Arapahoe County proposes raising park-land dedication for new housing
The draft would increase the rate from 6 to 10 acres per 1,000 residents and revise school-land rates. The Planning Commission will discuss it Oct. 6, before proposed public hearings.
Arapahoe County planning staff proposes increasing park-land dedication for new residential development from 6 to 10 acres per 1,000 residents in both the east and west service areas. The draft also revises school-land rates. The Planning Commission is scheduled to discuss the proposal Oct. 6; the session is not an adoption vote, the county’s draft code and staff analysis show.
The requirements would apply to new residential subdivisions and resubdivisions that add dwelling units, with obligations calculated by housing type rather than density. Commercial and industrial development would not be covered. The draft also allows dedication requirements to be revisited if a later zoning or plan change permits density that was not accounted for when a property was platted. Existing county incentives may reduce park dedication for some affordable-housing projects, but not school dedication; the draft does not change those incentives.
For school land, the draft proposes dedication rates of 0.0747 acres per student in the west service area, up from 0.0260, and 0.0648 acres per student in the east, up from 0.0597. These are rates per student, not per home. The consultant’s calculations estimate that the proposed park rules would increase required park acreage per housing unit by 53% to 65% in the west and 49% to 73% in the east, depending on housing type.
A consultant’s hypothetical example illustrates the potential cost difference. For a 100-home, single-family subdivision in the west, assuming land worth $200,000 an acre, paying cash instead of dedicating land would total about $773,000 under current standards and $1.579 million under the proposal — an estimated increase of about $806,000, or $8,060 per home. The report labels this an example, not a fee schedule or the cost for a specific project.
The consultant forecasts 2,306 additional students in unincorporated Arapahoe County from 2025 through 2035. The proposed school rates draw on district standards and acreage and capacity data.
The Oct. 6 agenda lists the item as a work-study discussion, not a public hearing. The public may attend in person or call in and press *3 to join the speaking queue, the agenda says. The staff packet proposes a Planning Commission public hearing in November and a Board of County Commissioners hearing on Dec. 8, 2026.