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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/15/2008 CI{y Of ]~qrWheat~idge PLANNING COMMISSION AGENDA May 15, 2008 Notice is hereby given of a Public Meeting to be held before the City of Wheat Ridge Planning Commission on May 15, 2008, at 7:00 p.m., in the City Council Chambers of the Municipal Building, 7500 West 29th Avenue, Wheat Ridge, Colorado. Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to participate in all public meetings sponsored by the City of Wheat Ridge. Call Heather Geyer, Public Information Officer at 303-235-2826 at least one week in advance of a meeting if you are interested in participating and need inclusion assistance. 1. CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER ROLL CALL OF MEMBERS PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 4. APPROVE THE ORDER OF THE AGENDA (Items of new and old business may be recommended for placement on the agenda.) 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - May 1, 2008 6. PUBLIC FORUM (This is the time for any person to speak on any subject not appearing on the agenda. Public comments may be limited to 3 minutes.) PUBLIC HEARING A. Case No. WPA-08-01: A resolution adopting the Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy as an addendum to the City of Wheat Ridge Comprehensive Plan. 8. TRAINING VIDEO: Preventing Public Officials' Liabiliry 9. OTHER ITEMS 10. ADJOURNMENT City of ~ Wheat R~idge PLANNING COMMISSION Minutes of Meeting May 5, 2008 1. CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Chair BRINKMAN at 7:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers of the Municipal Building, 7500 West 291h Avenue, Wheat Ridge, Colorado. 2. 3. 4. 5. ROLL CALL OF MEMBERS Commission Members Present: Commission Members Absent: Staff Members Present: PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE APPROVE ORDER OF THE AGENDA ICen Johnstone, Cominunity Development Directar Ann Lazzeri, Recording Secretary It was moved by Commissioner MATTHEWS and seconded by Commissioner STEWART to amend the order of the agenda by removing Item No. 8- Study Session. The motion passed unanimously. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - March 20, 2008 It was moved by Commissioner MATTHEWS and seconded by Commissioner STEWART to approve the minutes of March 20, 2008 as presented. The motion passed 3-0 with Commissioners DWYER and SCEZNEY abstaining. 6. PUBLIC FORUM (This is the time for any person to speak on any subject not appearing on the agenda.) Planning Commission Minutes 1 May l, 2008 Anne Brinkman John Dwyer Dick 1VIatthews Jerry Scezney Kim Stewart Jim Chilvers Davis Reinhart Steve Timms Jerry DiTullio 3250 Newland Street Mayor DiTullio expressed appreciation to those serving on the Planning Commission and presented the following updates: • WRURA has purchased property at 44`l' and Wadsworth with the goal of redevelopment. The property was sold by willing sellers and no residential property was involved. • One of the property owners who sold property to WRURA, Vern Vohoska, gave $100,000 of their proceeds to the city to be used toward construction of a new library. Discussions will be held with the Library Board concerning construction of a library at 44°i and Wadsworth as an anchor for the area. PUBLIC HEARING A. Case No. ZOA-08-02: An ardinance concerning the permitted locations of bail bonds businesses and, in connection therewith, amending certain sections of Chapter 26 of the Wheat Ridge Code of Laws. The case was presented by Ken Johnstone. The proposed ordinance would make three principle changes to Chapter 26 ofthe Code: 1) Define bail bonds businesses as businesses whose primary purpose is to act as surety to secure the presence of an accused person at a court proceeding in a criminal matter. 2) Allow bail bonds businesses as a permitted use in C-2 and I zoning districts subject to certain separation requirements. Allow bail bonds businesses as a permitted use in Planned Industrial Districts if specifically reviewed and approved through City Council approval of an Outline Development Plan. 3) Prohibit bail bonds businesses from locating with 100 feet of a property line common with property zoned residentially or zoned A-1 or A-2, but used residentially. In response to a question from Coinmissioner SZECNEY, Mr. Johnstone stated that there is only one bail bond business in Wheat Ridge. Commissioner DWYER asked if the existing bail bonds business has generated any complaints to the city. Mr. Johnstone replied that he was not aware of any official complaints. There is anecdotal evidence of increased police response calls. Commissioner DWYER commented that there are other businesses with the same hours of operation and also generate some police calls. He expressed concern thal Planning Commission Minutes 2 May I, 2008 the ordinance could be perceived as unfair treatment to bail bonds businesses. He stated that he was uneasy about placing restrictions on viable businesses. Commissioner STEWART asked if the existing bail bonds business would meet the new requirements. Mr. Johnstone