Longmont home remodeling has a few local variables most Front Range cities don't: a city-owned electric and fiber utility, two National Register historic districts beside Main Street, and a St. Vrain Creek floodplain that has been redrawn since the 2013 flood. Longmont sits mainly in Boulder County, with a portion in Weld County, and this page covers its permit center, what Longmont Power and Communications means for electrical work, how historic designation actually works here, and what remodels involve from the East Side to Prospect New Town. For the wider county picture, see our Boulder County and North Metro guide.
Longmont Permits Run Through One Center
The City of Longmont handles plan review and building permits at its Development Services Center on Kimbark Street, a one-stop office for planning and building questions. Residential remodels and additions have their own permit type, and accessory dwelling units have another. Before applying, confirm the parcel is inside city limits: Longmont-area ZIP codes also cover unincorporated land, including the area around Niwot, which is permitted by Boulder County.
What Longmont Power and Communications Means for Your Remodel
Longmont has run its own electric utility since 1912. Longmont Power and Communications, or LPC, is community-owned, and since 2014 it has also offered NextLight fiber internet. When a remodel calls for a larger electrical service, you'll coordinate with LPC instead of an investor-owned utility, through its process for connecting or changing service.
LPC draws a clear line of responsibility. The homeowner owns and maintains the meter housing, the weatherhead and service mast, and the main panel, and repairs to those must be made by a licensed electrician. A panel replacement or service upgrade belongs in the design budget from the start, not as a surprise when the load calculation comes back.
Historic Designation in Longmont: Know Which Kind You Have
Longmont began in 1871 as the Chicago-Colorado Colony, and its earliest houses sit east and west of Main Street, south of Longs Peak Avenue. Two kinds of designation apply there, and they carry very different obligations.
| Question | National Register district | Longmont local landmark |
|---|---|---|
| Examples | East Side (67 houses, listed 1986), West Side (118 houses, listed 1987) | Individually designated properties, 132 as of 2019 |
| Exterior changes | Listing alone does not add city design review | Certificate of Appropriateness required, including paint, reroofing, windows, doors, additions and porch enclosures |
| Interior changes | Standard permit review | No added review unless the owner uses preservation incentives |
A house can be both, so check the city's landmark list as well as the district map before ordering windows.
Remodeling Homes Across Longmont's Neighborhoods
The East Side and West Side
Most East Side houses date to the 19th century, many in the Queen Anne style. The West Side is mostly early 20th century, with post-Victorian styles on larger lots. Both reward a whole-home renovation in Longmont planned as one sequence, since wiring, plumbing and insulation in houses this old tend to fail together.
Prospect New Town
Prospect, begun in the mid-1990s on an 80-acre former tree farm, was Colorado's first full-scale New Urbanist neighborhood, designed by Duany Plater-Zyberk and Company. Small yards, narrow streets and fronts that aren't dominated by garages were the point. Its architecture followed detailed design guidelines, so read your governing documents before changing anything visible from the street.
Heading east, Firestone and Erie answer to different permit offices and different electric providers.
From a West Side bungalow to a Prospect townhome, we'll start with the questions that apply in Longmont. Plan your Longmont remodel with us