Comprehensive Plan

The comprehensive plan sets forth the community's vision, goals and policies to help guide development and investment decisions. The plan sets the stage for short- and long-term development regulations, ongoing decision-making, program funding and capital investments. It also provides a basis for coordination among all of Commerce City's detailed plans, implementation programs, systems, and services.

Commerce City 2045 Plan

View the Comprehensive Plan(PDF, 100MB)

The Commerce City 2045 Comprehensive Plan went into effect on Nov. 1, 2024.

Commerce City 2045 Vision Statement

Commerce City is a thriving community: economically strong, environmentally sustainable, and socially equitable. Commerce City is a healthy and safe city where fresh air, clean water, public health, and the preservation of natural open space are paramount. Commerce City is a financially sound city where businesses flourish through collaboration and innovation. Commerce City is a diverse community that celebrates its unique history, identity, and culture, where families and individuals of all ages can live, work, and play.

Commerce City 2045 Overview

The City’s Comprehensive Plan is a long-range land use plan that determines community goals and objectives in terms of community development. It is a guiding document and sets forth the community’s vision for how the City should ideally develop over the next 20-25 years. The Plan includes the City’s Growth Boundary and identifies future Annexation Areas.

The Commerce City 2045 Comprehensive Plan takes a modern approach to master planning the City by utilizing the concept of Character Areas as unique geographic areas rather than more typical land use categories. The Commerce City 2045 Comprehensive Plan includes the following elements to create a complete guide for the future of Commerce City:

  1. Introduction: Introduces the purpose of the Comprehensive Plan, how the Plan will be used, a review of the planning process and the Plan chapters.
  2. Outreach and Engagement: Provides an overview of the community engagement process and key issues identified by the community that is addressed by the Plan.
  3. Community Profile: Presents the existing context of the community, including an overview of the planning area, past plans and studies, demographics, existing land use and current zoning.
  4. Vision, Core Principles, Goals and Objectives: Presents the Comprehensive Plan’s vision and core principles that were used to guide the goals and recommendations of the Plan.
  5. Character Areas: Breaks the City into 13 geographic areas based upon the unique attributes of different parts of the City. The Character Areas reflect established land use patterns in some areas and new/planned land uses and development in other areas, to accommodate and guide new growth and development moving forward.
  6. Connected Corridors: Includes a focused planning approach for the Quebec Parkway, 72nd Avenue, 104th Avenue, Highway 2, Tower Road, I-270 and US-85 corridors, identifying specific issues, improvements and development opportunities.
  7. Commerce and Employment: Includes recommendations for building the City’s assets to strengthen the local economy, job opportunities, and quality development.
  8. Housing and Neighborhoods: Includes recommendations for guiding new residential growth and revitalizing the City’s existing residential areas to support inclusive, thriving and diverse neighborhoods.
  9. Community Character: Includes recommendations for strengthening local identity and image; enhancing gateways and placemaking; supporting arts, history and culture; and leveraging community destinations for tourism opportunities.
  10. Transportation and Mobility: Includes recommendations for improving multimodal connectivity and safety and increasing mobility through the City.
  11. Parks, Open Space, and the Environment: Includes recommendations to enhance the park and trail system and protect and enhance Commerce City’s natural assets.
  12. Public Facilities and Infrastructure: Includes recommendations for future infrastructure and community facility improvements and fiscal sustainability to ensure current and future residents are adequately served by public facilities and infrastructure.
  13. Implementation: Presents how the Plan should be implemented and updated over time, potential funding sources, and an action matrix that identifies the key recommendations contained within the Plan.
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