HomeMy WebLinkAboutStudy Notes 12-18-2017STUDY SESSION NOTES
CITY OF WHEAT RIDGE, COLORADO
City Council Chambers 7500 W. 29th Avenue
December 18 2017
Mayor Starker called the Study Session to order at 6:30 p.m.
Council members present: Monica Duran, Janeece Hoppe, Zachary Urban, George
Pond, Kristi Davis, Tim Fitzgerald, Larry Mathews, Leah Dozeman
Also present: City Clerk, Janelle Shaver; City Manager, Patrick Goff; Community
Development Director, Ken Johnstone; other staff, guests and interested citizens
CITIZEN COMMENT ON AGENDA ITEMS
Bob Brazell (WR) talked about how neighbors should look after one another to obtain
safety and happiness as a community; there must be give and take by everyone.
Unfortunately some of the people moving in just want to take -take their neighbor's
view so they can have one, and take their privacy, sunshine, and quality of life so they
can have what they want. That's not neighborly; that's selfish. Let them go elsewhere.
Our neighbors in Edgewater mirror our R 1-C area in lot size and they have responsibly
instituted a 28ft height limit on pitched roofs and 25 ft for flat roofs. The only things that
can exceed are chimneys and vent pipes to ensure the privacy of others. He hopes the
Council will show the same compassion and concern for its residents as the Edgewater
Council has for theirs.
John Fielding (WR) thanked Mr. Goff, Mr. Tardiff and Monica Duran for helping with his
roof. -He believes we all agree we like the small town feel -parks, open space, view
of the mountains, sense of community and respect --that's why we live here. If Council
lets people build 35 foot towers we all lose. 25 feet is more than enough. It will start a
rush of people behaving badly, building bad houses and popping the tops of existing
houses, diminishing the rich historic value of older homes, blocking the breeze, sunlight
and views from their neighbors and saying to heck with everyone else. Is this the legacy
of disregard and disrespect we want to leave? It will bring more people, noise and
traffic and less tranquility, respect and willingness for everyone to get along. We are not
Denver. This is Wheat Ridge and that's why we live here. He urged support for 25 feet.
Dorothy Archer (WR) said she is 100% behind the last two people who spoke. She
supports R1-C and R-3, believes Council should carry this to R-1 and R-2. She asked
Council to please keep us who we are. We don't need 35 feet houses. Our houses sell
immediately and people come here because they love it. We should keep it that way.
Victoria Mendoza (WR) lives in SE corner of Wheat Ridge where most houses are R-
1 C. It is a small corner of the city that makes up 11 % of the city. She asked Council to
set a height limit of 25ft. for new houses in this area -like Edgewater has. She asked
them to keep the integrity of the neighborhood and recognize that a height of 35 ft is
excessive. She would like it reduced to 25 ft and 28 ft. She feels this needs to be
STUDY SESSION NOTES: December 18, 2017 Page -2-
decided soon because more of this will permanently change the look and feel of this
area and the character people love so much.
Jesse Hill (WR) has spent a lot of time on bulk plane with the City. He feels the pain of
the current 15 ft bulk plane; it's been very difficult to work with on design and he wishes
that would be revisited and changed to 17 ft or adjust the base plane. -He noted the
great diagrams from the staff that show the restrictions of the current 15 ft bulk plane.
He mentioned that reality may also include sloped lots and smaller lots, and it forces
designs to conform to new houses that are already going to be there. You lose certain
architectural styles such as the cross gable group; dormers can be difficult to work in.
He stated it is tough to get a variance because the general hardship is seen as self-
imposed and the variance process is not easy. In looking at the images, he believes
adding any more limitations will force taller, blockier, flat roofed structures. If someone
wants a back yard it will be tough to do. Also, when porches are included for lot
coverage that forces the structure higher. -He believes there are a lot of opinions out
there --a lot of fear about people and trash taking over the neighborhood. It's
unfortunate some of the comments are so negative. He noted the house built next to
him sold for $380/sf -more than any other property out there. This isn't a property
value thing; it's the neighbors not wanting to buy the piece of property next to them to
control it. There are other options out there. He hopes this can be resolved soon.
