La Plata County is planning to update its Land Use Code (LUC) in 2024 to include a chapter on affordable housing. According to Director of Community Development, Lynn Hyde, it may take the help of a consultant to develop an affordable and workforce housing chapter for the LUC.  It  will cover topics such as building codes, fees, regulatory tools to incentivize infill, strategies for diversifying housing types and allowing more densities near services and a review of processes to ensure timelines of project review and approval.

Hyde also said right now the code doesn’t have a great avenue for businesses that want to expand. If a business increases greater than 10%, the business would have to go through a minor or major land use process, which could bring insurmountable problems that potentially cause a business to leave the county. Hyde said it starts to feel like we’re penalizing businesses that want to grow or expand. She said she is looking for some middle ground that will  help a business expand and not create a false ceiling for their expansion.