HomeMy WebLinkAboutStudy Session Agenda Packet 05-17-21STUDY SESSION AGENDA
CITY COUNCIL
CITY OF WHEAT RIDGE, COLORADO
May 17, 2021 6:30 p.m.
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Citizen Comment on Agenda Items
1. Strategic Priority - Homelessness
2. Pedestrians hindering the flow of traffic and pedestrian use of roadway center medians
3. Revisions to the City’s floodplain regulations
4. Staff Report(s)
5. Elected Officials’ Report(s)
ADJOURNMENT
Memorandum
TO: Mayor and City Council
THROUGH: Patrick Goff, City Manager Marianne Schilling, Assistant to the City Manager
FROM: Rebekah Raudabaugh, Homeless Navigator
DATE: May 17, 2021
SUBJECT: Strategic Priority - Homelessness
ISSUE: The City of Wheat Ridge is committed to regional homeless navigation efforts to address the
increasing number of individuals experiencing homelessness. During the City Council strategic
planning retreat on February 20, 2021, homelessness was identified as a priority issue for the next two years.
Heading Home will present an overview of homelessness in Jefferson County and City Staff will
present current programming and proposed options for Council to consider moving forward.
Staff is requesting feedback on a proposed workplan to realize this priority.
PRIOR ACTIONS: City Council approved a 0.5 FTE Homeless Navigator in the 2020 Adopted Budget. In February
2020, Council passed Resolution No. 13-2020, which approved a regional MOU concerning
homeless navigation efforts. On August 24, 2020, City Council passed Resolution No. 44-2020 approving a Homeless Navigation IGA to share one full-time Homeless Navigator between Wheat Ridge, Golden and Edgewater.
WORK CURRENTLY UNDERWAY:
A summary of current efforts, practices and initiatives follows.
Homelessness in Jefferson County The counties surrounding the Denver-Metro Area, communities along the Front Range, the I-70
corridor and Western Slope are all experiencing challenges with homeless/transient populations. The
reasons for homelessness are wide-ranging and complex; they generally include a lack of affordable housing, chronic substance abuse issues, severe mental health issues, military veterans, and victims of domestic violence. In addition, experts are finding that individuals experiencing homelessness are leaving larger cities to avoid being victims of crimes perpetrated by others who are homeless.
To address homelessness both regionally and at a city level, it was first important to quantify the homeless population in Jefferson County and in each city. In August 2019, a Comprehensive Count was completed in the County to determine the total number of individuals experiencing
Item No. 1
Staff Report – Strategic Priority - Homelessness May 17, 2021
Page 2
homelessness. For this count, homelessness was defined as individuals and families living in an emergency shelter, transitional housing, those who are unsheltered, and those who lack stable housing.
In total, the Comprehensive Count homelessness number was 997 persons. Of the 93 persons counted in Wheat Ridge, 61% were unsheltered. While 28 were living completely unsheltered outside, 29 were living in their vehicles. Another 22 were precariously housed in a motel or hotel. Approximately 20% of persons were chronically homeless – or people with long histories
of homelessness who also have a disability.
These individuals are the most visible to the public, yet only represent a small portion of people experiencing homelessness. Additionally, 88% of those counted were in households without children (11% in households with children).
Heading Home Heading Home is the County-wide stakeholder group committed to creating a systemic response to homelessness in Jefferson County that prevents and ends homelessness whenever possible. When homelessness cannot be prevented, Heading Home ensures it is a rare, brief and a one-
time experience.
In the last year, the group has actualized this vision by drafting Jeffco’s Homelessness Action Plan, which can be found on the Heading Home website. In this plan, four primary objectives were identified for the group to focus on in the next three years:
1. Optimize Crisis Response System (shelter, outreach, coordinated entry, diversion)
2. Increase Access to and Supply of Supportive Housing (for the 20% chronically homeless) 3. Increase Data Collection & Data Sharing (so we can have more reliable knowledge about this issue locally) 4. Increase Community Involvement in Support of Solutions.
Since this plan was completed, Heading Home has completed a Gaps Analysis both for sheltering and supportive housing needs and identified the primary unmet needs in Jefferson County. The Gaps Analysis has been included in the Council packet. Those needs include:
• Low Barrier, Year-Round, 24/7 Sheltering Options for adult-only households
experiencing homelessness
• Permanent housing units including: 1) Workforce, affordable housing units for households with incomes insufficient to secure housing and 2) Permanent supportive housing units for chronically homeless individuals.
Aside from the Gaps Analysis findings, there is an increasing need to assist persons with medically fragile conditions and those discharged from the hospital with nowhere to stay. There is also an increasing need to support persons who are sleeping in their cars. Finally, Heading Home is currently developing recommendations to provide to cities and County leadership on
how it can maximize American Rescue Plan Act dollars to increase local resources to meet these needs. Homeless Navigation Program As an outcome of the Comprehensive Count, Jefferson County and the cities within partnered on
a Regional Homeless Navigation program as part of a regional effort to address the rise of
Staff Report – Strategic Priority - Homelessness May 17, 2021
Page 3
individuals experiencing homelessness. Part of these efforts includes establishing a network of Homeless Navigator positions in individual jurisdictions that work in collaboration as regional partners.
The Navigators deliver direct services to individuals and families in need, provide program and stabilization-related support, and collect and distribute information and resources to assist those experiencing homelessness. The Navigators throughout Jefferson County began working in early 2020. The Homeless Navigator for the City of Wheat Ridge started in December 2020 and
the role is shared with the cities of Golden and Edgewater.
The Homeless Navigator works closely with the local business community, constituents, metro-area non-profit providers and government agencies. The work of the Homeless Navigator includes (for all three cities):
• Weekly outreach efforts which consist of contacting individuals living unsheltered and offering resources and basic need items such as socks, water, snacks, etc. to build rapport.
• Attending Municipal Court
• Completing intakes for Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) and assessing client’s needs
• Assisting clients with obtaining vital documents
• Making referrals for healthcare, mental health, substance misuse, legal issues, and
benefits
• Navigating clients to identify a pathway towards housing
• Assisting clients with housing searches, applications, and deposits
• Maintaining an actively growing caseload. Current caseload consists of 22 clients: seven in Golden, 14 in Wheat Ridge, and one in Edgewater. Of that number, two individuals have been matched with a housing voucher and are working to obtain the necessary documents to secure stable housing.
IDEAS FOR NEW ACTIVITIES: To further support this priority, staff presents the following ideas to Council for consideration. 1. Hiring a Housing Navigator
A Housing Navigator would be able to assist clients in their search by keeping an updated
list of unit openings and assisting with filling out waitlist applications. Additionally, a Housing Navigator would be able to assist clients with filling out rental applications, interpreting leases and understanding tenant rights and responsibilities. This would allow the Homeless Navigator more time to provide intensive case management. An example
job description from a recent City of Arvada posting has been included in the Council
packet.
Proposed Timeline: 2022 Resources Needed: Additional part-time or full-time position - Housing Navigator,2022 budget.
2. Implementing a Bridge Housing Program In the Sheltering Gaps Analysis completed by the Heading Home organization, emergency shelter was prioritized as an existing need for Jefferson County. As this time, all emergency shelters for individuals are in Denver County. Until a Navigation Center
Staff Report – Strategic Priority - Homelessness May 17, 2021
Page 4
with an emergency shelter is established in Jefferson County, a bridge housing program or short-term motel or hotel vouchering could benefit Jefferson County residents in need of emergency shelter. This program would consist of an eight to twelve-week motel stay
in a motel or hotel to bridge an individual or family into stable housing. The client would
need to meet certain requirements for the program, one of them being securing employment. Once a client has met the requirements, the Homeless Navigator would fund the motel
stay until the client receives their first paycheck. Once the client’s first paycheck has
been received, they will be responsible for a portion of the motel cost. The client will continue to pay for a portion of the cost until they have secured stable housing. The Homeless Navigator will support the client with their deposit and first month’s rent to ensure the client is set up for success. This bridge program follows the Housing First
Model which states that individuals need to have their basic needs met before they can
focus on employment, drug misuse and mental health concerns.
Proposed Timeline: 2022 Resources Needed: Will require funding in 2022 budget if direction is provided to proceed.