Benny Gonzales (WR) spoke to 25 ft height limit in R-1C only. He and his wife moved
here from Thornton in 2012 because they like the small town atmosphere, the character
of each house being a little different. They didn't like what was happening in Denver
with building heights, so they chose Wheat Ridge. Since moving here his nice view of
the mountains has been taken away and it seems like the builder just took advantage of
the 35 ft allowance and built to the maximum. He wants things to be equal and fair -
including fair for the small houses. He believes two stories fits the neighborhood.
People can build the design they want, any way they want, build with better materials to
increase the value, make it as valuable as they want, and the 15 foot bulk plane gives
enough space. He would like to see the 35 ft limit decreased to 25 ft. He asked Council
to consider that the over 100 people who signed the petition last year in favor of the bulk
plane also wanted a 25 ft height limit. Many are not here tonight, but he's recently
spoken to 10 people just on his block that favor the 25 ft limit.
Marina Sarmiento (WR) said she agrees with what the previous speakers have said;
she favors keeping the 25 ft bulk plane in R-1C. She thinks if people want to build
something new, they should consider that the neighbors have small homes and they're
taking away our views. It feels invading and unfair.
Alvaro Lazalde (WR) yielded his time to Michael Epson.
Michael Epson (WR) is a 28-year resident in R-1C. He passed out some graphics to
the Council and explained the various diagrams and pictures. He made a special note
of one picture of a house up the street from him. The lady who lived there had spent 10
years cultivating a very private garden. As the picture shows, the deck at the back of
the house that was built next to her looks directly over her garden. This upset her so
much she sold her house and moved out of Wheat Ridge. Her realtor said she lost $20-
30K because of the tower house next to her. The handout also included four sheets of
the 30 original signatures that were collected last year supporting the 12% ft bulk plane
STUDY SESSION NOTES: December 18, 2017 Page -3-
and a 25 ft height limit. An additional 70 signatures are on file with the City from people
who signed for a 15 ft bulk plane and 25 ft height limit. He made the point that there are
only 7 40 houses in the R 1-C and these 100 signatures were gathered in a very short
amount of time. He asked Council to consider the 25 ft height limit in R 1-C only; it's
only 11 % of the City -an isolated area of small lots and small houses. He asked them
to keep Wheat Ridge, Wheat Ridge. They don't want to be Denver or the Highlands.
They want to preserve their bungalow neighborhood. It's the affordable part of Wheat
Ridge and they don't want to lose the small town feel they have with small lots that let
them know all their neighbors.
Peter Perrone (lives in WR) spoke about Item #2 -marijuana research liceflse.
• His company, Gobi Analytical on Youngfield, is the only marijuana testing lab in
Wheat Ridge. They test medical and retail marijuana.
• They do quality control testing for the marijuana industry. They make sure the
products that are sold are true to their label, efficacious, and safe from contaminants
such as ecoli, salmonella, yeast and mold.
• They have a full microbiology lab that does food-testing for safety, and a full
chemistry lab and instrumental analysis lab that does quality control testing similar to
what he did for 20 years on pharmaceuticals.
• Since the State now allows a research license, they want to have that here is Wheat
Ridge. The first step is to create that type of license.
• As an analytical lab they would do DNA testing on plants for potency and
contaminants. Currently very little research like this has been done on these
products.
• There are also other cannabinoid substances besides THC they would like to test -
such as CBD that is used for epilepsy and PTSD.
• They would not be doing any human testing. They would test the product before it's
consumed and after.
• He stated this is a vital component of the state's cannabis system that has been
neglected here and throughout the world.
• This is an opportunity to be on the forefront of cannabis research to make sure the
products are safe, effective and are being consumed in the proper way for the
proper ailments when people take them as medicine.
Edith Weiss (WR) said she agrees with her neighbors on the issues of sunshine,
selfishness and privacy. She added that these tower houses leave almost no green, no
yard. They are so huge there is so much to heat and cool. For a planet that is
warming up, she suggested it isn't very forward thinking or smart to build so huge and
leave so little land for bees and insects.
