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Home My WebLink About5-10-21 virtual Special Study Session Hybrid NotesSPECIAL STUDY SESSION NOTES CITY OF WHEAT RIDGE, COLORADO City Council Chambers 7500 W. 29th Avenue May 10, 2021 Upon adjournment of the Regular City Council Meeting, the Mayor called this Special Study Session to order at 7:52 p.m., while the Regular City Council Meeting stood in recess. This meeting was conducted as a VIRTUAL MEETING. No members of the Council were physically present at the Municipal building for this meeting; the public did not attend in person. Mayor Starker welcomed the Council, other elected officials, staff and interested citizens. The Mayor also explained the virtual meeting format, how citizens will have the opportunity to be heard, and the procedures and policies to be followed. Council members present: Amanda Weaver, Judy Hutchinson, Zach Urban, Janeece Hoppe, Rachel Hultin, Korey Stites, Valerie Nosler Beck, and Leah Dozeman. Also present: City Attorney Gerald Dahl; City Clerk, Steve Kirkpatrick; City Treasurer Chris Miller, City Manager Patrick Goff; Director of Administration, Allison Scheck; Director of Planning, Lauren Mikulak; Stephanie Stevens, Senior City Planner; City Attorney, Jerry Dahl; Director of Finance, Mark Colvin; Jay Renkens and Mark De La Torre, from MIG consulting, guests and interested citizens. Citizen Comment on Agenda Items – No one came forward to speak. Note about Wheat Ridge Speaks: Citizens may visit the Wheat Ridge Speaks website and enter written comments of up to 1,000 words on any Council agenda item. The deadline for citizens to submit comments is 12:00 Noon Mountain Time on the day of a Council session so that Council members, other elected officials and City Staff have time to review the comments before the meeting on Monday evening. The City Clerk’s Office transcribes those Wheat Ridge Speaks comments into these minutes, placing each comment along with the record for that agenda item, including items that include a public hearing (verbatim, if the comments do not contain lascivious language or unlawful hate speech). There were no citizen comments entered into Wheat Ridge Speaks related to this session. 1. Lutheran Legacy Campus Master Plan Update Stephanie Stevens, Senior Planner and Mark De La Torre, Planning Consultant with MIG gave an update of the Lutheran Legacy Campus master planning process, discussing the proposed outreach strategy, and briefed City Council on preliminary findings from the Existing Conditions Scan completed thus far. The topics included were: • The first community-wide public event was held on Saturday, May 1 from 9 a.m. – noon as a self-guided public tour of the SCL Lutheran Medical Center campus • The stakeholder steering committee contains 12 diverse community members, ranging from longstanding residents and valued volunteers to members of the business and development community, each with a heavy stake in the project. • Focus groups will be finalized by the end of April and the first rounds of meetings will take place in mid-May. • Public meetings will continue to occur monthly until we report back at the next study session with Planning Commission and City Council in August. Also beyond public engagement, MIG is currently focusing their work on establishing the foundation for the Master Plan including the gathering of necessary background and context information. This information will be detailed in an Existing Conditions Scan. Rather than create an overly prescriptive Master Plan with a detailed program and specific siting and architectural direction, the MIG Team realizes that the real need is for a flexible and nimble development framework to inform re-entitlement, marketing of the property, community benefits, and a higher level development vision with clearly articulated guidance and parameters. The Existing Conditions Scan is intended to be high-level review of the existing conditions, based on the available information, to determine the critical, contextual assets, challenges, and opportunities for the project area. The Existing Conditions Scan will include findings for the following key background elements: • Existing and Projected Area Demographics • Economic Conditions and Opportunities • Existing Facilities and Assets • Zoning, Land Use, and Built Form • Transportation and Connectivity • Utilities and Infrastructure Mr. Goff reported that the Lutheran Legacy Campus Planning process will be the front- page story on the Connections newsletter, scheduled for mailing to every household in the City in about 2 weeks. Councilmembers had questions and comments: Councilmembers expressed their gratitude for the extensive public communication and citizen engagement, especially since there is so much public interest in this property. What will happen to the trees on the property? Mr. Renkens gave a detailed answer, including steps taken to date and all of the City agencies and staff engaged in that process. Councilmembers were pleased to hear that some of the existing buildings will continue in use. However, what will happen to the Blue House and Chapel, which are good examples of legacy structures? Mr. De La Torre gave a detailed response. How many different property owners do we have on site? Just SCL Health; they own the 100 contiguous acres. 2. Strategic Priority – Streamlining Permitting and Licensing Allison Scheck, Administrative Services Director spoke that at the strategic planning retreat on February 20, 2021, City Council identified customer service, education and process improvement of the City’s licensing and permitting processes as a priority for the next two years. Staff is requesting feedback on a proposed workplan to realize this priority. Listed is a summary of planned and budgeted upcoming activities to support this priority. • Onboard New Licensing Technician • Update Municipal Code Chapter 22 (Tax) and Join State Sales and Use Tax System • Conduct an Analysis of the City’s Enterprise Resource Planning Program To further support this priority, staff presented the following ideas to Council for consideration. • Comprehensive Educational Campaign for Small Businesses • Targeted Outreach to Property Owners Ms. Scheck requested direction from Council to move forward with activities to support this priority. Councilmembers had questions and comments: Councilmembers had detailed questions about the implementation of these plans, with respect to all license and permit processes for citizens and business owners. Councilmember Hoppe asked for a consensus to direct staff to continue with the current planned and future ideas for implementing this plan. Consensus achieved. 3. Staff Report(s) Nothing further at this time, since staff made reports already in tonight’s Regular Council Meeting. 4. Elected Officials’ Report(s) Nothing further, as this session immediately followed a Regular Council Meeting. ADJOURNMENT The Special Study Session adjourned at 8:44 pm. APPROVED BY CITY COUNCIL ON May 24, 2021. _________________________________ Steve Kirkpatrick, City Clerk _________________________________ Janeece Hoppe, Mayor Pro Tem