Carbondale trustees have heard two requests this year to build three stories on Main Street past the town's 35-foot height limit. They rejected the first one in July. In August they unanimously advanced the same three-story building after it was redesigned to fit the code. The second request, at 155 Main Street, returns to the Board of Trustees on Tuesday, Nov. 10.
So a three-story building on Main Street already fits under the code. The vote already taken, and the one still pending, are about a few feet near the top, and about whether the public gets enough in return for them. Anyone weighing a condo, a mixed-use building or a home near downtown Carbondale should know that the zoning already allows a third floor. The process only decides how high the roof goes and who benefits from the extra height.
The Third Floor Survived the Denial
The first test came from two Carbondale firms, the architecture studio Forum Phi and the contractor Smith Mountain Builders. They proposed replacing a non-historic one-story commercial building at 242–256 Main St., directly east of the Village Smithy, with a three-story glass-and-brick building, the Sopris Sun reported in June. It would hold three commercial units and four residential units, one of them deed restricted.
The roof itself would have been 32 feet 10 inches high, under the limit. The elevator override and a slightly shorter stairwell enclosure would have risen above it to serve a shared rooftop deck. To make room for taller upper floors, the applicants also asked to cut the ground floor's floor-to-floor height to 12 feet. The code requires 14. "We're talking about 5% of the total roof area," Forum Phi partner Andrew Dillon told trustees.
The Planning & Zoning Commission recommended denial and the trustees agreed. The Sopris Sun reported July 29 that trustees rejected the request but were interested in an alternative design that met the standard rules for the zone. On Aug. 25, trustees unanimously voted to advance an approval ordinance for a three-story building at the same address, "now that the design aligns with the town code's height restrictions," according to the Sopris Sun's Aug. 26 report.
The project still has three stories. What it lost was the extra height for the elevator and rooftop deck, plus the shorter ground floor.
The Envelope, in Feet
Downtown Carbondale falls under the Historic Commercial Core, or HCC, standards in the town's Unified Development Code. The town's current version is amended through May 2026. The code says the south-side rules exist "to allow sunlight during winter months, and to ensure a desirable building scale and preserve views."
| HCC location |
Standard maximum |
Through alternative compliance |
| South side of Main, within 20 feet of the right-of-way |
27 feet |
No increase available |
| South side of Main, more than 20 feet back |
35 feet |
Up to 42 feet |
| HCC buildings not adjacent to Main Street but next to a public street, pedestrian mall, or the alley between Main and Garfield Avenue |
35 feet |
Up to 42 feet, with a minimum 10-foot setback from the façade before the added height begins |
| Any portion of any HCC building |
42 feet |
Listed rooftop items such as elevator overrides, skylights and solar equipment may go up to four feet higher, and fire separation walls only by the minimum the building code requires |
Pitched roofs are measured differently. The code measures building height from preconstruction grade to the top of a flat roof, the deck line of a mansard roof, or the mid-span of the highest gable on a pitched or hip roof. A peak may extend up to five feet above the district maximum. A building that "complies at 35 feet" can therefore have a ridgeline above 35 feet.
What a Few Extra Feet Have to Buy
The code describes alternative compliance as "not a general waiver of regulations." It authorizes a site-specific design that does better than the standard rule would. To win approval, an applicant has to show the alternative design:
- Achieves the intent of the standard better than the standard itself.
- Advances the Comprehensive Plan and the code better than the standard.
- Produces community benefits that exceed those of the standard.
- Imposes no greater impact on adjacent properties than a compliant building would.
The third test decided 242–256 Main. The applicants said the rooftop deck could double as a concert space or gathering spot on dates like First Fridays. The application contained nothing that guaranteed public use. P&Z found that the height did not produce community benefits beyond the standard "because the proposed rooftop deck does not include permanent, consistent or defined public access and will only be accessible to the building occupants and their guests at their discretion." The commission said the shorter ground floor mainly helped the occupants of the second and third floors.
In other words, a benefit enjoyed mostly by the building's own occupants did not count as a community benefit. Trustee Ross Kribbs said, "Exceptions need to be made for exceptional properties." Mayor Erica Sparhawk added, "I think we have to remember that the building is going to last longer than you guys."
