, and value your opinions. Your input can assist Commission members as they consider development projects or policy recommendations. This brochure explains more about meetings of the Planning and Zoning Commission and how you can participate.

The hearing agenda shows the order of events in the meeting. Residents can use it to find out when the item they're interested in will be discussed and when they can make public comments.

Find the agenda (one week before the meeting):

• In the "Upcoming Meeting Documents" section of this page
• An hour before the hearing on the table outside of the meeting chambers

Typical order of business:

1. Roll Call
2. Agenda Review
3. Citizen Participation (for non-agenda items)
4. Consent Agenda
5. Discussion Agenda
6. Other Business

Comments from residents are important testimony for the Commission to use when making their decisions. In order to know when to comment, first determine where the topic of focus is located on the agenda:

The topic is not on the agenda
Comments on topics not on the hearing's agenda are allowed in the Citizen Participation portion of the hearing after agenda review

The topic is on the consent agenda
Items on the Consent Agenda are considered to have no known opposition or concern, and are approved all together in one vote.

A Commissioner, staff or audience member may request for an item to be "pulled from the Consent Agenda" and discussed in detail as part of the Discussion Agenda. During this agenda item, the Commission Chair will ask if anyone wishes to move the item to discussion.

"Pulled" Consent Agenda items will be moved to the Discussion Agenda and will be considered first on the Discussion Agenda.

The topic is on the discussion agenda
Each discussion agenda item follows the following order:

1. Staff presentation and recommendation
2. Applicant presentation
3. Public comment
4. Commission deliberation and voting

Time

• At the beginning of the public comment period, the Chair will announce how long each person may speak. Time allowed is usually between 2 and 3 minutes depending on the number of commenters. Commenters using interpretation will have double the time.
• Any resident can donate their time to another person. Please contact the Neighborhood Development Liaison prior to the hearing to organize time donations.

Procedure

• At the time for public comment, please step up to the podium so the Chair can recognize your comments.
• Before you speak, please sign in at the podium, then state your name and address for the record.
• Focus on being clear and concise about why you support and/or oppose the proposal.
• Disagreement is welcome and useful, but focus criticism on ideas, not people or identities.
• When the light on the podium turns yellow, you have 30 seconds left. When it turns red, you must conclude your comments.

The Commission Chair will moderate for decorum and procedure. Please do not boo or clap. Do not try to speak to the Commission unless it is your turn at the podium. If you have questions, locate a City staff member for help.

Written comments can be submitted in addition to or instead of making a comment in-person. There is no length limit for written comments.

Submit written comments in Word, PDF or email format to DevReviewComments@FortCollins.gov at least 24 hours before the hearing, or bring a hard copy to the hearing.

Contact Us

The Neighborhood Development Liaison is a full time staff member who's main role is to provide support to the public.

• 970-224-6076
• DevReviewComments@FortCollins.gov

After hearing all testimony, the Commission has one question to answer: Does the proposal follow all the rules of the Fort Collins Land Use Code and Municipal Code? Based on their answer, the Commission can:

• Approve the proposal
• Approve the proposal with modifications
• Deny the proposal
• Continue the proposal to another meeting

The Commission Chair will call for a motion to take one of these actions. The motion must pass by a majority vote.

Decisions on agenda items for which the Planning and Zoning Commission is the final decision maker may be appealed to City Council within 14 days of the date of a decision.

Appeals are based solely on the information that is part of the hearing record, including testimony and comments submitted prior or during the hearing.