HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Agenda Packet 02/10/2014'' ~" ... • r City of • ~WheatRi_dge
Ci ty of Whe at Ridge Mun ici pa l Buildi ng 7500 W. 291
h Ave. Wheat Rid ge, CO 80033-8001 P: 303.23 4 .5900 F: 303.234 .5924
TO: City Council
Wheat Ridge Community
City Manager
City Attorney
FROM : Councilmember Jerry DiTullio, District 1
DATE : February 10, 2014
RE : City Charter Section 5.20 -Street Width Designation and 38th Ave.
Section 5.20 of the City Charter-Street Width Designation (attached)-was proposed and approved
by the voters in 1995 after a long battle concerning 38 1h Ave . west of Cody St to Kipling St. The
amendment applies to the widening or narrowing (flowline) of a street in Wheat Ridge . The
amendment outlines a public and open process for a legal protest and/or a petition/vote of the people
when a controversial or expensive flowline change is proposed for a street in the City of Wheat Ridge .
The real "elephant in the room " is a majority of City Council and staff spending more and more
taxpayer money on a "final " two-lane road diet design that may never be implemented if adjacent
property owners along 38 1h Ave . legally protest the narrowing of 38th Ave . and/or petition the flowline
changes of 38th Ave . to a vote of the people. It is my opinion that staff and Wheat Ridge 2020 have
been remiss is educating the City Council and the public about the charter amendment and its
potential consequences to the 381h Ave. project.
Councilmember Urban and I have proposed simple compromises such as maintaining neighborhood
bike lanes on 381h Ave . and removing the back-in parking now (not later) to help build a consensus in
the community for broader support of the changes to 38th Ave . At a recent study session , an
alternative design including bike lanes with 5 foot amenity zones was presented to City Council. This
unimaginative plan was stark and barren with no street trees even though street trees are vigorously
growing in a 5 feet tree lawn east of Harlan St. A few simple design adjustments could have been
made to allow for neighborhood bike lanes and street trees in the amenity zones . Unfortunately, the
current proposed plan eliminates neighborhood bike lanes for more sidewalks, tables and chairs next
to 38th Ave . even though the neighborhood bike lanes have been used as a selling point (multi-modal)
for the road diet.
It is the opinion of many residents and business owners in Wheat Ridge that spending
$5 .5-$7 million on 38 th Ave . from Newland St. to Upham St. (7 blocks) does not make
fiscal sense since the buried drainage and utility lines will need to be moved again . A
permanent and expensive narrowing of 381h Ave . via curb , gutter and sidewalk (flowline)
does not demonstrate vision or sound planning on 38 1h Ave . For example, bikes lanes ,
multi-modal and other future amenities will not be feasible once 38 1h Ave . is narrowed .
I strongly recommend that spending another $41,000 on the two-lane road diet design be postponed
until the charter amendment for street width can be fully vetted by City Council. The proposed design
for 38th Ave . is too limiting for the future. Residents , business owners and City Council should look at
www.ci .wh ea tridgt.co .us
multiple designs for 38 th Ave . together with the broader Wheat Ridge community. We need to find a
solution where everyone gives and takes . The City needs to put the best plan forward for a win-win.
Sec . 5.20 . Street width designation ...... "'
The city council shall have the sole authority and responsibility to determine the
width of all city streets within the boundaries of the City of Wheat Ridge. Such authority
and responsibility cannot be delegated to any other body or individual(s), the only
exception being the election procedure specifically set forth in this Charter section.
Street width shall be determined by the flowline of the street. Flowline is defined as the
measurement from the inside edge of one (1) curb to the inside edge of the opposite
curb. Where no curb is planned to be constructed, flowline shall be defined as the
measurement from the outside edge of one (1) side of the driving surface of the street, to
the outside edge of the opposite side of the driving surface of the street.
Within one (1) year prior to construction or reconstruction of a street, the city
council shall hold a public hearing to determine the flowline of such street. Following the
public hearing, the council shall adopt such flowline as the street's official street width
designation.
In the event of a protest against such proposed street width designation signed by
the owners of:
(1)
(2)
Twenty (20) percent of the property immediately adjacent or contiguous to
either side of such street; or
Ten (10) percent of the property lying within three hundred (300) feet of
either side of such street,
such proposed street width designation shall not become effective except by the
favorable vote of three-fourths (3/.) of the entire city council. Property does not need to be
entirely contained w ithin the three hundred (300) foot area to be used in the computation
of the ten (10) percent necessary to file a protest. Only the portion of the property that
actually lies within the three hundred (300) foot area is used to compute the ten (10)
percent required to file a protest. Where the City of Wheat Ridge owns property or has
right-of-way within three hundred (300) feet of either side of the street, then such city-
owned land or right-of-way shall be excluded from the computation of the required
percentage of properties needed to file a protest to the proposed street width
designation. Owners of noncity land shall be considered immediately adjacent or
contiguous to the street, or within three hundred (300) feet of either side of such street,
despite such intervening city-owned land or right-of-way.
The written protest to such proposed street width designation shall be submitted
to the city council no later than the conclusion of the public hearing on the proposed
street width designation. At least fifteen (15) days' notice of the time and place of the
hearing shall be published in the newspaper used by the city to publish legal notices,
and notice of such public hearing shall be mailed by certified letter to all property owners
within three hundred (300) feet of both sides of such street.
(
Said notice shall contain :
(1)
(2)
(3)
A descri ption of the proposed street width designation and a statement that
the specific plans for the proposed street width designation are available for
inspection at the Wheat Ridge Municipal Building; and
An explanation of the right of the property owners to protest such proposed
street width designation, and how to exercise such right; and
The full and complete text of this Charter section.
All publication and notification requi rements set forth in this Charter section shall be
performed by the city clerk.
If at any time within forty-five (45) days after a favorable vote by city council of
such proposed street width designation, a petition signed by at least five (5) percent of
the registered electors of the city council district(s) immediately adjacent or contiguous
t o such street be presented to the council against the going into effect of such proposed
street width designation; the same shall thereupon be immediately suspended and the
council shall publish notice of and call an election upon the proposed street width
designation. Said election shall be held not less than thirty (30) days nor more than one
hundred eighty (180) days after publication of the notice thereof.
Only registered electors in the city council distri ct(s) i mmediately adjacent or
contiguous to such street shall be eligible to vote on the proposed street width
designation. If a majority of the registered electors in the city council district(s)
immediately adjacent or contiguous to such street voti ng thereon vote for such
proposed street width designation, the proposed street width designation shall be
deemed approved. For purposes of ballot tabulation, the total votes of all electors who
cast ballots from one or more city council district(s) shall be counted together.
If any provision of this Charter section or the application in any particular case, is
held invalid, the remainder of this Charter section and its application in all other cases
shall remain unimpaired. Anything in the Charter or ordinances of the City of Wheat
Ridge in conflict or inconsistent with the provisions of this Charter section is hereby
declared to be inapplicable to the matters and things covered and provided for by this
Charter section. This Charter secti on shall take effect immediately upon passage.
(Amen d. o f 11-7-95)