# What Is a Master Plan in Real Estate Development?

> What a master plan in real estate development is, how it differs from a city's master plan, what it settles on a large site, and who approves one in Denver.

What is a master plan in real estate development? It is the plan for an entire site that decides where each use goes, how streets and paths cross the land, where the open space sits, how water and drainage reach every part, and in what order everything gets built, before the design of each building. In Denver, the zoning code text that the City Council adopted in July 2019 calls the process Large Development Review and the resulting document a Large Development Framework (LDF).

## What is a master plan in real estate development: a plan for the whole site, before any building

A master plan works at the scale of the site, and the buildings come later. The Denver Zoning Code says that Large Development Review "results in a framework for coordinating development, infrastructure improvements, and regulatory decisions before site-specific development proceeds within the subject area." In other words, the master plan settles what every future building on the land will share, and each building is designed afterwards inside those rules.

The ordinance that created the process (Council Bill 19-0494, passed on July 8, 2019) explains what the change is for. One of its sentences says the amendment "will ensure large development sites reflect the applicable adopted plan's vision and meet the requirements for land use, infrastructure, affordable housing, open space, parks, design, and other community benefits addressing citywide goals related to sustainability." I think that list is a good first answer to what the plan has to resolve.

## The city's master plan is a different document

The term master plan also names a plan that the city writes for itself, and the two are easy to confuse. The Legal Information Institute at Cornell Law School defines the general plan, "also referred to as a comprehensive or master plan", as "a broad, long-term plan made by cities and other governments to organize development and community initiatives." The same Cornell entry on the general plan adds that "the nature of a general plan depends on the particular city."

The plan for a development covers one property, and in Denver the applicant prepares it. The 2019 text of the Denver Zoning Code says the City Council adopted plans that guide a large site "may include, but are not limited to, neighborhood plans, station area plans, master plans, and citywide plans (Blueprint Denver)", and the Development Review Committee approves a framework only if it "implements City Council adopted plans." The city's plan sets the direction for a whole area, and the developer's plan shows how one site follows it.

## A development master plan fixes uses, streets, open space, infrastructure, and phases

The Denver Zoning Code adds a second, more technical document, the Infrastructure Master Plan (IMP). Its intent is to establish "conceptual, horizontal land use, development, and infrastructure systems for large development areas prior to final, site-specific planning and engineering design." The review criteria for an IMP in the 2019 text work as a list of what a master plan has to solve:

1. Streets and movement: "The pedestrian, transit, and street pattern is appropriate and adequate to serve the IMP area and provide connectivity to surrounding properties, and promotes and accommodates multi-modal transportation".
2. Water: the plan needs "an adequate master plan for provision of drainage, wastewater, and water systems".
3. The land itself: "Unique natural resource features and sensitive areas, including but not limited to the regulatory floodplain, can be adequately protected and accommodated through the IMP or a separate regulatory process".
4. Open space: "an adequate master plan for the provision of publicly accessible and usable open space and/or public parks".
5. Phases: "all phases of development will occur in an orderly fashion", with the infrastructure for future development identified and provided at the same time as that development.

Open space also carries a number: Section 10.8.1 of the Denver Zoning Code, in the text adopted in 2019, applies to developments with a gross land area "greater than 5 acres or 3 or more Blocks" and asks for "a minimum of 10% of the Net Development Area" as open space. The same section says a development may be exempt when the Development Review Committee (DRC) finds that an approved General Development Plan, framework, Infrastructure Master Plan, subdivision, or other approved regulatory document already set minimum open space consistent with Section 10.8.1. The required open space "shall remain open to the public at all times, or from sunrise to sunset."

I think uses and density are where the developer's numbers enter the plan. The 2019 review criteria for a framework in the Denver Zoning Code ask that it set up a coordinated review process so that future development on the site "will address land use, development, infrastructure, open space, public parks, schools, and other related issues, as applicable, in accordance with City Council adopted plans." In the Parras de la Fuente plan described below, density shows up as 30 lots of 2,000 m² each.

## In Denver, the Development Review Committee approves the framework

The 2019 text of the Denver Zoning Code gives the decision to the Development Review Committee (DRC), which "shall consist of the Manager, the manager of Public Works, and the manager of Parks and Recreation, or their designated representatives, provided that additional agencies may participate at the discretion of the Manager." The Manager is the Manager of Community Planning and Development. The committee can "approve, approve with conditions, or deny" a framework, and the approved document is recorded in the real property records of the Denver County Clerk and Recorder.

Under the 2019 Denver Zoning Code, Large Development Review is mandatory when the DRC determines that "the specific circumstances warrant a coordinated master framework process to guide future development", that the site's issues cannot be adequately resolved through other processes such as subdivision or site development plan review, or that the area is already subject to an approved plan that set up such a process, such as a General Development Plan. The factors include a gross land area of "more than 5 acres or 3 Blocks", a site that "will result in the creation of 3 or more Blocks", and changes to "the arterial or collector street grid", to "an existing regional stormwater system", or to "publicly accessible park and open space." Before the framework is submitted, the applicant holds a community information meeting, with written notice sent at least 21 days ahead to property owners within 200 feet of the boundary, the district and at-large City Council members, and registered neighborhood organizations, among others.