RECOMMENDATIONS: Staff requests direction from Council to move forward with activities to support this priority. ATTACHMENTS:
1. Jefferson County Homelessness Action Plan (Heading Home)
2. Sheltering Gaps Analysis 3. Arvada Housing Navigator job description 4. Homeless Navigation Demographic Report, May 2021
JEFFERSON COUNTY
HOMELESSNESS ACTION
PLAN 2021-2023
Heading Home, A Committee of
Jeffco Connections
ATTACHMENT 1
Executive Summary.............................................................3
Guiding Principles................................................................4
State of Homelessness in Jefferson County....................5-7
Plan Objectives....................................................................8
Optimize Housing Crisis Resolution System............9-10
Increase Supportive Housing Units........................11-12
Increase Data Collection & Data Sharing...............13-14
Increase Community Involvement.........................15-16
Action Plan in Motion........................................................17
Impact.................................................................................18
T able of Contents
2
Homelessness is a community-wide crisis requiring a community-wide solution. For this reason, the
Heading Home group formed in 2006 to work toward ending homelessness in Jefferson County. As
the crisis has grown over the years, Heading Home is now revising its plan to focus on the greatest
needs of our unhoused neighbors. This Plan, driven by data and guiding principles outlined herein,
will serve as a blueprint for the work of Heading Home over the next three years.
The vision of the Heading Home Collaborative is to implement a systemic response in Jefferson
County that ensures homelessness is rare and prevented whenever possible and, when it cannot be
prevented, it is a brief, and a one-time experience. Ensuring homelessness is a rare experience means
that we build lasting systems, which include components that actively prevent housing crises that
lead to homelessness. When homelessness cannot be prevented, the system is designed to ensure
the experience is brief. This means at any given time we know who is experiencing homelessness in
the community and ensure they are quickly engaged in a pathway to housing of their choice. Lastly,
when homelessness does occur, the system is built to ensure it is a one-time only experience by
connecting households with existing programs that support upward economic mobility through
education, employment, and other essential services.
The Jeffco Homelessness Action Plan seeks to realize this vision by focusing on four primary
objectives. A distinct workgroup will be structured around each objective.
As the Heading Home Committee moves towards a workgroup focused model, this document will
serve as the roadmap and basis for accountability for each of the workgroups over the next three
years. This document will be updated every three years in response to changing community needs
and priorities.
Executive Summary
3
Everyone has the right to live in safe, decent, affordable housing and to have
access to services they need to survive and thrive. The following principles will
guide the work of the Heading Home Committee:
A community-wide problem necessitates a
community-wide solution. The most effective
and lasting solutions come when we bring
our strengths as separate entities together to
create collaborative solutions that put the
best interests of those we serve first.
Community-Level Approach
We actively promote and implement antiracist
policies and interventions that seek to resolve
the racial and ethnic inequities experienced by
persons of color who are disproportionately
experiencing homelessness in Jefferson
County.
Racial Equity
We develop and promote policies and
interventions that respect the diverse cultures
and beliefs of those we serve. We engage
stakeholders from every sector, especially
persons with lived experience of
homelessness, in the development of
solutions.
Cultural Competence & Inclusivity
We promote robust systems for collecting,
sharing, and integrating data among
homeless service providers and other
intersecting systems so that we can
effectively measure the community’s
progress and adjust the approach as
needed.
Data Driven Decisions
Housing is ultimately the solution to
homelessness. A successful and effective
homelessness response system quickly
connects families and individuals experiencing
a housing crisis to permanent housing without
preconditions or barriers and provides
ongoing opportunities for engagement in
services to support long-term stability.
Housing First
We treat all individuals and families
experiencing homelessness with dignity and
respect, promoting self-determination and
personal choice about one’s own life. We
recognize that all persons are unique, and we
must develop solutions driven by individual
differences and needs rather than a one size
fits all approach.
Self Determination
We prevent and end homelessness by
working collaboratively with other systems
that impact our ability to end homelessness,
including, but not limited to, health care,
education, criminal justice, and the metro
Denver Continuum of Care.
System Integration
We recognize the role and impact of high
levels of trauma in the past and present
condition of homelessness and seek to
design interventions that provide safety and
actively avoid re-traumatizing individuals.
Trauma Informed Care
Guiding Principles
4
Comprehensive Homeless Count Data (August 2019)
People experienced homelessness or lacked stable housing.
Of this group were literally homeless, which means they were living
in a temporary shelter program or unsheltered.
Of those literally homeless were living outside or in another place
not meant for human habitation.
997
67%
77%
5
Subpopulations
Of those experiencing homelessness and lacking stable housing, the following
notable subpopulations were identified.
Parenting Youth
1%
Unaccompanied
Youth
4%15%
Fleeing domestic
violence
7%
Veterans
The primary sources of data on homelessness in Jefferson County used to compile
the data in this section are the 2019 Comprehensive Homeless Count
(“Comprehensive Count”) and the Point-in-Time Homeless Counts (“PIT Count”).
These counts are both census events, which provide point-in-time snapshots of
homelessness. Jefferson County is reliant on these census events due to current
low utilization rates of the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS)
database throughout the county. While census and outreach events can hold value
in providing snapshot data, a dynamic and shared database is the most reliable
way to know real-time data on the full nature and extent of homelessness. All data
included in these counts is self-reported.
State of Homelessness in Jefferson County
0 25 50 75 100
American Indian/ Alaskan Native
Black
Multi- Racial
Hispanic/ Latinx
White
Jeffco Homeless Population Jeffco General Population
1%
5%
8%2%
16%28%
63%92%
11%
3%
Households without children are significantly more likely to experiencehomelessness, more likely to lack stable housing and have a higher proportion ofpersons literally homeless than households with children.
Households with at
least one child and
one adult
Unstably Housed
33%
Chronically Homeless
(subset of literally homeless)
21%
Literally Homeless
67%
Unstably housed refers to persons who were unable to sleep or stay in the sameplace for the next 14 days, could not pay for housing for the next 14 days, or hadinconsistent housing for the last 60 days. Chronic homelessness is used to describepeople who have experienced homelessness for at least a year, or repeatedly overseveral years, while struggling with a disabling condition such as a serious mentalhealth disorder, substance use disorder, or physical disability
0 100 200 300 400 500
Unstably Housed Literally Homeless
Race & Ethnicity
Homelessness disproportionately impacts persons of color in Jefferson County.Compared to the general population, persons experiencing homelessness weremore likely to be persons of color.
Household Type
Housing Status
6
Households without
children
Households without
children
Households with at
least one child and
one adult
49
50
156
449
86%
14%
Disability Drug Use Mental Illness Chronic Health
300
200
100
0
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
600
400
200
0
Health Conditions & Disabilities
Approximately two out of every three persons (62%) over 18 report having at leastone disabling condition. Persons experiencing chronic homelessness aredisproportionately afflicted with physical and behavioral health issues anddisabilities. A disabling condition in this context is one that is expected to be long-continuing or indefinite duration, substantially impedes the person’s ability to liveindependently; and could be improved by the provision of more suitable housingconditions.
Who is Experiencing Homelessness in Jefferson County?
Unlike the charts above, the following chart shows total persons counted in the PITCounts over the past five years (2017-2020). The totals of the PIT counts aresignificantly lower than the totals reported in the Comprehensive Count data abovebecause the PIT Count is a one-day event, while the Comprehensive Count wasconducted over the course of a month.
Total Persons Literally Homeless – PIT Counts
7
68
90
113
83
41 60
94
90
62
100 93
78
Chronically Homeless Literally Homeless Unstably Housed
Unsheltered Sheltered
(not chronic)
162
282310
99
295
348
229
84
355
124
PH OTO BY MARTIN R. SM I T H
The objectives of this Action Plan were identified
using the results from the 2019 Comprehensive
Count, 2020 PIT Count, a shelter gap and
inventory analysis, 2020 Jefferson County
Community Needs Assessment, the 2013
Heading Home Plan, and the 2015 Heading
Home Collaborative Evaluation. Additionally, the
authors reviewed similar plans from over 10
communities of various sizes and geographies.
Key guiding framework documents also
included the Jeffco Community Health
Improvement Plan (CHIP), the Jeffco Bright
Futures Roadmap, Focus Strategies’ Housing
Crisis Resolution System Briefs, and the United
States Interagency Council on the Homeless’
Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End
Homelessness.
The Heading Home Governance Workgroup
used this information to identify four primary
objectives, which will focus and guide our efforts
1) Optimize the Housing Crisis Resolution System
2) Increase Access to and Supply of Supportive Housing Units
3) Improve System-Wide Data Collection and Data Sharing
4) Increase Community Involvement in Support of Homelessness Solutions
Plan Objectives
so that we can most effectively move
Jefferson County towards its goals of ensuring
homelessness is rare, brief, and one-time only.
