Page 118 - Littleton, CO Comprehensive Plan

LOOKING AHEAD TO 2019

With the initial vision phase concluding in December,
Envision Littleton will turn next to a fully updated
Comprehensive Plan, to be drafted concurrently and
closely integrated with a first-ever Transportation
Master Plan for the city. Along with mobility, a
Comprehensive Plan addresses many other “building
blocks” of a community. Future land use and
transportation planning, in particular, give physical
shape and form to a community’s long-range vision.
The Comprehensive Plan will be centered on the
concept of “community character” as a way to
enhance Littleton’s approach to land use planning,
neighborhood conservation, and open space
preservation. Various land uses can occur in a range
of settings within a community, from the most rural
and suburban to the most urban, provided they
envisionlittleton.org are designed to match the character of the area.
Community character accounts for the physical traits
one can see in a neighborhood, on a roadway corridor,
or along a greenway trail which contribute to its “look
ADOPTED and feel” relative to areas with much different character.

Envision Report Looking beyond land use alone, a character-based
approach focuses on development intensity, which
encompasses the density and layout of residential
December 18, 2018
development; the scale and form of non-residential
development; and the amount of building and pavement
coverage relative to the extent of open space and
natural vegetation or landscaping. How the automobile
is accommodated is a key factor in distinguishing
character types including how public streets are
designed, how parking is provided, and how buildings
and paved areas are arranged on sites. It is this
combination of land use and the characteristics and
context of the use that determines the real compatibility
and quality of development, as well as the ongoing
integrity of open space areas intended for minimal or no
development.

Maintaining and enhancing desired character is
a central aim – and challenge – of implementing
community plans amid constant change.