The Dillon Town Council is considering an ordinance that would create a new Marina Overlay Zone District along the Dillon Reservoir waterfront to simplify and clarify zoning near the town-owned marina.

Complexities arise because the Dillon Marina is currently included in two zoning districts, the Parks & Open Space Zone District and Urban Reserve Zone District, Senior Town Planner Ned West told the Dillon Town Council during its work session Tuesday, Dec. 5.

“That creates an issue because the specific zoning provisions in the Parks & Open Space aren’t consistent with Urban Reserve,” West said. “Urban Reserve essentially has no real uses except single family homes on 5 acres. Urban Reserve is a, ‘set-aside zone’ if you will, around town.”

The Urban Reserve Zone District consists of undefined “reserve” areas of town and was originally intended to provide a zoning district for properties annexed by the town that would not be developed for some time, according to a memo written by Dillon town staff.

It was presumed that properties within the Urban Reserve Zone would be rezoned prior to their development and, therefore, essentially no permitted uses are identified for areas that fall in that zoning district, the memos states.

The majority of the Urban Reserve zoned areas near the marina are owned by Denver Water, which currently has no interest in any sort of development or rezoning of their properties there, West said. 

The Marina Overlay Zone District would function similarly to a Planned Unit Development Overlay District but with defined permitted uses, he said. 

The permitted uses in the Marina Overlay Zone District mostly align with what is permitted in the Parks & Open Space Zone District, West said. That includes marinas, yacht clubs, restaurants, snack bars, food vendors, meeting rooms and event space associated with a restaurant, parking, parking structures, rental and retail facilities, events and recreational uses, and more, he said.

Conditional uses include a childcare facility, if integrated into a planned marina development, a hotel or motel, if integrated into a planned marina development, and a two-family dwelling for employees of the marina only, the memo states.

“The idea here is we are still going to be consistent with what’s going on there — what we anticipate going on there in the future,” West said, “and also consistent with current visions in the Parks & Open Space Zone District that apply to marinas.”

Denver Water has no issues with the proposed Marina Overlay Zone District, West said. The Dillon Planning and Zoning Commission approved the overlay zone at its Nov. 1 meeting and recommended it for approval by the town council.

The Dillon Town Council did not recommend any changes to the proposed Marina Overlay Zone District. The council is scheduled to vote on a first reading of the ordinance to establish the overlay zone as part of the consent agenda during its Dec. 19 meeting.

Dillon Marina Director Craig Simson said, “This will clean things up big time for the future of whatever we’d like to do.”