Throughout Fall and Winter 2020, each
workgroup completed a logic modeling
exercise, which identified not only the vision
for each objective, but also the concrete
activities and expected outcomes for those
activities. The activities describe what
Heading Home will do to achieve the vision
and the outcomes are the changes we expect
to see because of the activities.
The first action step for each workgroup
involves assessing available data to identify
more specific gaps and subsequent
activities.The results of this activity will allow
the group to set clear, measurable
benchmarks for progress and be held
accountable to those metrics.
Rare One-TimeBrief
8
Serving all persons who present with urgent needs,
Assessing and prioritizing the most urgent needs,
Providing immediate crisis relief where needed,
Triaging to appropriate long-term services, and
Coordinating with multiple departments and programs towards common goal of
stabilization
A housing crisis resolution system responds to the needs of all persons who are
experiencing a housing crisis in Jefferson County. In such a system, the programs and
resources that serve persons in a housing crisis function together with a common set of
goals and performance measures. The system’s resources directly align with those
goals. Effective housing resolution systems function similarly to an effective emergency
department of a hospital by:
The following vision, activities and outcomes aim to create a system that prevents
homelessness whenever possible, ensures enough resources exist for persons seeking
to resolve their immediate crisis, and connects all persons in crisis with a pathway to
stable housing. The outcomes will be made measurable after the gaps analysis is
completed and progress will be tracked towards the benchmarks set.
OPTIMIZE THE HOUSINGCRISIS RESOLUTION SYSTEM
9
Maintains real-time data that illustrates unmet need for sheltering options. Able to
respond nimbly to changes in need over time.
Sufficient temporary sheltering programs exist that operate low barrier, housing-focused
programming for persons experiencing homelessness with greatest unmet need.
Programs that provide direct services primarily to persons experiencing homelessness
actively connect persons with housing and diversion services.
A coordinated street outreach team conducts outreach several times per week,
consistently engaging unsheltered persons and connecting them with housing and health
services.
Complete shelter and services survey and gaps analysis.
Create recommendations for integrated sheltering model(s) that provide a resource for
residents to recover from and exit homelessness as quickly as possible and meet their
basic health and hygiene needs.
Conduct community meetings with residents experiencing homelessness to identify key
causes of homelessness, barriers to exiting homelessness.
Support organizations who seek to improve their capacity to connect persons with
housing resources with training and technical assistance.
Create a dynamic, hotspot map of unsheltered encampments and day sheltering
locations.
Launch coordinated street outreach team that provides connection to health, housing
resources and mainstream benefits.
Reduction in persons experiencing homelessness
Reduction in persons experiencing unsheltered homelessness
Increase in low barrier sheltering option(s) that serve population(s) with greatest unmet
needs
Increase in persons who have access to Jeffco sheltering options
Increase permanent housing placements for residents experiencing homelessness
Increased service and benefit connections for unsheltered residents
10
VISION All agencies that serve persons experiencing
homelessness are equipped and able to stabilize a
housing crisis and facilitate a pathway to housing.
ACTIVITIES
OUTCOMES
Permanent supportive housing is a proven solution to resolve
homelessness for persons experiencing chronic homelessness. It pairs
housing with case management and supportive services so persons can
achieve stability and health in that housing. A cost-effective solution,
supportive housing has been shown to lower public costs associated with
the use of crisis services such as shelters, hospitals, jails, and prisons.
By taking a collaborative approach to increasing the supply of this type of
housing, we can provide safe, decent, and affordable housing for those with
the greatest service needs while reducing costs to public systems. The
outcomes will be made measurable after the various supportive housing
related assessments are completed. Progress will be tracked towards the
benchmarks set.
INCREASE ACCESS TO ANDSUPPLY OF SUPPORTIVEHOUSING UNITS
11
Maintains real-time data that shows unmet need for supportive housing and can respond nimbly
to changing need over time.
Local rental subsidy programs prioritize Jeffco residents experiencing homelessness. A variety of
housing subsidy programs exist to meet the full spectrum of need including short-term term
programs such as rapid rehousing and also long-term tenant and project based rental subsidies.
All persons in need of permanent supportive housing (PSH) have access to supportive housing
units.
All programs serving persons experiencing literal homelessness actively enter eligible persons
into the metro-wide Continuum of Care coordinated entry system (One Home).
A collaborative group of service providers and housing developers provide leadership locally on
understanding the gaps in supportive housing and developing and implementing County-wide
supportive housing strategy to address these gaps.
Conduct assessment to:
Determine subpopulations with greatest unmet need for supportive housing,
Determine utilization rates of existing voucher programs and assess for barriers to lease-up.
Summarize current and potential One Home participation by Jeffco service providers
Assess move-on strategies occurring with supportive housing providers.
Create, advocate for and act on recommendations for development of supportive housing to
address the greatest unmet need.
Provide support to organizations developing supportive housing on aspects such as, but not
limited to, community engagement, site identification, partner identification and service
provision.
Partner with local Public Housing Agencies (PHA) to advocate for increased housing
preferences for residents experiencing homelessness.
Increase Jeffco service providers who enroll persons in One Home.
Reduction in persons experiencing chronic homelessness in Jeffco
Reduction in homeless Veterans (Built for Zero initiative activities aligned with this workgroup)
Reduction in persons experiencing unsheltered homelessness
Increase in One Home enrollments and housing placements of Jeffco residents.
Increase HMIS participation in Jeffco
Increase positive exits from supportive housing
Increase number of tenant and project based supportive housing units dedicated for homeless
households.12
VISION The system has sufficient access to and supply of
supportive housing
ACTIVITIES
OUTCOMES
What gets measured gets done. Without having more objective data about
the extent and characteristics of persons experiencing homelessness, it is
difficult to design effective interventions and solutions. It is also difficult to
understand the impact of the interventions we do create and to continue to
invest in solutions that work. To reduce homelessness, we also need to
know who is actively experiencing it at any given point in time.
This objective focuses on expanding our County-wide data collection
system beyond an annual point-in-time so that we can know who is
experiencing homelessness at any given point in time. More specific
outcome measures will be established once an initial HMIS participation
assessment is completed.
INCREASE SYSTEM-WIDEDATA COLLECTION ANDDATA SHARING
13
Homeless service programs use HMIS as a client database, and where not possible, programs
partner to share basic data elements for use in aggregate, county-wide reporting.
Dedicated team monitors HMIS coverage, identifies opportunities and strategies for increased
use.
At any given point-in-time, Heading Home has access to data reports with reliable data on persons
experiencing homelessness as well as the causes and conditions of homelessness locally.
Dedicated team regularly analyzes system-wide data to identify system gaps and trends,
evaluates program and system effectiveness, uses data to revise strategy and responds to data
requests.
County-wide, real-time data on homelessness is posted publicly in data dashboard format.
Homeless service providers and the broader community understand and value the importance of
a robust data collection and sharing system.
Coordinate data sharing process with Built for Zero Improvement team, specifically with active by-
name list data, dashboard data and HMIS participation rates.
Create and maintain list of agencies actively using HMIS and identify possible areas of increased
HMIS coverage. Create recommendations on strategies to increase HMIS coverage.
Assess County-wide data collection on homelessness outside of HMIS. Identify what data is being
collected, by whom and in what systems. Create recommendations to explore data sharing
opportunities.
Pilot data integration project with one agency in at least two distinct systems (e.g., hospital, jail,
court, school).
Explore feasibility and strategies for creating data dashboards with MDHI. Develop strategies for
creation and management of County-level data dashboard on homelessness.
Increase in permanent housing placements of Jeffco residents through One Home.
Increased number of Jeffco providers that use HMIS and One Home.
Increased enrollments of Jeffco residents in HMIS.
Increased understanding of barriers and opportunities to expand data integration with multiple
public systems.
Increased data integration with at least two public systems that do not use HMIS reporting and
using data on homelessness, including quarterly reporting on progress on goals set,
demographics analysis, current gaps, unmet need, and trends identified. 14
VISION A homeless response system that has access to
real-time, comprehensive, and reliable data
ACTIVITIES
OUTCOMES
Community-wide solutions to homelessness require the coordination,
participation and shared commitments of all corners of the community
including local government, social service providers, faith partners,
businesses, as well as community residents.
This objective seeks to bring more people with diverse experiences and
expertise into Heading Home to participate in building the solutions
necessary to reduce homelessness and the stigma surrounding it in
Jefferson County.
INCREASE COMMUNITYINVOLVEMENT IN SUPPORT OFHOMELESSNESS SOLUTIONS
15
A committed, active, and informed group unified in common purpose to end homelessness in
Jefferson County works to increase public knowledge and compassion on this issue.