replied that the ordinance would cause the business to become legally nonconforming. It was moved by Commissioner MATTHEWS and seconded by Commissioner STEWART to recommend approval of the proposed ordinance concerning the permitted locations of bail bonds businesses and, in connection therewith, amending certain sections of Chapter 26 of the Code of Laws. Commissioner SZECNEY offered a friendly amendment to add Item "C" under Section 4 of the ordinance to state No persoiz shall locate, cause to locate or permit to be located, a bail bonds business witl2iii si.x hundred feet of the property line of any lot, tract or parcel of lttnd within tlie city which is considered a public park or school. The friendly amendment was accepted by Commissioners MATTHEWS and STEWART. The motion passed 4=1 with Commissioner DWYER voting no and Commissioners CHILVERS, REINHART and TIMMS absent. 8. OTHER ITEMS Ken Johnstone welcomed John Dwyer to the Planning Commission. Mr. Dwyer represents District 4. 9. ADJOURNMENT It was moved by Commissioner MATTHEWS and seconded by Commissioner STEWART to adjourn the meeting at 7:40 p.m. The motion passed unanimously. Anne Brinkman, Chair Ann Lazzeri, Recording Secretary Planning Commission Minutes 3 May 1, 2008 oF WHEqT ; 9o PLANNING COMMISSION LEGISLATIVE TTEM STAFF REPORT c~ORP00 MEETING DATE: May 15, 2008 TITLE: Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy CASE NO. WPA 08-01 M PUBLIC HEARING ❑ CODE CHANGE ORDINANCE Z RESOLUTION ❑ STUDY SESSION ITEM Case Manager: Sally Payne, Senior Plamler Date of Preparation: May 5, 2008 BACKGROUND: The City contracted with Winston Associates in late-2004 to develop a neighborhood revitalization strategy for the City of Wheat Ridge. That process culminated in the development of a document entitled "Repositioning Wheat Ridge: Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy" (NRS). On July 25, 2005, after a variety of public outreach events that were used to help develop the document, City Council adopted Resolution No. 36, Series 2005, which accepted the findings and recommendations of that document as guiding principles for revitalizing the City. City Council's acceptance of the findings of the NRS was indeed a bold decision, to the extent that the NRS is in many ways not flattering in its assessment of the current state of the City and it is very aggressive in its recommendations as to what changes the City needs to consider in order to achieve the goals of the document An issues of concern is that the NRS is not consistent with the current Comprehensive Plan. There are inconsistencies between the two documents that provide conflicting direction to City staf£ To address this, staff has proposed adopting the NRS as an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan. The idea of adopting the NRS has been discussed with both Planning Commission and City Council. SUMMARY OF THE NRS: There was extensive outreach during preparation of the NRS. Approximately 30 community meetings were held to obtain input from citizens. Many suggestions by citizens were incorporated into the strategies of the NRS. As a result, there was strong public support for the NRS and its recommendations. There is a great amount of useful analysis, findings and recommendations in the NRS. The document is organized into three parts A) introduction and overview; B) findings on key indicators; and C) contains the implementation recommendations broken into 3 parts: 1) The Plan; 2) The Tools; and 3) The Activities. Early in the document, the overall approach to revitalization is characterized in a simplified 3-pronged approach: L Fix Some Things 2. Make Some Things Great 3. Keep What is Good That siinplified approach is further broken down in Section C) of the NRS, which is what this summary will focus on. The Plan: The overall goal of the NRS is to "reposition Wheat Ridge in the marketplace". The report identified 6 general categories of activities that are needed to improve the image of Wheat Ridge. 1. Address visually unattractive/eyesore areas 2. Create recognizable "Gateways" to Wheat Ridge 3. Increase the visibility of open space in Wheat Ridge 4. Promote/improve Wheat Ridge's rural qualities 5. Promote/improve Wheat Ridge's historic qualities 6. Market Wheat Ridge as a Community of Choice The Plan also emphasizes 4 targeted redevelopinent areas: 1. Redevelopment of the Wadsworth Corridor 2. Accelerate and shape the development of 381h Avenue 3. Development of 44`h Avenue into an Orchard District 4. Development of a Town Center The Tools: Seveu "tools" are identified as being needed to be able to implement the recommendations of The Plan. 1. Subarea Plaruiing for portions of Wheat Rid¢e. Subarea plans lay the framework for defined geographic areas within the City. They facilitate redevelopment efforts and give mare predictability to implementation efforts such as rezoning applications or the development of overlay zones. Subarea plans have recently been completed for the Northwest Subarea, portions of 44`h Avenue ("Fruitdale") and the Wadsworth Comdor. 