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When Russ Martin stepped in as Hayden Town manager, two big goals stood out among items on his to do list: Devise a new comprehensive plan and establish a new land use code.

Nearly two years later, the town has a revamped, forward-thinking master plan and is close to having a land use code to back it up.

After many work sessions, the Hayden Planning Commission Thursday will review a final draft of the new code.

The Planning Commission has been working with planning consultant Tim Katers to revise the old, outdated code, which was hard to reference and unclear about certain aspects of development.

The latest draft of the code, about three times the size of the previous code, has 13 chapters including zoning and subdivision regulations -- not included in the previous code -- as well as new sections dealing with historic preservation, oil and gas drilling and community design standards.

That chapter, in particular, posed many challenging questions regarding nearly every aspect of development including pathways, streets, architecture, easements and setbacks.

Changes include reducing the amount of open in space in residential subdivisions from 25 percent to 20 percent and requiring residential developers to dedicate a certain amount of land or funds for future schools.

Among additions to the code that already have been tested is the requirement for developers to have a block diversity plan or conceptual plan of the types of homes and/or buildings on a typical block in the development.

Such a plan helped the Planning Commission visualize and evaluate plans for the Lake Village subdivision south of Hayden. That project was approved earlier this summer.

The zoning map accompanying the new code is more colorful, with new zones establishing a downtown historic district as well as service and auto-oriented commercial districts.

The commission made some zoning changes, including not allowing asphalt-mixing plants and gravel pits and also creating an airport-zoning district for the Yampa Valley Regional Airport.

The district would allow the airport, currently zoned open, to build hangers and other airport-related projects without a conditional use permit.

The planning process would require only site plans and building permits.

Even after approval the code will require adjustments as certain issues arise, Martin said.

Overall, it's better to have black and white standards that can be adjusted than to have unclear rules that need to be interpreted, he said.

Residents are encouraged to comment on the plan, which is available for review at Hayden Town Hall. Chapters also are available online at www.townofhayden.org.

The Planning Commission will meet at 7 p.m. at Town Hall.

To reach Tamera Manzanares, call 871-4204 or e-mail tmanzanares@steamboatpilot.com.