Create Loveland, the City’s latest comprehensive plan, is about a year behind schedule. However, the Planning Commission unanimously approved a draft in February and soon the final version will be considered for adoption by the City Council. At the Council’s latest study session, the conversation around Create Loveland focused on the cost of implementing some of the document’s recommendations rather than any controversial aspects of the plan itself.
The draft document is available for public review. It doesn’t contain anything particularly alarming for real estate. The City’s Long-Range Planning Director, Karl Barton, said Create Loveland implicitly accepts growth will happen and identifies areas of town that are appropriate for more residential development.
It is important to note Create Loveland supports the concept of “housing affordability” by facilitating mixed density neighborhoods to keep land costs down versus an affordable housing program that provides financial support to produce housing at below-market rates. The plan also focuses on retaining and attracting higher wage employers.
Create Loveland is intended to provide a broad policy framework and the City’s specific policies and plans will complement the principles it defines. This is important because the City is preparing to revise its affordable housing policy. Given the housing affordability concept mentioned above, it is unlikely that policy will include provisions to mandate public spending to build housing at below-market rates by the public or the private sector. The latest draft of Create Loveland and an interesting appendix with an existing conditions snapshot and market-supported development opportunities can be downloaded here: http://www.createloveland.com/documents.html
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