Council Bill 19-0494, the 2019 ordinance, replaced "the current General Development Plan ('GDP') process with a suite of plan implementation tools", so Denver documents from before 2019 use the term General Development Plan. The quotes in this article come from the text adopted in 2019, and the Denver Zoning Code may have been amended since, so the current version is the one to read before an application.

## Zoning says what a lot allows, and the master plan says how a large site fits together

The Legal Information Institute defines zoning as "a legislative act dividing a jurisdiction's land into sections and regulating different land uses in each section in accordance with a zoning ordinance." In Denver a rezoning (an official map amendment) is a decision of the City Council, while the framework belongs to the DRC. The Denver Zoning Code sets the order: when Large Development Review is mandatory, the framework "shall be approved before final approval" of a rezoning, a subdivision, a site development plan, or an Infrastructure Master Plan.

After approval, the Large Development Framework governs what follows. The City Council may approve a rezoning inside a framework area "taking into consideration the approved LDF or GDP", and the city issues subdivisions, site development plans, and permits there "only upon a finding that such subsequent zoning and building actions are consistent with the terms and conditions of the approved LDF or GDP." I think this is the most practical reason to treat the master plan as a design document from the first drawing, because every building on the site will be measured against it.

## Método's published master plan sets 30 residential lots in Parras de la Fuente

In Método's published work, the master plan category holds 2 projects, and one of them has a written description. It is the master plan for a residential subdivision of 30 lots of 2,000 m² each, on a 97,338 m² site in Parras de la Fuente, Coahuila. The amenities total 7,000 m²: an equestrian center with a large riding arena, two circular arenas, and stables, and a club house with a pool, a gym, and a garden with play areas.

The Parras de la Fuente sheet also lists a 4,000 m² event garden for 1,000 guests, with a chapel and a ceremony hall. The equestrian trail runs along the internal roads, apart from the sidewalk and the landscaped strip, and that is a decision about streets and movement taken at the scale of the whole site.

Bernardo García Agrícola, who founded Método in 2012, studied architecture and urban planning at the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City and at the Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Madrid, and in 2016 co-founded Inmobiliaria Nodo Urbano, a commercial and residential real estate developer. The studio is based in Mexico City and has a representative office in Denver, Colorado. The published master plan is in Mexico and its sheet does not describe how it was approved, so it says nothing about Denver's Large Development Review.

## Método is known for residential work and also takes on wide-ranging projects

Our page says we work on wide-ranging projects that put the user at the center, and the Parras de la Fuente plan and the other master plan we have published are in [master plan](/obra/plan-maestro). If you have a large site in Denver or in Mexico and want to talk about its uses, streets, and open space before the city's process begins, [schedule a conversation](/agendar).

## Frequently asked questions

### What is a master plan in real estate development?

It is the plan for a whole site that sets uses, streets, open space, infrastructure, and phases before site-specific design. In Denver, Large Development Review under Section 12.4.12 of the Denver Zoning Code (text adopted by the City Council in July 2019 through Council Bill 19-0494) produces a Large Development Framework, which the code describes as "a framework for coordinating development, infrastructure improvements, and regulatory decisions before site-specific development proceeds within the subject area."

### Is a development master plan the same as a city's master plan?

No. Cornell Law School's Legal Information Institute defines the general plan, "also referred to as a comprehensive or master plan", as "a broad, long-term plan made by cities and other governments to organize development and community initiatives." The plan for a development covers one property, and the 2019 text of the Denver Zoning Code requires it to implement City Council adopted plans, among them citywide plans such as Blueprint Denver (Sections 12.4.12.6 and 12.4.12.12).

### Who approves a large development master plan in Denver?

Under the 2019 text of the Denver Zoning Code, the Development Review Committee can approve, approve with conditions, or deny a Large Development Framework. The committee consists of the Manager of Community Planning and Development, the manager of Public Works, and the manager of Parks and Recreation, or their designated representatives, and other agencies may take part at the Manager's discretion, while rezonings remain a City Council decision (Sections 12.2.1, 12.2.5, and 12.4.12.11). The code may have been amended since 2019, so check the current version.

### When does Denver require Large Development Review?

The 2019 text of the Denver Zoning Code (Section 12.4.12.2) makes it mandatory when the Development Review Committee finds that a site needs a coordinated master framework, that its issues cannot be resolved through other processes such as subdivision or site development plan review, or that it is already subject to an approved General Development Plan or framework. The factors include an adopted plan that recommends it, a gross land area of more than 5 acres or 3 blocks, a site that will create 3 or more blocks, changes to the arterial or collector street grid, to a regional stormwater system, or to publicly accessible parks and open space, and the amendment of an older General Development Plan.

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Source: https://mtdo.co/blog/what-is-a-master-plan-in-real-estate-development · Método Arquitectos