Membership in quarterly meetings and workgroups represents the diverse demographics, life
experiences and expertise of Jefferson County, including those with lived experience of
homelessness.
Community members have various means in which to obtain more accurate information on the
issue of homelessness locally and have tangible opportunities to get involved in the solutions.
Research examples of effective community engagement strategies on homelessness and provide
recommendations for activities for this workgroup.
Engage elected officials and other leadership by educating on issues directly related to
homelessness to enable them to better understand, promote and support effective solutions.
Create education event series targeted for the public on the extent, causes and conditions of
homelessness regionally and locally, effective interventions and opportunities for further
involvement.
Create opportunities for public to get involved in solutions to homelessness at various levels and
capacities.
Provide support and/or facilitation for public events that solicit feedback on various homelessness
related initiatives.
Assess semi-annually the Heading Home member list, attendance list and workgroup participant
list to determine deficiencies in meeting diversity and inclusivity goals.
Make recommendations and implement strategies to diversify membership and include the
perspective of persons with lived experience of homelessness in Heading Home membership and
workgroups.
Increased public support of solutions
Increase in number of persons of color, persons with lived experience of homelessness and
persons from other underrepresented groups/sectors participating in the work of Heading
Home.
Increased knowledge and understanding of the problems and solutions needed to address
homelessness.
Increased solutions, programs, and interventions in place to effectively address homelessness
in Jefferson County.16
VISION A community that has productive conversations on the issue of
homelessness, offers multiple opportunities for the public to
learn and engage on the issue and includes people with lived
experience in the development of solutions.
ACTIVITIES
OUTCOMES
Community Solutions’ Built for Zero initiative includes more than 70 communities
across the country working to measurably and sustainably end chronic and Veteran
homelessness. In late 2019, Kaiser Permanente Colorado, the state Division of Housing
and the nonprofit Community Solutions announced the expansion in Colorado of the
Built for Zero initiative. Metro Denver counties have ramped up a regional approach
while a new cohort of five additional Colorado communities have signed up.
Participating communities collaborate on building tailored plans to address
homelessness in their specific community, adopt proven best practices, use data to
improve homelessness plan performance, and share and deploy existing resources
more efficiently based on an evidence-based process improvement framework.
Community Solutions also offers a useful definition of what it means to eliminate
homelessness. It aims to reduce homelessness to “functional zero,” meaning that the
number of people experiencing homelessness is smaller than the number that are
successfully placed in housing in the average month. Many communities have reached
functional zero for certain populations, such as Veterans. This does not mean that no
Veterans will ever again experience homelessness in those communities, but that the
communities have the resources and procedures in place to ensure that it happens
rarely and when it does occur, it is quickly resolved.
Jefferson County formed its own Built for Zero team in Fall of 2020 that works
collaboratively with the metro regional efforts. The tasks of developing housing
inventories, case conferencing, street outreach and increasing HMIS participation are
now underway. This work will lay the foundation and further bolster the objectives and
activities included in this Action Plan.
Action Plan in Motion...
Built For Ze ro
17
This Plan outlines some specific actions and outcomes we feel confident will
make an impact on our larger desired impact of creating a system in Jefferson
County where homelessness is a rare, brief, and non-recurring experience.
While homelessness may seem an intractable problem to many, we know it has
not always been this way. Many policies in health, housing and criminal justice
systems have caused or contributed to this epidemic over the last several
decades and it will require the same level of determination and decisions from
these systems, residents, and leadership to reverse this trajectory.
We acknowledge Heading Home has influence over only a small portion of
these systems, but we commit to serving as a catalyst and leader in the
Jefferson County community to further conversations on and development of
solutions to homelessness locally. Using this plan as a roadmap, we hope to
further realize Jefferson County’s mission to promote the safety, health, and
well-being of the entire Jefferson County community.
Impact
Making Homelessness Rare, Brief and Non-recurring
in Jefferson County
18
1
Gaps Analysis & Recommendations for Emergency Sheltering Options
Jefferson County
Executive Summary
A housing crisis resolution system responds to the needs of all persons who are experiencing a housing
crisis. Successful systems pull all the housing programs and resources together to work on a common
set of goals. Effective housing resolution systems function similarly to an effective emergency
department of a hospital by:
• Serving all persons who present with urgent needs,
• Assessing and prioritizing the most urgent needs,
• Providing immediate crisis relief where needed,
• Triaging to appropriate long-term services, and
• Coordinating with multiple departments and programs towards common goal of stabilization
All points of contact for persons experiencing homelessness stand ready to stabilize the housing crisis
and facilitate pathways to housing. While temporary sheltering options are a necessary component of
an effective crisis resolution system, temporary shelter alone will not reduce homelessness. The
ultimate solution to homelessness is permanent housing. Sheltering options must be connected with
permanent housing options in order to successfully serve its purpose as part of a response system that
seeks to ensure homelessness is rare, brief, and non-recurring.
This document serves to assess current temporary sheltering options in Jefferson County, review
available data to determine specific needs for such options, and identify unmet need. It provides
information on best practice and evidence-based approaches to meeting this need. Lastly, we offer a
clear set of recommendations to address the unique needs within Jefferson County and concrete
recommendations for how leadership can assist in supporting this effort.
These recommendations were developed by the Crisis Resolution Workgroup of the Heading Home
Committee and driven by the Jefferson County Homelessness 2021 Action Plan. Thank you to this group
of thoughtful non-profit, government, and faith-based leaders for their time and commitment.
Document Outline:
• Gaps analysis
o Summary of existing temporary sheltering inventory in Jefferson County
o Summary of need for temporary sheltering options in Jefferson County
o Description of unmet need
• Homeless Crisis Resolution System: Key Components & Best Practices
• Priorities for Effective Crisis Resolution System in Jefferson County
• Leadership Recommendations
o Possible Funding Sources
o Budget Estimate
ATTACHMENT 2
2
Gaps Analysis: Identifying Unmet Need for Emergency Sheltering
Options in Jefferson County
Summary of Existing Sheltering Inventory
The table below includes a list of existing temporary shelter options for persons experiencing
homelessness in Jefferson County as of February 2021. In addition to space capacity, we have
provided information on the populations served by these programs and the relative barriers to entry
for each program. We believe these combined data points present a more complete representation
of the capacity of our existing sheltering programs in Jefferson County that serve the homeless
population.
Organization (Program) Subpopulation Served Eligibility
Criteria
Capacity
(# rooms/ units/
spots)
Transitional Housing (up to 2 year stay)
Beyond Home Families w/ children High 206
Catholic Charities (Marisol 10th) Families w/ children Med-High
Family Homestead Families w/ children Med-High
Emergency Shelter- Severe Weather only
Evergreen Christian Outreach
(Evergreen Shelter Program)
All households Low 98
Severe Weather Shelter Network Adult only households Low
Jefferson County Human Services Families with children Low
Emergency Shelter – Domestic Violence only
Roots of Courage (Family Tree) All households Med-High 38
Safe Parking lots
CO Safe Parking Initiative (Golden &
Arvada lots)
All households Low 17
359
Inventory Summary:
• The majority (57%) of sheltering beds/units are dedicated for families with children, 96% of
those units/beds are for families who have few barriers to obtaining housing relative to the
general homeless population.
• Jeffco’s overnight sheltering options for adult-only households is limited to severe weather
nights only, which comprised only 15% of the nights in 2019-20 season. The severe weather
response is activated when the low temperature at night is lower than 20 degrees Fahrenheit
with no precipitation, or lower than 32 degrees with precipitation. Severe Weather Shelter
Network does not provide housing-focused, wrap-around services to its guests, so these
individuals typically return to unsheltered homelessness as soon as the temperature rises above
freezing.
• Safe parking lots allows persons to safely and legally reside in their vehicles overnight. It does
not include indoor shelter options with some exceptions during extreme weather events. The
3
first two safe parking lots in Jefferson County launched in 2020 reside in church parking lots.
Data does not yet exist on how many persons residing in their cars, if given a shelter option that
meets their needs, would prefer to move indoors at night. The two safe parking lots in Jefferson
County accept cars and trucks, but do not allow recreational vehicles.
