Keystone's First Comprehensive Plan
As one of Colorado’s newest municipalities, the Town of Keystone partnered with SE Group to create its first Comprehensive Plan—a community-driven roadmap for future growth, investment, and stewardship. The plan balances the needs of residents, businesses, and visitors while establishing clear priorities for housing, connectivity, recreation, environmental resilience, and community vitality.
In 2024, the community of Keystone entered a new chapter when residents voted to incorporate as a municipality, establishing local control over the decisions that will shape the town’s future. As one of Colorado’s newest municipalities, Keystone partnered with SE Group to develop its first Comprehensive Plan—a foundational document that establishes a shared vision for growth, investment, and community development over the next five years. The planning process brought together residents, business owners, property owners, elected officials, and community partners to identify priorities and create a roadmap for the future of the town. Although a new town in a regulatory sense, it came with a rich history of mining, the development of a busy ski resort, and the inheritance of zoning and land use policy from its previous life as part of Summit County.
Set against the backdrop of Summit County’s mountain landscape and world-renowned recreation assets, Keystone faces a unique set of opportunities and challenges. The community must balance the needs of year-round residents with a tourism-driven economy, address housing affordability and workforce retention, improve transportation safety and connectivity, and protect the natural environment that defines its identity. Through extensive public engagement and technical analysis, the plan identified five community priorities: environmental stewardship, transportation and connectivity, recreation and community spaces, housing affordability, and community cohesion.
The Comprehensive Plan establishes a framework for achieving these goals through strategic investments, policy recommendations, and implementation actions. Key initiatives include creating a new land development code tailored to Keystone’s character, improving pedestrian safety along Highway 6, expanding housing opportunities for local workers and residents, revitalizing community gathering spaces, strengthening recreation access, and enhancing environmental resilience. Designed to guide decision-making across all aspects of municipal governance, the plan provides a practical roadmap for building a more connected, vibrant, and resilient mountain community.
As Keystone’s first comprehensive planning effort, the project establishes the foundation for future growth while reflecting the values and aspirations of the community that shaped it. The resulting plan serves as both a vision for the future and a tool for action, helping the Town navigate its transition from an unincorporated resort community to a thriving and self-determined municipality.
