Front Range Land Solutions
Rosi Dennett is a Certified Professional Planner with over 30 years of land use planning experience primarily in Boulder County, Colorado, with about half of that time spent working in the public sector at the Boulder County Land Use Department. Her expertise includes formulating, interpreting, and enforcing land use regulations and comprehensive master plans; managing development projects as the lead planning consultant; processing special review projects for various governmental agencies; and designing and processing subdivisions, special uses, and site plan reviews.
Expertise
- Town and Regional Strategic Planning, Development Assessment, and Project Management
Education
- MPA, Master of Public Administration, University of Phoenix, AZ
- BA, University of New York, Rochester. NY
Professional Affiliations
- American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) since 1994
- American Planning Association (APA) since 1990
Consulting
Front Range Land Solutions offers consultation services in all aspects of the Land Use Development and Review Process for individuals, businesses, schools, and churches looking to expand or build in Boulder County. Rosi also provides consultation to governmental entities drafting comprehensive plans and writing regulations.
Subdivisions
Boulder County has subdivision regulations for divisions of land that create building lots less than 35 acres in size. The County’s subdivision review process involves three steps: Sketch Plan, Preliminary Plan and Final Plan. The Sketch Plan process reviews the feasibility and design characteristics of the proposal, the Preliminary Plan process reviews engineering requirements for the development, and the Final Plan review includes final engineering plans, development agreement and other Final Plat documents (See Articles 5, 6 and 7 of the County Land Use Code). Most subdivisions in the County are PUDs (Planned Unit Developments), because PUD regulations allow for more flexibility in development requirements. In addition, most subdivisions today are TDRs (Transferred Development Rights) which are based on the basic principal of transferring density from significant agricultural lands or rural properties with important environmental resources to lands adjacent to existing development, typically adjacent to municipalities. These review processes can take from 6 to 24 months to complete, depending on the scope and size of the projects. TDRs may also be subject to review processes by the adjacent municipalities and involve multiple public hearings before Planning Commission and County Commissioners. The following list is a sampling of TDR/PUD and PUD approvals that Rosi has obtained for her clients:
- Lefthand Ranch TDR/PUD (Transferred Development Rights/Planned Unit Development)
- Dirks (Majestic Retreat) TDR/PUD
- Wood Meadows TDR/PUD
- Niwot Ridge (Legend Ridge) TDR/PUD
- Somerlyn TDR/PUD
- Clover Basin Ranch (Portico) TDR/PUD
- Quiet Retreat TDR/PUD
- Willow Springs TDR/PUD
- Foxhaven PUD
- Hillcrest Heights (Wildview) PUD
1041’s
Areas and Activities of State Interest (1041s) designated by the County are reviewed to assess environmental impacts of public or quasi-public utilities to determine compatibility with the County Comprehensive Plan. (See Article 8 of the County Land Use Code.)
Colorado House Bill 1041, known as Areas and Activities of State Interest Act, allows local governments to regulate a variety of development activities. Boulder County’s 1041 regulations apply to public and quasi-public utilities such as water and wastewater treatment plants, pump stations, and transmission pipelines. The purpose of the County’s 1041 review process is to assess environmental impacts of the utility improvements to determine compatibility with the County Comprehensive Plan (See Article 8 of the County Land Use Code). The timelines for review of these projects vary greatly (from 4 months to 30 months) and typically include public hearings before Planning Commission and County Commissioners. The following list is a sampling of 1041 approvals that Rosi has successfully obtained for a variety of governmental entities including water districts, municipalities, and even Boulder County.
- Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District’s Southern Water Supply Project II
- Boulder County’s Eldorado Springs Wastewater Treatement Plant
- Longmont’s Water Treatment Plant and Water Lines
- Erie’s Pump Station, Water Lines and Sewer Lines
- Left Hand Water District’s Water Treatment Plants, Water Storage Tanks and Lines
- Lyon’s Pump Station and Water Lines
- Longs Peak Water District’s Water Treatment Plant
Other Processes
Rosi has also consulted on numerous other land use processes in Boulder County’s jurisdiction including Site Plan Reviews, Subdivision Replats, Subdivision Exemptions, Limited Impact Special Reviews, Vacations, Variances, and Historical Preservation. She has also consulted on many projects in other jurisdictions including annexations and subdivisions or special uses in Lafayette (Forest Park Mixed Use PUD, Avalon PUD, and New Church SU), subdivisions in Longmont (Wallace Addition or Prospect) Mixed Use PUD and Hover Crossing Mixed Use PUD), subdivisions in Frederick, a fire station annexation in Boulder and a conditional use in New Hampshire (Big Island Conference Center).
Disaster Recovery
Front Range Land Solutions assists communities and local governments with identification of appropriate federal and state programs to address replacement housing and incremental housing strategies, as well as locating and applying for grants. Functioning as consultant and liaison between government entities to ensure qualifications are met and processes run smoothly, Rosi’s expertise includes:
- Identifying the needs of the town/city and citizens, and where they meet
- Developing strategies of relocation and rebuilding
- Navigating government systems to secure funding from disaster relief programs and integrating homeowners into the systems
- Writing and submitting grants
Following the flood of 2013, Rosi was hired by the Town of Lyons to assist with emergency housing needs. The flood wiped out all services, the town was evacuated for weeks, and many homes were destroyed. She came on initially to help town staff begin the process of addressing the needs of the 200 displaced households in the community. Many would be forced to relocate as their homes were destroyed, others wanted to rebuild if possible, and others wanted to participate in a government buyout of their properties. She became engaged in the process of identifying what kind of programs and grants were available, what the town wanted, what the residents wanted, and what was possible to meet their diverse needs.
Many homeowners opted to participate in the federal buyout program, which compensated them for pre-flood values of their properties and transferred ownership to the town. In the process, Rosi became adept at navigating the multiple levels of local, state and federal government and in the end, more than 20 homeowners were able to gain compensation for their properties. The town is converting those properties into dedicated community space.
Contact me for a consultation
I’d love to hear from you concerning your project. Please fill out the form and include any details or questions you might think necessary. I usually respond within 24 hours.