2. The Ci ,'s Comprehensive Plan. The report indicates that the City's Comprehensive Plan is out of date and needs to be updated. A specific issue identified to be addressed in that update process is the location of a town center. 3. An updated set of Zonine Codes and Land Use recommendations. The NRS recommends an update to the City's development regulations to allow for developinent patterns that strong households desire: pedestrian friendly; mixed use, higher density, upscale shops and architectural quality. 4. The work of budgeting and capital investments. Every effort should be made to prioritize capital improvement investments in the areas targeted for redevelopment in the Plan. 5. Economic Development The economic development challenges that the NRS recommends be addressed include the following: a. Increase aggregate buying power by growing either (or both) the number of households or the disposable income of Wheat Ridge households. b. Improve the aesthetics of existing commercial real estate and upgrade facilities in terms of ease of access and the quality of the shopping environment c. Create a regulatory environment and business culture of a sort that makes businesses want to take iisks 6. Urban Renewal and Eminent Domain. The report acknowledges that urban renewal and eminent domain are tools that may be needed to facilitate some of the recommended redevelopment goals; though they should be used with caution and fairness. Transportation Planning. The NRS notes that the transportation system is integral in defining the community's image. Wadsworth Boulevard and the proposed transit station were identified as areas where the City has opportunities to create an enhanced image through coordinated transportation and land use planning efforts. The Activities: The NRS identifies three central recommendations in this section: 1. All nine of the following strategies must be implemented (see below). 2. Wheat Ridge must overhaul how the City and residents manage change. 3. Wheat Ridge must create a public, nonprofit corporation capable of facilitating and encouraging appropriate developinent in Wheat Ridge. The Strateeies 1. Develop new market rate housing at key locations throughout the City. 2. Acquire, upgrade and sell out-of-date housing stocks throughout the City. 3. Improve existing multi-family rental property throughout the City. 4. Redevelop Wadsworth Comdor. 5. Develop West 44`h Avenue into an Orchard District. 6. Accelerate and shape the development of 38tl' Avenue. 7. Develop a Town Center. 8. Continue the development of Wheat Ridge Open Space. 9. Develop signage and enhance gateways and improve the City's general appearance (beautification). STATEMENT OF THE ISSUES: The findings of the NRS were adopted by City Council on July 25, 2005. Resolution No. 36 resolves "that the Wheat Ridge City Council does hereby accept the Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy report, Repositioning Wheat Ridge, and establish its findings and recommendations as guiding principles for revitalizing the City." That adoption process provided clear direction to the citizenry and City staff that City Council intended to implement the recommendations contained in the NRS. Therefore, staff is suggesting that the City Council go one step further and adopt the NRS as a formal amendment to the City's Comprehensive Plan. The NRS is proposed to supercede the Comprehensive Plan. Staff is making this recommendation for the following reasons: 1. The NRS has numerous recommendations that relate to Comprehensive Planning, both substantive land use recommendations and procedural recommendations in regards to improving the City's land use entitlement processes. 2. The existing Comprehensive Plau recommends that as subsequent subarea plans and studies are completed (such as the NRS), they be adopted as Amendments to the City's Comprehensive Plan. 3. Adoption as an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan requires a hearing before the Planning Commission, which presents an opporiunity to better familiarize that body with the recommendations of the NRS and how it should impact many aspects of their decision making processes. 4. While the Comprehensive Plan is an advisory document for the City Council, it is also a document that City Council and City Staff are required to reference and be consistent with when making land use decisions ranging from rezonings to subdivisions to variances. 5. Adoption as an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan eliminates ambiguities that currently exist between the two documents. There are nuinerous recommendations in the NRS that are in conflict with the cunent (2001) Comprehensive Plan. Adoption of the NRS as a Comp Plan Amendment will clarify that the NRS is now the controlling document in those instances. 6. As staff works on zoning code text amendments in 2008 and beyond, we have a clear basis for proposing those changes based on numerous citations in the NRS. 7. Adoption of the NRS as an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan sets a clear tone for the direction of the Citywide Comprehensive Plan Update when that process begins later in 2008. 