Kim Calomino (WR) believes that bulk plane is a complicated matter not understood by
builders or residents. She thinks Council has heard from a select group of people in
District 1 who are not well informed. She said Wheat Ridge is one of two cities in the
state that has height limits in its charter; it's unique and limits affordable housing. She
believes there is no advantage to further limiting height. Mostly she thinks it is a
complicated issue that shouldn't be dealt with in a piecemeal manner, isolating bulk
plane then height and whatever else, as we address zoning issues that will decide what
kind of community we want, what kind of homeowners we want to welcome, and what
we want our community to look like. She noted the discussion of ADUs has not been
STUDY SESSION NOTES: December 18, 2017 Page -4-
finished and thinks limiting height will limit the opportunity for carriage houses and ADUs
over garages. She advised that these issues are complex and interactive and Council
should be considered all together when the NRS and the Comprehensive Plan are
reviewed. Council should not act hastily. -She added that she thinks research on
marijuana is important and encouraged Council to allow that in Wheat Ridge.
1.:. Residential Height Limitations in R1-C -Ken Johnstone
• Mr. Johnstone touched on the history of the bulk plane process. Regulations were
adopted and have been an effective tool in that they do what was intended.
Whether that is sufficient is under consideration.
o We now have bigger setbacks - 8 ft for 2-story and 10-13 ft for 3-story.
o There are people who want to limit the scale in east Wheat Ridge.
o A survey was recently on the website for 16 days in November.
o Council has set an update of the NRS as a policy priority for 2018
o At Council's direction staff will include these issues in the biannual citizen survey.
• He went through the staff memo and diagrams that describes the impact of 25 ft
height limits on small lots. There is a slight impact on the ability to build a 2-story
home.
• The website survey showed mixed responses on additional height limits and
restrictions on 3-story houses.
• He pointed out the City zoning maps that were included in the packet.
• He referenced Attachment #3 which showed the practical impact of the new bulk
plane standards on a 50'x125' lot that is a typical size in R1-C.
• If Council wants to allow second story construction in R1-C, 25 ft might not be
enough.
• Any ordinance would go through the Planning Commission.
• He explained the option of having overlay zones with restrictions in certain areas.
Council discussion followed.
Councilmember Mathews favors addressing this in all zones. On the issue of
neighbor's right vs property owner's rights he noted we have zoning codes to maintain
order in the community; we do lots of regulating. He suggested what folks want is for
there to be consistency with the surroundings. Besides property rights there are also
neighborhood rights. When people move into a neighborhood they have expectations
that it will remain the same.
Councilmember Fitzgerald would rather wait do it with the NRS study. 1) He urged his
colleagues to look at what the 2005 NRS says about houses in District 1. He hopes to
redo the NRS, align the goals, and finalize them at a retreat. Height restrictions would
be contrary to what the 2005 NRS suggests for housing in District 1. 2) The people who
did the online poll said they don't want further height restrictions. 3) He doesn't want to
restudy something that's already been studied; doing that puts aside discussion of
things that could move our city forward. He also doesn't want to discuss bulk plane,
ADU's or Air B&Bs until after the NRS is visited.
Councilmember Davis thinks this should be looked at globally in all zones districts, and
noted the zones are patchwork. She pointed out there are people who have invested
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money in plans and she doesn't think it's fair to change the rules now. Plus, there are
people with larger lots who may want to put a mother-in-law suite on their roof. Mr.
Johnstone concurred that one of the pictures Mr. Epson handed out was of a house that
was built before the bulk plane regulations were put in.
Councilmember Hoppe stated this is the seventh time Council has addressed height, so
this is not being swept under the rug. She believes the15 ft bulk plane regulations were
well thought out, and 25 feet only allows for a single story -which she thinks is not
prudent. She talked about people trying to grow in their homes and had questions
about Attachment 3. She believes the 15 ft bulk plane has destroyed the option of a 3-
story house going straight up near a property line, and since those houses now can't
offer any extra square footage they won't be practical. Mr. Johnstone added the caveat
of maximum lot coverage in R 1-C which affects square footage. She supports a citizen
charter review commission to look at the 35 foot height limit and other issues. She
would like to see ADUs addressed with the NRS, but also noted that staff has full plates
and recommended that Council prioritize its discussions.
Councilmember Mathews reminded the body that we got to this point because we
inherited Jefferson County zoning and a large housing stock that was already built. The
forefathers did a good job, but likely didn't envision "scraping" and 35 ft tall houses.
