What is Vision 2050?

Pitkin County Vision 2050: Implement bold climate action while balancing our economy, preserving our rural and wild lands, and supporting an equitable and affordable community.

The Pitkin County Vision 2050 project is a comprehensive approach that integrates our guiding values to set a vision and path ahead for our community for the next 25 years by updating the County’s Comprehensive Plan and revising Land Use and Building and Energy Codes to provide a roadmap of progress toward a sustainable and equitable community.

We are in a climate emergency that requires Bold Climate Action. Our climate and community goals demand dramatically more energy-efficient and higher-performing homes while reducing our energy and consumption needs. We have the opportunity to lead the way by empowering our community to create a more resilient, carbon-free future.

To meet our climate action goals and be sustainable, we must have a Balanced Economy. This means finding a balance between job offerings and workforce, between workforce and housing, between rural and urban areas, and between the pace of growth and the ability of our civic and social infrastructures to keep up with that growth.

Rural Preservation is integral to our community's character; maintaining our rural lifestyle and protecting our wild lands are values essential to most residents and visitors of Pitkin County. Preservation promotes the benefits of agriculture and open space as a limited resource of environmental, cultural, visual, and economic value for future generations.

Supporting Equity and Affordability is crucial for building a thriving community and protecting our quality of life. By finding solutions that positively create social and economic benefits, we can work collaboratively with our partners to ensure Pitkin County continues to be a place where all people can live, work, and play.

How can the vision be achieved?

Land Use decisions directly shape our community in many ways. They may be among the most influential factors driving positive and negative community impacts. The County’s Land Use and Building and Energy Codes can be considered the levers that can be used to adjust those impacts. How we choose to use and manage our land is a powerful tool in defining the quality of life in our community. Using our four core values as the foundation, Pitkin County Vision 2050 will update guiding policies reflected in an updated Pitkin County Comprehensive Plan and revisions to Land Use Codes and Building and Energy Codes.

Why Pitkin County Vision 2050? Why now? 

After years of thought, deliberation, and community conversations, the Community Growth Advisory Committee (CGAC) in 2023 created a Final Report of Recommendations to meet our climate and community goals. In order to do so, we must rethink our Land Use and Building and Energy Codes. Smart development strategies – including innovative development and building practices that mitigate intensity – are needed to align our community values and climate action goals. Through updating the Pitkin County Comprehensive Plan, Land Use Building, and Energy Codes, Pitkin County Vision 2050 seeks to realize these CGAC recommendations for a sustainable and equitable community.

What is the first step?

Adopting the Pitkin County Comprehensive Plan is the first step to implement Pitkin County Vision 2050. The Pitkin County Comprehensive Plan Draft 1-29-26 is available for public review and comment in advance of Planning Commission public hearings. Review the full Plan here >>