155 Main Offers a Different Kind of Benefit
The second request comes from Land + Shelter, a Carbondale architecture studio founded in 2005. It covers a three-story commercial and residential building at 155 Main Street, on the north side directly west of the Carbondale Clay Center. P&Z recommended approval.
According to the Sopris Sun's Oct. 29 report, the design sets the third floor and roof back from Main Street. It reaches nearly 38 feet measured to the mid-span of the sloped roof, and the peak hits 40 feet on the north side. The first two floors rise straight from the sidewalk to 29 feet 6 inches, so the building would look like two stories from Main Street. The program:
- Ground floor: storage, two commercial spaces, and a driveway under the center of the building leading to nine internal parking spots
- Second floor: three commercial spaces and one deed-restricted rental apartment affordable to households earning 100% or less of the area median income
- Third floor: four leasable apartments
Land + Shelter's argument for the community benefit is about how the building looks from the street. A façade that rises 29 feet 6 inches and then steps back would loom less than a 35-foot wall built straight up from the sidewalk, which the code would allow. Sparhawk said she would pass it as proposed:
"I think the benefit of the perception of the building does impact the community a lot."
Trustee Chris Hassig was mostly in favor and asked for landscaping to keep that stretch of Main green. The other trustees present cited the height, the building's color, the lack of an obvious community benefit and the driveway underpass. One resident presented 137 signatures opposing the request, and another raised how tall the building would look from the Rio Grande Trail. Architect Andrea Korber said she had been told earlier decisions would not set precedent. Sparhawk said the application was "completely different from the last application."
Why the Extra Feet Matter to the People Who Build
Both applicants were trying to solve the same problem. Fitting three usable floors under 35 feet means thinner floors, so ceiling height becomes the scarce resource. Land + Shelter argued that a 12-foot floor-to-floor height on the second story would allow ceilings above 9 feet and "better leasable commercial space." Its design would also give the top floor ceilings above 9 feet. Forum Phi took a different route. It asked to shorten the ground floor so the second and third floors could have high enough ceilings under its roof.
At 155 Main, four of the five apartments, all of them leasable, sit on the third floor. Extra height there makes those top-floor units more comfortable and easier to lease. When P&Z evaluates the request, it asks how much of that extra height benefits the public and how much benefits the building's occupants.
Reading a Downtown Property Through This Lens
A lot next door to or across from a home or unit near Main Street can become a three-story building, within limits. On the south side of Main, the code requires the 20 feet closest to the street to stay at 27 feet. Elsewhere in the HCC, the 35-foot standard applies, and pitched-roof peaks can go five feet higher. Anything above that goes through a public hearing where the applicant has to show a community benefit. Two cases in one year show trustees take that test seriously, and the applicant whose request was rejected came back with a three-story design that fits the standard limits.
This is general information, not legal advice. Anyone planning around a specific parcel should confirm its zoning and what applies to it with the Town of Carbondale's planning department and their own attorney.
The Downtown Project With the Larger Footprint
The town's own Town Center may bring more change downtown than any single Main Street lot. It sits on 1.4 acres of town-owned land around the Thunder River Theatre Company. In August, trustees selected developer Bond/Brookside, which proposed 42 two- and three-bedroom homes priced from $420,000 to $775,000 for households earning 80% to 120% of the area median income, plus 3,324 square feet of retail. Some homes could pair with first-floor commercial space as live/work studios.
On Oct. 13, trustees approved a two-phase plan, the Sopris Sun reported. Phase one covers site evaluation and predevelopment over 12 months, with a check-in at six months. Phase two, design, entitlements and financing, needs a separate authorization from the town. Colorado's Space to Create Program is funding both phases with $200,000. The 2027 budget must be finalized by Dec. 15.
FAQ
When will trustees decide on 155 Main Street?
The hearing was continued to Tuesday, Nov. 10.
Does a denial at one address set precedent for the next?
Korber said she had been told earlier decisions would not serve as precedent, and Mayor Sparhawk agreed.
Can anything exceed 42 feet in the HCC?
Only rooftop items the code lists, such as cupolas, skylights, elevator overrides and solar equipment, which may go up to four feet higher, plus fire separation walls by the minimum the building code requires.
Buying near downtown Carbondale means knowing what the building next door is allowed to become. If you are considering a Main Street property or a home near the Historic Commercial Core, Steven Shane can help you weigh what a parcel's zoning means for your purchase. Work With Steven Shane.