Councilmember Duran reminded Council this discussion was asked for in June/July
2016; this isn't bait and switch because we didn't have this discussion when we should
have [with the bulk plane]. She supports the 25 ft limit in R1-C and is worried that while
Council takes the time to discuss ADUs and Air B&Bs the neighborhood is being
changed dramatically. This is only 740 homes that are unique/special to the area. She
doesn't want to lose that while the discussion is delayed because we have concerns
about other developers coming in. She also doesn't favor piecemeal action, but
reminded Council of all the neighbors who live here that signed in support of 25 feet.
Failure to act on this will drive them from their homes.
Councilmember Dozeman thinks the bulk plane was a good compromise, and that it
made dramatic restrictions. She appreciates the desire to preserve the neighborhood,
but thinks piecemealing this together is requiring people to enter an HOA without having
agreed to that. Concerning neighbors' right vs property rights, she thinks the bulk plane
restrictions are adequate. She doesn't support government creating restrictions after
the fact. Imposing these restrictions will prevent people from growing in the community.
Councilmember Urban noted the NRS recommends deciding who the residents of
Wheat Ridge will be. Do we care about the people who live here now, or are we
wanting a different kind of resident to move here? He thinks the bulk plane offered
some compromise, but believes an overlay area would also be a good compromise for
this small area. By not putting any restrictions we are pushing current residents out to
make way for new ones; that's not acceptable to him. We should be able to welcome
new residents in without an expense to current residents. He thinks 25 feet is a good
compromise. While 35 feet may be appropriate for most of the city, in this small R 1-C
area putting 3-story towers next to 1-story ranch houses becomes onerous.
Councilmember Hoppe disagreed that it's not one or the other. She reported receiving
calls and emails from people who live in R 1-C in Wheat Ridge that do not support 25
feet, so she doesn't think failure to support 25 feet is failure to support current residents.
STUDY SESSION NOTES: December 18, 2017 Page -6-
She also noted that most of the people who took the survey said the City shouldn't
prohibit 2-story houses or lower the height restrictions.
Councilmember Duran reminded Council of the 100 R1-C people who signed a petition
for 25 feet. She asked Mr. Johnstone to explain overlay zones. He explained why
overlay zones are done and how they can be applied to smaller geographic areas.
This could be crafted to apply only to the R 1-C lots in District 1. He reported that
variances would still be allowed and that the City has a pretty high allowance for
administrative variances; up to 50% variance is allowed if most of the criteria are met.
Protest would trigger a hearing before the Board of Adjustments.
Councilmember Duran asked for consensus to limit new construction of one and two
family houses to 25 ft high in all zones by establishing an overlay zone in a specific
area. The consensus failed by a vote of 3-5.
Councilmember Hoppe received consensus to not move forward on the topic of 25 ft
height maximum in any district. The vote was 5-3.
2. Marijuana Research & Development Licenses -Carmen Berry
Carmen Beery highlighted her memo explaining that during the 2017 session the state
legislature created yet another category of marijuana enterprise - a research and
development license and a research and development cultivation license.
Testing facilities that focus primarily on quality control are already allowed, and Wheat
Ridge has one of those. This new license is more about research developing new
products by conducting clinical trials. Both testing and clinical trials on animals and
humans are potentially authorized. The question for Council is do you want to have this
type of license in Wheat Ridge, and if so, where can they locate.
Discussion followed.
• Councilmember Pond supports bringing research into the community.
• Councilmember Davis supports looking into this, but would like more clarification
about the regulations.
• Councilmember Hoppe supports bringing forward licensing options. If there are
clinical trials on humans, she would like to have some boundaries on location.
• Councilmember Duran supports the concept but has questions about protocol.
• Councilmember Mathews thinks R & Dis ambiguous. Five categories are listed, but
the level of local oversite is unclear to him.
• Councilmember Urban supports and would encourage pharmaceutical and
nutraceutical R & Din the city. These would be high-paying jobs. Beyond some
questions of where and how this would be done, he would prefer to leave it up to the
state's scientific advisory board to determine what is appropriate to be researched
and what is not. The City does not have the expertise. He asked if this applies to
industrial hemp.
Ms. Beery explained that some of these questions will be answered by the State in the
regulations that have already been set up. This goes into effect January 1. She knows
hemp testing is not allowed with this license. Mr. Johnstone added that industrial hemp
is allowed in industrial districts as a separate activity.