• Jefferson County relies heavily on a motel based sheltering model. Aside from severe weather
vouchering, several local homeless service providers have small budgets to provide motel
vouchers to persons in immediate need of shelter. Often the vouchers are used for overflow
demand during severe weather nights, for persons recovering from acute medical conditions
often referred by hospitals, or those who cannot access traditional shelters due not household
composition (pets, couples, multiple adult households). Due to lack of system-wide data tracking
on motel voucher utilization, motel voucher numbers were not included in the above table. For
all vouchering across the County, it’s estimated about 100 households are vouchered during an
average severe weather night at a total cost of $7,500 per night (based on average $75 per
room cost).
4
Terminology:
High Barrier vs. Low Barrier Programs:
Sheltering programs have a lot of discretion in the eligibility criteria they choose to implement. High
levels of eligibility criteria present barriers to accessing programs by most households experiencing
homelessness. The result often is that these high barrier programs serve the households with the
fewest challenges to obtaining stable housing. Households with minimal challenges are most
efficiently and effectively served with minimal financial assistance and services to regain housing
stability.i
The households with the most barriers to obtaining stable housing would benefit the most from a
more service-intense program, yet these are the very households that are often excluded from shelter
programs with high barriers to entry and eligibility criteria. Some examples of these eligibility criteria
include excluding persons with eviction histories, felonies on record, no/low income,
no/underemployed, families with boys over 12, single father families, active drug and alcohol use, and
those with pets.
A low barrier program meets the needs of all members of a household and self-defined family and
kinship groups. They do not turn people away or make access contingent upon sobriety, minimum
income requirements or lack of criminal history. They do not require family members and partners to
separate from one another in order to access shelter. Eligibility requirements are minimal and shelter
rules are focused on maintaining a safe environment for residents.
Indoor Sheltering Models:
• Transitional Housing refers to a longer-term temporary, supportive shelter program that allows
households to stay for up to two years. Programs typically have guests sign occupancy
agreements instead of leases as the stay is temporary. While federal funding has dramatically
decreased for transitional housing over the last ten years, HUD recognizes that transitional
housing can be most beneficial for specific subpopulations such as persons in recovery from
substance use disorders, persons experiencing domestic violence and unaccompanied youth. The
setting is typically non-congregate.
• Emergency Shelter refers to any facility in which the primary purpose is to provide a temporary
shelter for households experiencing homelessness. Shelter stay limits can vary from night-by-
night, week-by-week or up to several months.
o Congregate model: The most common type of shelter setting, these provide a common
facility and shared spaces such as dining areas, restrooms, living space and sometimes
sleeping areas.
o Non-congregate model: Households live in separate living spaces, most often in motel
rooms. This model has gained popularity during COVID because of it’s effectiveness in
reducing the spread of the virus.
• Day Shelters are where persons experiencing homelessness can stay indoors during daytime
hours but cannot stay overnight. These sites typically provide meals, showers, laundry, internet
access and a range of co-located services. The primary day sheltering options in Jefferson County
for persons experiencing homelessness are Mission Arvada (The Rising) and Mean Street
Ministries in Lakewood.
5
Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) refers to a housing model that pairs housing/rent assistance
with individualized, flexible and voluntary supportive services for people with high needs related to
physical or mental health, most often those who experience chronic homelessness. A cost-effective
solution, PSH has been shown to lower public costs associated with the use of crisis services such as
shelters, hospitals, jails and prisons. PSH model can be located in one building (site-based) or be
dispersed among multiple buildings or properties using portable vouchers/subsidies (scattered site).
Housing First:
Housing Firstii is an approach based in the idea that homelessness is foremost a housing problem. In
other words, people need basic necessities like food and a place to live before attending to anything
less vital, such as employment, budgeting or attending to substance use issues. Nothing in any
person’s history or present precludes them from being able to be housed. Housing First does not
equate to Housing Only. As persons are returned to or stabilized in permanent housing, many will
need services to sustain that housing. Housing first is a philosophy that values flexibility,
individualized supports, client choice and autonomy. It is not a “one-size-fits-all” approach.
Summary of Need – Literally Homeless Population
The tables below present an overview of the numbers and characteristics of persons experiencing literal
homelessness in Jefferson County based on the Comprehensive Homeless Count conducted in August
2019. Literally homelessness is defined as persons who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime
residence, including sleeping overnight in a public or private place not meant for human habitation, in
an emergency shelter, transitional housing or motel/hotel paid for by an organization or government.
The data below does not include those at risk of homelessness, couch surfing or doubled up.
Data Limitations: A point-in-time based methodology of conducting a census of the homeless
population has significant limitations in scope and reliability. This holds especially true for a population
that is largely living outdoors and difficult to locate. To date, Jefferson County is reliant upon data from
the annual Point-in-Time Count (January 2020) and the Comprehensive Homeless Count (August 2019).
Although the one-day PIT Count was conducted more recently, the month-long Comprehensive Count is
the most comprehensive County-wide data available. The data is still very likely an undercount of those
experiencing homelessness and is of this writing over 1.5 years out of date, and does not provide
information on post-COVID-19 homelessness. To improve our understanding of homelessness within
Jefferson County at any given point in time, we need more homeless service providers to use the
Homeless Management Information System (HMIS).
Homeless Management Information System (HMIS)
HMIS is a web-based database used by hundreds of homeless service providers across the state and
65 in metro Denver counties. It collects client-level data on households experiencing or at risk of
homelessness. The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) provides minimum
data standards for all HMIS databases throughout the country. The software for Metro Denver HMIS
is Clarity Human Services and the database is administered locally by Metro Denver Homeless
Initiative (MDHI). When HMIS is used consistently by all programs in a community that serve persons
experiencing homelessness, it provides a reliable understanding of who is experiencing homelessness,
what caused their loss of housing and their basic condition. It also tells us changes over time as well
as what interventions are most effective. In Metro Denver’s HMIS, HMIS is also used to enter persons
6
into the region’s coordinated entry system and queue for permanent supportive housing, also known
as One Home.
Heading Home is working diligently on increasing the number of programs that use the HMIS in
Jefferson County so that we will be able to better understand the causes, conditions and needs of our
unhoused residents at any point in time.
The below data is pulled from the Comprehensive Homeless Count completed in August 2019. It
summarizes key demographics, subpopulations and conditions of residents experiencing homelessness.
The percentages in the call out boxes represent the percentage of persons/households unsheltered in
that subpopulation (e.g., 88% of adult-only homeless households are unsheltered, 43% of homeless
families with children are unsheltered). Persons living in unsheltered settings are more vulnerable to
illness, injury, violence and unsanitary conditions.
43%
88%
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500
Families with children
Adult-only Households
Households by Household Type
Sheltered Unsheltered
7
*Other category refers to persons to identified as gender non-conforming (1), transgender (3), don’t
identify (1) or did not respond (18).
41%
67%
84%
81%
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
Children (under 18)
Young Adults (19-24)
Adults (25-65)
Seniors (65+)
Persons by Age
Sheltered Unsheltered
85%
66%
80%
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450
Male
Female
Other*
Persons by Gender
Sheltered Unsheltered
8
Chronic homelessness is defined as people who have experienced homelessness for at least a year – or
repeatedly over the course of several years – while struggling with a disabling condition such as a
serious mental illness, substance use disorder, or physical disability.
Disability was defined by having a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more
major life activities. A chronic health condition is a condition that lasts one year or more and requires
ongoing medical attention or limits activities of daily living or both. Approximately two out of every
three persons over 18 surveyed (62%) reported having at least one disabling condition.
81%
68%
65%
91%
0 50 100 150 200 250
Veterans
Fleeing Domestic Violence
Unaccompanied Youth
Chronic Homelessness
Persons by Subpopulation
Sheltered Unsheltered
82%
85%
73%
87%
0 50 100 150 200 250
Chronic Health Condition
Disability
Mental Health Problem
Substance Use Problem
Persons by Health Condition (self-reported)
Sheltered Unsheltered
9
A total of 77% (516) of literally homeless Jefferson County residents were unsheltered and 23% (152)
were sheltered.
Summary: Unmet Needs
The list below highlights the most pressing unmet sheltering needs in Jefferson County. In all cases, the
need for low barrier sheltering options is highest. It is important that the persons with the highest
barriers to (re)housing are not screened out from shelter programs and forced to live outside where
their condition will likely worsen, barriers to exiting homelessness multiply and negative impacts to the
community increase.
1. Low Barrier Sheltering Options for Adult only households: In Jefferson County, existing indoor
shelter beds/units serve only 29% of the homeless population during severe weather nights.
During non-severe weather nights, no shelter beds exist for adult-only households. Adult only
households have greater health concerns, including mental health and substance use disorders,
and rely on emergency health systems as their conditions worsen on the street.
