Department of Community Development
Reference: Parks & Open Space Land Use and Development Code Amendments
To: Mayor Gregory Mills and Members of City Council
Through: Michael P. Martinez, City Manager
Prepared By: Shawn Weiman, Affordable Housing Coordinator
Date Prepared: October 22, 2026
PURPOSE
To review and consider amendments to the City of Brighton (the “City”) Land Use & Development Code (the “Code”) regarding regulations of parks and open space that will clarify the various parks and open space types, design requirements, and dedication requirements.
BACKGROUND
The amendments to the parks and open space portions of the Code were brought before both the Planning Commission and the City Council at a study session on June 9, 2026. The Code identifies parks and open space as “open and civic space,” which is inconsistent with the commonly accepted term “parks and open space.” Also, “open and civic space” often gets conflated with “site-specific open space,” which is the area of a lot free of structures and certain other improvements. Additionally, the parks and open space requirements in the Code are not fully aligned with those in the Parks & Recreation Master Plan (the “Plan”). Lastly, in response to reoccurring developer feedback and considering ongoing housing affordability initiatives, the amount of required open space dedication and how different types of parks and open space dedication are applied were examined.
STAFF ANALYSIS
Amendments aligning the Code with the Plan will more effectively apply the intent of each. Also, Staff compared the City parks and open space dedication requirements to the National Recreation and Park Association recommendations and to neighboring cities. The comparisons showed that current City dedication requirements are generally twice that of the recommendation and other cities’ requirements. Decreasing the amount of open space dedication will maintain a comparable and adequate amount of dedication that meets the ...
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