PRE-APPLICATION REVIEW PROCESS

Pre-Application meetings are offered as an informal courtesy* step in the application process to all citizens, applicants and representatives of applicants. The meeting provides prospective applicants the opportunity to meet with City staff to discuss a land use proposal before making a formal application submittal to the City. The purpose of the meeting is to offer staff advice on the proposal, explain the review process involved in making an application, and provide handouts, guides and application forms.

*A pre-application meeting is required for requests to change zoning to Planned Development.

To schedule a Pre-Application meeting, please submit the following documents in hard copy (no e-mails or faxes accepted) to the City Development Department:

• Eight copies of a Cover Letter: The cover letter should explain what you wish to do on the property and provide the name, telephone number and address of the property owner(s), representatives or agents.

• Eight copies of a Vicinity Map: A vicinity map showing where the property is located within the City of Thornton.

• Eight folded copies of a Sketch Plan:  This graphic should be drawn to some scale and include a north arrow, date of preparation, building footprint, parking and landscape areas, access points, streets and rights-of-way. Also identify any existing buildings on the site, any natural features of the property which we should be aware of, any easements affecting the property and what you envision doing on the site if development were to be approved.

Additional items that would be helpful to our initial reaction to the proposal include:

• Building elevations, identifying building materials, types of construction and setbacks contemplated for the use.

• Occupancy classification, total square footage, and any subdivision lot arrangements.

When to make a submittal:

• The above documents need to be submitted to the City by 12 p.m. on Tuesday of any week to schedule a meeting for the following week on Thursday. If all meeting times are already reserved, the meeting will be scheduled for the next available date and time, typically two weeks out on Thursday.

• The specific date and time will be assigned for your meeting when we receive your submittal.

At the meeting:

• You are welcome to bring anyone you wish to the pre-application meeting to take notes or raise related questions that might be considered.

• You will be introduced to the Case Manager in Current Planning and the Project Manager in Development Engineering who will be assigned to your case(s) if you decide to proceed to making any formal submittals. Staff is advisory only. Decisions on what should be done for the submittal are made by the applicant.

If you have any questions, please feel free to call the City Development Department at 303-538-7295.