2. Low Barrier Sheltering Options for Persons with Severe Health Needs: A disproportionately
high percentage (average 82%) of homeless residents with one or more serious health
conditions are living in a vehicle or in a place not meant for human habitation. Existing
sheltering programs in Jefferson County are either not equipped or unable to accept persons
with severe health conditions, therefore has a significant unmet need for medical respite
temporary shelter programs.iii Such programs provide acute and post-acute medical care for
individuals experiencing homelessness who are too ill or fail to recover from physical illness or
injury on the street, but no longer need to be in a hospital. Without this resource, the cycle of
crisis care and over-utilization of emergency departments continues, and hospital social workers
are forced to discharge persons to the streets.
3. Low Barrier Sheltering Options for Families with Children: Inadequate low-barrier shelter beds
exist for families with children. Existing transitional housing programs serving families maintain
high eligibility criteria that would exclude many families experiencing homelessness from
8%
12%
3%
47%
30%
Persons by Sleeping Location
Hotel/motel paid for by a voucher
Emergency shelter
Transitional housing
On the street/park/place not meant for
habitation
In a car/vehicle
10
entering. Because of this exclusion criteria, the data mask the need for increased low barrier
emergency shelter options for families with children.
4. Low Barrier Safe Parking Spots: Only 9% of persons living in their vehicles in Jefferson County
have safe parking spots available to them. People who are newly homeless retain their vehicle
as their last asset, which provides shelter, personal privacy and autonomy, transportation for
work and medical appointments, and connections to their community. But because sheltering in
vehicles is illegal in many places and makes them a target for crime, people residing in vehicles
often strive to “hide in plain sight” and do not connect with services, leaving them unserved or
underserved. Additionally, no safe parking spots or affordable parking lots exist for people
residing in recreational vehicles (RV’s), therefore a significant need exists for such parking lots.
Medical Conditions of Unsheltered Persons in Jefferson County
Living outside and unsheltered often exacerbates pre-existing health conditions and creates new
ones. Alcohol and drug use is a common approach to numbing the daily experiences, stress, and
trauma of life on the streets. Many individuals start using once on the street as a way to survive,
which can ultimately inhibit their ability to get help. The stress resulting from sleeping outdoors may
be eased by using drugs and alcohol to keep warm, suppress hunger and/or stay awake for extended
periods, as well as a means of escape from physical and emotional pain associated with surviving on
the streetiv. A low barrier shelter program would acknowledge these facts and would not conduct
unnecessary drug tests during shelter stays.
The municipal and County navigators, Metro Denver Homeless Initiative, and severe weather
sheltering partners have reported increases in recent months in the number of unsheltered persons
presenting with extremely medically fragile conditions. These individuals are often prioritized for
available vouchers, but often need more time to recover than funding allows and often require more
intensive medical support than available. Unsheltered persons have been found to have mortality
rate 10 times larger than that of housed adult populationv. The below list briefly describes the
medical condition of several Jeffco residents who were recently referred to homeless navigators:
• Mr. A suffered a series of strokes and had limited mobility due to an accident in which he was
hit by a car, crushing his pelvis. He was not able to maintain his activities of daily living and
became septic, requiring a lengthy hospital stay.
• Mr. N has cerebral palsy and was evicted from the motel due to inability to pay. He has no
medical insurance and minimal benefits and was referred to navigators from hotel staff.
• Mr. B has severe pulmonary issues and congestive heart failure. He could not maintain his
employment in the gig economy after a medical setback.
• Mr. P is visually impaired and has been living in and around businesses on West Colfax and
Wadsworth and cannot navigate the bus system to retrieve vouchers from Severe Weather
Shelter Network.
• Mrs. C has terminal cancer and has less than a year to live. When undergoing treatment for
the cancer, her ability to engage in case management was minimized.
• Mr. M has been living on the streets of Lakewood for over 11 years. A Marine Veteran, he
suffered a horrible on-the-job injury that left the bones in his legs and spine shattered.
Unable to work, his disability income was not enough to keep up with cost of rent in the area.
• Mr. K approached a service provider during the February sub-zero weather event seeking
shelter because his tracheotomy was freezing.
11
• Ms. S presented with a hand infection that after seeking medical treatment required hourly
soaking, of which she was unable to do while living outside in unsanitary conditions.
Homeless Crisis Resolution System – Key Components & Best Practices
What is a Crisis Response System?
Emergency shelters, street outreach, and safe places to access crisis services are the critical front line of
a community’s response to homelessness. These services meet basic survival needs like shelter, food,
clothing, and personal hygiene, while also helping to resolve housing and other crises. To optimize the
effectiveness of this system and to reduce the opportunity for residents to slip through the cracks, these
components must work together in a coordinated system. This could mean they use standardized
forms, assessment criteria, eligibility criteria, and a shared database. They also would commit to best
practices by using a low barrier, housing first and client centered crisis response implemented with a
trauma-informed approach.
Key components includevi:
• Street Outreach: Street outreach is critical to ensure the community actively seeks to identify
and build relationships with all persons experiencing homelessness across the community.
Developing relationships and trust with individuals averse to coming indoors takes time and a
specialized skill set.
o Jefferson County does not have an active street outreach team focused on housing.
Currently, Jefferson County Public Health’s Points West team conducts street outreach
to provide harm reduction services for those actively using drugs. Mean Street
Ministries provides weekly outreach in Lakewood to various motels on West Colfax to
provide food, toiletries, warm weather gear with a faith-based approach. Some of the
municipal navigators conduct limited street outreach primarily in conjunction with law
enforcement.
• Diversion & Prevention: Centrally important to reducing inflow into the shelter system,
prevention and diversion assistance helps residents to either preserve their current housing
situation or find an immediate alternative housing arrangement and connection with services
that will allow them to avoid homelessness. Diversion is also the most cost-effective
intervention available toward the goal of ending homelessnessvii. Both prevention and diversion
often require funding to use for short-term financial assistance (rent, move-in, storage, back-
pay, motel vouchers, etc.). Many people, especially families, can exit or avoid homelessness
with a light touch of services and assistance that these programs offer.
o Some Jefferson County non-profits have diversion problem-solving conversations with
clients during intake, however widespread or implementation of this tactic has not
occurred. The Action Center has an active and small homelessness prevention
Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) from the State Division of Housing. Additionally, the
12
rental assistance provided for eviction prevention through recent federal funding
sources (e.g., CARES Act) will likely prevent homelessness for many households.
• Coordinated Entry: A process designed to quickly identify, assess, refer, and connect people in
crisis to permanent supportive housing and services. It ensures that all people experiencing a
housing crisis have fair and equal access and it prioritizes those with the most severe service
needs. It incorporates a system-wide Housing First approach and uses standardized tools and
practices.
o Approximately four organizations in Jefferson County participate in metro-Denver’s
Continuum of Care’s (CoC) coordinated entry system, One Home, which is currently
used to allocate permanent supportive housing resources. Beyond this limited scope
participation of One Home, Jefferson County agencies do not maintain an active
coordinated entry system.
• Crisis Resolution/Housing-Focused Services: At the point of entry, interventions must be laser
focused on the resolution of the current housing crisis. Services should be tailored to the unique
strengths and needs of the household that will enable them to achieve and maintain permanent
housing.
o Some programs in Jefferson County provide housing-focused services, but many
homeless service providers do not provide housing services. Many services exist to
provide basic services, such as food, water, and clothing, but do not provide housing
assistance.
• Emergency Shelter & Other Basic Needs: In some circumstances, homelessness cannot be
averted, and people need a safe, temporary place to stabilize and get connected with services
and longer-term housing. Sheltering programs are most effective when open 24/7 as they allow
safety and time for guests to take the steps needed toward obtaining more stable housing.
Residents also need to meet basic hygiene and safety needs with access to publicly available
showers and laundry.
o As outlined in the inventory analysis in the gaps analysis, no year-round low-barrier
shelter options exist in Jefferson County. Currently, The Rising offers publicly available,
free showers in Arvada and the Wheat Ridge Rec Center offers showers for the public
through vouchers provided by the Homeless Navigator. No known options exist for no
charge laundry services.
• Permanent Housing: An effective crisis response must be able to connect persons to permanent
housing resources – whether it be through vouchers or temporary financial assistance. Without
this requisite outflow, the crisis response system gets flooded and people stagnate at
emergency shelters.
o A supportive housing workgroup within Heading Home is actively working to increase
access to and supply of supportive housing locally.
