Arvada, CO Zoning Overlays & Bonuses: Downtown Design Guide (2026)

Division 2-1-5 of the Land Development Code, the Olde Town District, is a form-based code, meaning it regulates the shape, placement and street presence of buildings, not just their use. Section 2-1-5-1 states the purpose is "to protect the established historic character of Olde Town Arvada based on the City's adopted plans and design guidelines for the area," and the Division is "applied in conjunction with the Design Guidelines for Olde Town Arvada." The district is split into seven subdistricts, OT-E, OT-EY, OT-GV, OT-OW, OT-RN, OT-RR and OT-W, each carrying its own form standards tailored to that area's character, and Section 2-1-5-2 sets out eight permissible building types with a matrix showing which types are allowed in each subdistrict.

Sections 2-1-5-3 through 2-1-5-11 define and apply the specific dimensional and form standards: front, side and rear setback measurement, build-to percentage (how much of the frontage zone width must hold building facade), building width, building height measured in stories under Table 2-1-5-3H (one story equals 15 feet, up to five stories at 65 feet), ground-floor transparency minimums, and blank-wall limits on street-facing facades. Subsection D specifically overrides the build-to and frontage-zone rules for any "enlargement, alteration, or expansion" in Olde Town, requiring it instead to occur "in the most historically appropriate location as determined through design review." Property owners in the overlapping Reno Park Addition Historic District Project Area face an added layer: Section 2-1-3-3(D) requires those projects to obtain a Certificate of Compliance with Design Guidelines under Section 8-3-5-4 before any permit is approved.