8. Adoption of the NRS as an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan will further support WR2020 in it implementation efforts. This item has been scheduled for public hearing. Notice as required by state statute for the hearing has been provided in the Wheat Ridge Transcript. Staff recommends adoption of the NRS. A motion to adopt a resolution recommending adoption of the NRS by City Council is needed. RECOMMENDED MOTION: "I move to adopt Resolution 01-2008, a resolution recommending adoption of the NRS and forwarding this recommendation along with the Resolution to City Council for their consideration." CITY OF WHEAT RIDGE PLANNING COMMISSION RESOLUTION NO. Ol Series of 2008 A RESOLUTION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF WHEAT RIDGE, COLORADO, CONCERNING THE ADOPTION OF THE NEIGBHORHOOD REVITALIZATION STRATEGY AS AN AMENDMENT TO THE CITY'S COMPREHENSIVE PLAN WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Wheat Ridge adopted a Comprehensive Plan on October 25, 1999 and amendments were considered and adopted in January 24, 2000; and WHEREAS, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 36, Series 2005 accepting the findings and recommendations of the Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy (NRS) on July 25, 2005; and WHEREAS, the purpose of the NRS was to lay a sh-ong foundation for progamming that provides quality housing and encourages new homeownership opportunities; that analyzed the economic couditions, zoning requirements and market feasibility analyses to develop programs that provide opportunities to enhance or expaud business recruitmeut and retention activities; and included programs supporting building rehabilitation programs; and WHEREAS, the overall goal of the revitalization strategy was to rise to the challenge of restoring sustainability to the city; and WHEREAS, an intensive and inclusive public process was followed eliciting suggestions and direction from the community at-large; and WHEREAS, there was strong public support for the NRS azid its recommendations; and WHEREAS, need for development of these strategies was based on many factors. These factors included aging infrastructure and housing, fiscal strain, significant demographic change, fraginented governance, and a lack of long-range planning focus; and WHEREAS, the strategies and recommendations contained in the NRS are focused on leveraging our strengths and addressing our challenges; and WHEREAS, the NRS will assist the city in returning to a vibrant community with healthy housing markets and thriving commercial centers needed to generate fiscal stabiliry; WHEREAS, C.R.S. 31-23-206 (2) provides that the Comprehensive Plan may be amended by the City from time to time; and WHEREAS, Planning Commission desires to amend the Comprehensive Plan to address the findings and recommendations of the NRS; and WHEREAS, WHEREAS, Planning Coirunission has held a public hearing as provided \\srv-ci-eng-002\users$\spayne\My filesWRS\PCresolulion5-15.doc I by C.R.S. 31-23-208 and Section 2-60 (b) of the Wheat Ridge Code of Laws; legal notice thereof duly published in the Wheat Ridge Transcript on May 8, 2008. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Planning Commission of the City of Wheat Ridge, Colorado, as follows: The Planning Commission of the City of Wheat Ridge hereby reconunends adoption of the Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy as an amendinent to the City's Comprehensive Plan. 2. The Planning Commission recommends that the Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy supercede the Comprehensive Plan to the extent that they may conflict. 3. A copy of this resolution shall be forwarded to the City Council. DONE AND RESOLVED THIS day of , 2008. CHAIR, PLANNING COMMISSION ATTEST: Secretaiy to the Planning Commission \\srv-ci-eng-002\users$\spayneUv(y filesWRS\PCresolution5-15.doc C11y Of Wheat Rj,dge - COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT Memorandum TO: Planning Commission THROUGH: Ken Johnstone, Community Development Director FROM: Kathy Field, Administrative Assistant DATE: May 9, 2008 SUBJECT: Preventing Public Officials' Liability The Colorado Intergovernmental Risk Sharing Agency (CIRSA), the City's property/liability and workers' compensation insurance broker, has recently produced a new video entitled "In the Scope of Your Authority: Preventing Public Officials' Liability. " This video was designed to be viewed by the City's elected and appointed officials, and the management team. It discusses how elected and appointed officials can avoid mistakes that can lead to liability claims and identifies best practices that will allow officials to be successful. In addition to the video, CIRSA and the Colorado Municipal League (CML) updated their "Public Officials Liability Handbook" in 2007. This handbook is intended to provide an overview of some of the liability issues facing public entities, as well as some suggestion for avoiding and reducing liability. A copy is enclosed. The video, which is 17 minutes long, will be played for Planning Commission at the May 15`h meeting.