STUDY SESSION NOTES: December 18, 2017 Page -7-
Councilmember Fitzgerald suggested this license would produce no extra traffic for the
Gobi firm. He thinks we are fortunate to have them here. He asked if there is a time
frame. Mr. Perrone said they will be making proposals (bidding) on research projects to
firms in Boulder and Denver, and they do have competitors. From a competitive
standpoint, they would like to be first.
Councilmember Pond offered his thoughts on research testing. Mr. Perrone reported
that they already are prohibited from growing and selling marijuana; they also cannot
have it consumed on their premises or partner with anyone who does. They have no
intention of doing clinical trials --that will be done at hospitals and research institutions
that already have cancer and other patients. They would test samples prior to being
given to the patients to ensure potency and freedom from contamination. There may
also be testing blood and urine following consumption and the effects of nutrients and
pesticides on plants.
Councilmember Davis said she is happy to hear this testing is separate from federally
regulated testing.
Councilmember Mathews asked how this testing will be different than the testing that is
done now. Mr. Perrone explained that right now all they can do is quality control testing
for licensed growers and edible manufacturers. Once hospitals and universities get
research licenses Gobi will be able to do related testing for them.
Councilmember Mathews asked if this would require a new type of license or if the City
could just expand the allowed activities for existing testing licenses. Ms. Berry said that
certainly could be an option. The facilities would still need the required state license.
Ms. Berry confirmed for Councilmember Urban that the City has the authority to amend
the list of allowed activities.
Councilmember Fitzgerald received consensus to direct staff to create an ordinance, as
simple as possible, to allow for marijuana testing associated with research and
development.
3. Sign Code Regulations-Zack Wallace Mendez, City Planner II
Mr. Mendez explained that Council previous preferences on the sign code went to
Planning Commission. He presented issues that are still unsettled.
Yard signs on residential properties. Council wanted no limits. The Planning
Commission has concerns about that, and suggests limiting the number to preserve
neighborhood integrity and prevent visual clutter. Following discussion Councilmember
Urban received consensus to not limit the number of yard signs.
Free standing signs
The previous consensus was to require monument signs with new development;
replacements could be monument or free standing. Following discussion
Councilmember Urban received consensus to stick with the existing consensus.
Non-conforming signs --Need to set a time
The Planning Commission proposed a 3-year amortization of non-conforming signs, and
a 10-year amortization of all pole signs. Following discussion Councilmember Hoppe
received consensus to bring this back at a future date with more information about how
STUDY SESSION NOTES: December 18, 2017 Page -8-
many non-conforming signs there are, including information from the WRBD. There will
be no amortization schedule at this time.
Changeable copy signs (LED)
Currently these signs are not allowed in MUN or Mixed Use-Commercial TOD.
Previously there was 3-3 vote to keep it the same and Mayor Jay voted to keep it the
same. What would Council like to do?
Discussion focused primarily around the possibility of doing a carve-out to allow a
changeable copy sign at Sevens Elementary School. Councilmember Pond received
consensus to continue prohibition in MUN and MUC TOD. The vote was 5-3.
No decision was reached about whether or not to do a carve-out for Stevens
Elementary. Staff will return with information about variances for schools.
A break was taken at 9:35pm.
The study session resumed at 9:37pm.
4. Freestanding Emergency Rooms -Kenneth Johnstone
This is a new use that has emerged in the state. The state has not adopted any
regulations. The City currently only allows them in hospital zones or MUC.
We have done moratoriums to buy time until the state does something. There is talk
that the state may enact regulations this session. We could extend our moratorium for
90 days and begin drafting regulations now, or we can do nothing and let our current
restrictions prevail. Brief discussion followed.
Councilmember Hoppe received consensus to extend the moratorium for 120 days.
5. Staff Report(s)
Mr. Goff relayed a question from Deputy Clerk Robin Eaton asking if the Council wants
to continue having the position of Library Liaison. The person appointed to that position
has never reported to Council and cannot be reached. There was agreement to
continue the position and to advertise for it.
6. Elected Officials Report(s)
Mayor Starker reported the Metro Mayor's Caucus has solicited support of a letter to
Senators Bennet and Gardner in support of the Dream Act. There was support. He will
bring it back in January.
ADJOURNMENT
The Study Session adjourned at 9:44pm.
APPROVED BY CITY COUNCIL ON February 12, 2018
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Janelle Shaver, City Clerk Tim Fitzgerald, Mayor Pro Tern