Longmont council approves 'House Pad' land‑use and rezoning to build 185 deed‑restricted for‑sale homes

Mayor Peek and city staff on May 28 approved land‑use and zoning changes to allow the House Pad (formerly "Mustang") neighborhood, a roughly 16.4‑acre development that city staff and the applicant say will deliver 185 all‑electric for‑sale homes with a mix of attached and detached units.

"The subject property encompasses roughly 16.4 acres," said Kristen Cony, senior planner, describing the request to change the Envision Longmont designation from "multifamily neighborhood" to "mixed neighborhood" and to rezone lots 5 and 6 from RMF to a Planned Unit Development (PUD) with an RMN allowance. Cony said roughly 55 units would be permanently deed‑restricted as affordable and about 130 as attainable, for an overall density of about 11.6 units per acre.

The applicant, represented by B. Brun of Resource Conservation Partners and development partner Walker Thrash of Vertical LLC, framed the project as a public‑private partnership intended to create a walkable neighborhood that integrates affordable and attainable homes without visually segregating affordable units. "We believe the applications as presented meet the purpose and intent of the city stated goals for providing more housing opportunities in Longmont," the applicant team said.

Councilmembers asked about parking and the Planning & Zoning commission's conditions. Councilmember Rodriguez said the commission is the decision maker for some PUD details and said he would work with the owner to request removal of a parking‑space reduction condition — and, if necessary, to appeal that decision back to council.

Public commenters spoke during the hearing. Shaquille D. said he supports reducing parking minimums to advance transit and climate goals and asked how many units would be lost to add parking. Morgan Tuxler praised the proposal's housing diversity and said the change aligns with expected state law changes and climate goals. Gary Hodes warned that deed restrictions can shift costs to market‑rate buyers.

After discussion, Councilmember Hiago Faring moved to adopt ordinance 2024‑32 (map amendment), which passed unanimously; the council then adopted ordinance 2024‑33 (rezoning to PUD) and ordinance 2024‑34 (concept plan amendment) by unanimous votes with Councilmembers McCoy and Martin absent.

The approvals change the property's long‑range land‑use designation and allow the developer to proceed with a PUD process that staff said will produce the detailed development plan, public‑realm improvements and required code findings. Councilmembers and staff said they will return with implementation details and that some PUD conditions remain subject to Planning & Zoning review.

The council meeting packet and staff presentation contain project specifics including unit counts, density calculations and the sections of Longmont Municipal Code referenced in staff findings.

The council approved the ordinances at the May 28 meeting; next steps for the project include final PUD documentation, any Planning & Zoning actions on site‑specific conditions and the developer's construction timeline.