Best Practices for Emergency Sheltering & Interim Housing
Effective emergency shelters divert people from entering shelter when possible, provide access to crisis
beds when not, and enable flow through the system to permanent housing. Shelter should be part of a
13
process of getting someone housed, not a destination. People must be able to get in and to get out (to
housing).
The response system should be actively working to engage people where they are and get more people
indoors. Shelter models can be single site locations, rotating locations, partial motel leasing or scattered
site motel vouchers. Some models can be used as short-term crisis housing, while others can be more of
a bridge housing model, or one that is used as a short-term stay after permanent housing has been
offered and accepted, but access to the housing is still being arranged.
To summarize, the five key components to an effective emergency shelter include:
1. Housing First Approach
2. Safe and Appropriate Diversion
3. Immediate & Low Barrier Access
4. Housing-Focused, Rapid Exit Services
5. Data to Measure Performance
Barriers to Accessing Shelter:
Why do some people prefer to be on the street than in an emergency shelter?
Many people who live outside do not access shelter due to the lack of available beds or they avoid
shelters all together. A national surveyviii conducted of those who refuse to enter shelters, stated the
following reasons:
• Too crowded (37%)
• Bugs (30%)
• Too many rules (28%)
• Full/not available (27%)
• Would have to stay separate from partner/family (23%)
• Germs (22%)
• Do not accept my pet (22%)
• Nowhere to store belongings (19%)
• Too far away (18%)
• Cannot stay with friends (13%)
While a similar survey in Jefferson County has not been conducted, these same responses have been
frequently reported anecdotally. Some other reasons provided locally for not accessing shelters
include conflicts with work schedules, mental health and substance use struggles, fear of COVID-19,
safety concerns, distrust of the system and lack of personal autonomy.
As a shelter model is developed in Jefferson County, it is imperative that the process includes the voice
and perspective of residents experiencing homelessness, and that their needs, including many of those
listed above, are incorporated throughout the planning process. Additionally, the space must be safe,
clean, trauma-informed and welcoming to all persons. The model must create an environment that
makes persons feel welcome, especially those who are typically averse to accessing shelters and
services.
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Priorities for Effective Housing Crisis Resolution System in Jeffco
The most effective interventions, programs and strategies in a housing crisis resolution system are ones
where service models are standardized using all available best practice approaches such as motivational
interviewing, progressive engagement, harm reduction and developed with a trauma-informed, client-
centered, and strengths-based lens. Services are customized, remain flexible and seek to engage persons
where they are in their crisis. Ultimately, interventions facilitate pathways to safe, stable housing. The
following components and strategies are listed in order of priority, based on current need.
PRIORITY 1: CREATE TWO HOUSING NAVIGATION CENTERS
Develop two Housing Navigation Centers- one in North Jeffco and Central Jeffco - that use an integrated
co-located service model. Navigation Centers contain the following core components:
1) Drop-in Center – Hold dedicated space for the following core services:
a. Co-located housing and health service providers: behavioral health, primary care, public
health vaccinations, harm reduction services, supportive employment program, benefits
acquisition (VA, Human Services, etc.).
b. Navigation services: Municipal & County homeless navigators, other community-based
housing and health navigators.
c. Basic needs: Access to showers, bathrooms, laundry, mail collection, temporary storage
spaces, and phones.
d. Open community space: Open safe space for rest and engagement with staff and guests.
This space would also serve as overflow sleeping area for severe weather nights.
e. Private office spaces/meeting rooms: Used for initial intake & diversion services. Also
used for one-on-one meetings with community service providers, and temporary
isolation rooms for persons symptomatic with infectious disease.
2) Housing-focused 24/7 shelter beds & spaces: Designate beds and activity rooms for each
gender, multi-adult households, and/or persons needing to quarantine. Several units would be
dedicated for persons with medical respite needs and those individuals would have access to
medical personnel. Central to navigating a path towards housing, employment and health
stability is the ability to have a reliable, safe place to sleep and recover.
3) Safe parking spaces for cars and RV’s: Select location for navigation center that has an adjacent
parking lot to use for persons living in their vehicles who need a safe and legal place to park and
sleep in their vehicles. These persons would be engaged by service providers and could access
all services provided at the center. Families with children residing in their vehicles would be
diverted to Human Services to receive services and voucher for a motel room.
4) Diversion: Diversion services must be consistently provided upon first entry to the navigation
center using staff trained and skilled in this technique. Through a creative problem-solving and
conflict resolution approach, this component stabilizes a housing situation and can prevent or
reduce the length of time homeless.
5) Transportation Services: Depending on the location of the navigation centers, the center may
need to operate a vehicle or have a budget for public transportation to assist guests in getting to
the center and to needed appointments.
6) Data Collection & Coordinated Entry: The navigation centers would function as centralized
access points for persons experiencing a housing crisis in the County. Primary to serving in this
15
role is using the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS). The HMIS allows service
providers to communicate with one another across the metro area, puts guests in the queue for
permanent supportive housing when appropriate, and reduces the trauma of asking redundant
questions of guests. Lastly, it produces aggregate reports that help us understand the program’s
performance and monitor the changing landscape of homelessness in Jefferson County.
What is a Housing Navigation Center?
The housing navigation center model meets people at all points on the spectrum of a
housing crisis. It provides low barrier access to on-site housing navigation, supportive
services, shelter beds, basic hygiene resources and a permanent housing pathway through
coordinated entry. It functions as an efficient one-stop service center for residents of
Jefferson County experiencing a housing crisis. The model especially engages long-term
unsheltered residents who are often fearful of accessing traditional shelter and services.
The core objectives of a navigation center include:
- Diverting people from homelessness when possible,
- Providing emergency shelter for most vulnerable individuals,
- Rapidly assisting people in accessing permanent housing,
- Maintaining or establishing connections with supportive services and employment, and
- Providing essential services to help people survive homelessness.
Successful navigation centers have access to sufficient permanent housing resources so that
shelter beds are turned around as rapidly as possible to make room for others needing
shelter. The low barrier model provides an opportunity for staff to engage shelter-averse
populations during the day, build relationships and take the steps to build the trust
necessary to engage them in services. Navigation Centers benefit the greater community by
saving taxpayer dollars and reducing over-utilization of emergency departments, law
enforcement contacts, and jail time as persons can get their basic needs met at the
navigation center before those needs grow into crises.
Locally, two local housing navigation centers exist including Weld County Navigation Center
and Adams Countyix. The tri-city areas (Littleton, Englewood and Sheridan) are in
discussions around the development of a navigation center. Two non-local examples
include Hayward Housingx and San Diego.xi
PRIORITY 2: CREATE COLLABORATIVE STREET OUTREACH TEAM
Create collaborative street outreach team that includes housing and health focused expertise, data
collection, encampment mapping and service connection to persons living outdoors. Use County and
city staff as well as non-profit provider participation. Street outreach teams develop relationships with
residents living outdoors and is central pillar in a functioning navigation center to ensure these
individuals are connected with housing and health services. It is critical that we continue to understand
the needs, names, and numbers of these underserved individuals.
16
PRIORITY 3: CREATE MOTEL-BASED EMERGENCY SHELTER FOR FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN
Families experiencing homelessness are served best when they can maintain their family unit in a safe,
non-congregate setting with customized services to support them on their pathway to stable housing.
The current sheltering model for families is to provide temporary motel vouchers in a few designated
hotels throughout Jeffco while providing navigation services to those individuals. We propose to move
towards a single site family sheltering model of multiple rooms (up to 20) in one hotel in Jefferson
County. The benefit of this model, as opposed to scattered site motel vouchers, is that families would
build a support system with one another and services could be delivered more efficiently. We
recommend starting in year one with one location by leasing 15-20 rooms continuously. After year one,
we would assess the need for additional locations and consider scaling up to other areas of Jeffco so
households would have choice and be closer to their home communities and support systems.
In this model County and municipal navigators would serve as one referral source and work in
partnership with on-site staff highly trained in best practice service models and approaches. Central to
the success of this model is to provide intensive, individualized and high-level case management and
navigation services. If funded in part or whole by County or municipal funds, we recommend operation
of the shelter be put out to a Request for Proposal (RFP) process with clear requirements on staffing
levels and service model.
PRIORITY 4: WORK WITH EXISTING SHELTERING PROGRAMS TO LOWER BARRIERS TO ENTRY
Leverage existing relationships with transitional housing programs to convert some or all units/beds to
low-barrier, housing-focused models with space for emergency shelter beds. Use financial incentives
and modify contracts. This leverage can also be used to require programs to participate in the Homeless
Management Information System (HMIS) as a condition of funding in order to increase and improve our
County-wide data and knowledge of homelessness.
