Fort Collins, CO Zoning Overlays & Bonuses: Downtown Design Guide (2026)
Key Facts
- Large-building review
- >25,000 sf/story or >6 stories/85 ft
- Historic overlay
- Old Town Historic District Design Standards apply
- Prohibited materials
- Vinyl siding, synthetic stucco, imitation brick
- Design reference
- Fort Collins River District Design Guidelines
- Governs
- Applications filed before May 17, 2024
Summary
New buildings in Fort Collins' Downtown District must follow prescriptive design standards set out in Transitional Land Use Code Division 4.16, and structures inside the locally designated Old Town Fort Collins Historic District must additionally comply with the separately adopted Old Town Historic District Design Standards and the U.S. Secretary of the Interior's historic preservation standards.
(3)Old Town Fort Collins Historic District. Buildings located within the locally designated Old Town Fort Collins Historic District shall also comply with the Old Town Historic District Design Standards adopted by Ordinance 094, 2014, Chapter 14 of the City Code, and the U.S. Secretary of the Interior Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties. See Old Town Fort Collins Historic District, Figure 19.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Municipal Code: Supplement 155 | Transitional Land Use Code (for project before May 17, 2024): Supplement 61 | Traffic Code: Supplement 27).
Full Breakdown
16 of the Transitional Land Use Code sets out the Downtown District's Site Design and Special Subdistrict Provisions, the code's version of a downtown design guide. 16(E)(3) requires that any building located within the locally designated Old Town Fort Collins Historic District comply with the Old Town Historic District Design Standards adopted by Ordinance No. S. Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties. 16(C)(5) triggers mandatory Planning and Zoning Board review, rather than administrative approval, for any new building or addition exceeding twenty-five thousand square feet of floor area per story, or that exceeds six stories or eighty-five feet in height.
16(E)(5)(b)5 pointing applicants to the separately published Fort Collins River District Design Guidelines for additional guidance. Because this is the Transitional Land Use Code, these standards govern development applications submitted before May 17, 2024; later applications are reviewed under the current Land Use Code's downtown provisions.
Violations & Fines
A downtown building that departs from the mandated design standards, including the Old Town Historic District Design Standards or the prohibited-materials list for the River and Innovation Subdistricts, cannot receive development plan approval until it is brought into compliance, and construction undertaken without that approval is a Land Use Code violation. Under Section 2.14.4(A), violations are misdemeanors punishable per City Code Section 1-15, with each day of noncompliance a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
What design rules apply to new buildings in downtown Fort Collins?
When does a downtown project need Planning and Zoning Board review instead of staff approval?
Are certain building materials banned in downtown Fort Collins?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Fort Collins
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