17
Leadership Recommendations
Given the above priorities, Heading Home recommends that leadership best support these by taking the
following steps:
1) Identify and secure physical site/building for one housing navigation center in Central Jefferson
County and one in North Jefferson County using the building specifications listed below. This
includes evaluating and supporting needed zoning waivers.
2) Assist in identifying and securing capital and operations funding to acquire/lease, rehab, operate
site.
3) Provide leadership and support with community conversations / public hearings regarding
navigation centers
Navigation Center Site Specifications:
Option A (smaller scale) Option B (larger scale)
Potential building
types
Buildings purposed for similar use.
Minor rehab may be needed.
Churches, group residential,
commercial space.
Possible motel/hotel if congregate
space
Approx. Total
Indoor Space
3,600 ft2 10,250 ft2
Sleeping Areas Sleeping space for 15 people (1200
ft2)
- 10 beds/units for medical
recuperation (hospital transition)
- 5 beds/units for bridge housing
(secured housing, waiting for
move-in)
Community space overflow sleeping
area capacity of 10 people.
Sleeping space for 45 people (3176 ft2)
- Non-congregate units: (for medical
recuperation /hospital transition) 4
non-congregate shared units,
capacity 8 people. (800 ft2)
- Men’s congregate space: 20 beds
(1320 ft2)
- Women’s congregate space: 16
beds (1056 ft2)
Community space serves as overflow
sleeping area during severe weather,
space for 20 cots.
Shelter Guest
Living Spaces
n/a 1 women (350 ft2)
1 men (350 ft2)
Community Space
(public day
resource center;
severe weather
overflow)
Fits up to 25 people (1200 ft2)
Capacity 70 people (3600 ft2 )
Kitchen Communal kitchenette (100 ft2) Commercial kitchen (300 ft2)
Laundry 2 stackable washer/dryer (50 ft2) 4 stackable washer/dryer (100 ft2)
Bathrooms (toilets
& showers)
- Shelter guests – 2 men, 2
women. 1 ADA accessible
restroom (150 ft2)
- Men’s dorm area- 3 showers & 3
toilets, 1 ADA accessible (225 ft2)
- Women’s dorm area- 3 showers &
3 toilets (225 ft2)
18
- Community room- 2 public toilets
& showers, 1 ADA accessible (100
ft2)
- Non-congregate units – 2
restrooms (100 ft2)
Community room – 3 restrooms & 3
showers (225 ft2)
Private Meeting
Rooms (co-located
service providers,
case management
meetings)
3 private offices (300 ft2 )
2 small group meeting room (300 ft2)
6 private offices (600 ft2)
2 larger group meeting rooms (600 ft2)
Storage space
(for employment,
medical
appointments,
shelter guests)
10 – 6X3X4 ft storage units outdoors
(72 cubic ft)
Secured access
20- 6X3X4 ft. storage units (72 cubic ft)
10- 3X2X3 ft. storage units (18 cubic ft)
Secured access
Staff offices 2 staff offices (200 ft2 ) 4 staff offices (400 ft2 )
Outdoor
recreation space
(smoking, etc)
Secured/fenced courtyard (min. 350
ft2 )
Secured/fenced courtyard (min. 750
ft2)
Other general requirements of sites:
- Sites should be within one half mile of food and bus services so that persons can easily pursue
employment opportunities, medical and other necessary appointments.
- Utility connection points available
- Reliable internet connection
- ADA accessibility in bathrooms, laundry, kitchen, dormitories
- 24-hour resident access and onsite management staff
- Fire considerations:
o Within 400 ft. of fire hydrant (verify with fire code)
o Dorms must have 2 exits (verify with fire code)
Examples of possible buildings that may be converted into navigation center
Buildings already purposed/zoned for group living, church-related propertiesxii, motels/hotelsxiii, former
schoolsxiv, modular units on vacant lots, unused government buildings, former medical offices/facilities,
office buildings, warehouses, empty parking lots, and vacant big box or other commercial stores.xv
Funding Sources
Several private and public funding sources exist to support capital and operations expenses for the
navigation center or family sheltering model. Funds would be needed for site acquisition/lease, possible
renovations and operating expenses.
Source Use Local administration
American Rescue Plan Act Site acquisition, lease, rehab, TBD Jefferson County
Lakewood
Arvada
19
Community Development Block
Grant (CDBG) and CDBG-
Coronavirus (CDBG-CV)
Site acquisition, lease, rehab Jefferson County
Lakewood
Arvada
Community Services Block Grant
(CSBG)
Operations, services Jefferson County
City and County General Funds Flexible All cities, County
Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) Shelter operations and services, street
outreach
Rapid re-housing, homelessness
prevention – temp. rental assistance &
services
State Division of
Housing (DOLA- DOH)
Metro Denver
Homeless Initiative
(MDHI)
Section 811 Non-Elderly and
Disabled Vouchers
Permanent housing vouchers* Foothills Regional
Housing
Continuum of Care (CoC)
Program
Permanent supportive housing
vouchers*
Various metro
providers, accessed
through One Home
State Housing Vouchers Permanent supportive housing
vouchers*
State Division of
Housing
Foundations:
- Community First
Foundation
- Colorado Health
Foundation
- Daniels Fund
Flexible Foundations
Hospitals Flexible, per diem hospital transition
beds (operations)
TBD
*funding source to assist in transitioning from navigation center to permanent housing
20
Budget Estimate for Navigation Center
Annual Budget Option A:
Small Navigation Center
(capacity overnight 25, day
35) – 3600 ft2
Option B: Large Navigation
Center (capacity
overnight 65, day 75)-
10,000 ft2
Personnel
Operations Staff (Option A: 7 FTE, Option B: 8 FTE, 4 PTE) $340,000.00 $450,000.00
Staff Training & Development $3,500.00 $5,000.00
Total Salary: $343,500.00 $455,000.00
Fringes @ 33% $113,355.00 $150,150.00
Total Personnel $456,855.00 $605,150.00
Operations
Lease $15,180.00 $46,000.00
Food (one meal/day) $34,000.00 $100,000.00
Supplies (office) $3,500.00 $5,500.00
Insurance $5,000.00 $14,000.00
Utilities (water, gas, electricity, trash removal, internet, phone) $5,000.00 $15,000.00
Janitorial $0.00 $10,800.00
Property Maintenance $15,000.00 $30,000.00
Postage $1,000.00 $2,000.00
Pest Control $2,000.00 $4,000.00
Client Transportation $10,000.00 $20,000.00
Computers $4,800.00 $7,200.00
Mileage $3,600.00 $5,500.00
Client & Staff Clearances $2,500.00 $5,000.00
Diversion & Housing-related costs (security deposits, rental assistance, moving) $40,000.00 $60,000.00
Indirect Costs (10% of personnel) $45,685.50 $60,515.00
Contingency 10% $62,894.05 $94,466.50
Total Operations $172,085.50 $339,515.00
Total Personnel & Operations $628,940.50 $944,665.00
Acquisition & Rehab
21
Acquisition Motel (perm. housing) $2,000,000.00
Purchase of 2 vintage
motels off Colfax. One
has 23 rooms, asking
$3million. The other
has 18 rooms, asking
$2million*
Acquisition Church (navigation center) $1,000,000.00
Church in Lakewood
with big open space,
remodeled in 2007,
7,000 SF, sprinkler and
kitchen. *
Lease Warehouse
Lease flex warehouse space under 10,000 sf. Upper
range of lease costs is $20.00 per rentable sf (rent
plus common area charges - triple net lease).*
Renovation
Ranges from $100-200 per sf, depending on building
and type/extent of remodel*
*Basis for Estimate: high level survey, no inspection of properties done. Also, zoning requirements vary
and would affect process and timing going forward.
Budget estimates based on following budgets: Denver protective action shelters, Jefferson County’s
non-congregate shelter, The Rufuge (Broomfield), and The Rising (Arvada).
i Dennis Culhane, “Testing a Typology of Family Homelessness Based on Patterns of Public Shelter Utilization in
Four U.S. Jurisdictions: Implications for Policy and Program Planning,” 2007
ii Housing First https://endhomelessness.org/what-housing-first-really-means/
iii Colorado Coalition for the Homeless Non-COVID-19 Respite Care https://www.coloradocoalition.org/respite
iv Factors associated with substance use among homeless young adults
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2856116/
v Mortality Among Unsheltered Homeless Adults, 2018
vi What is a Crisis Response System? https://endhomelessness.org/ending-homelessness/solutions/crisis-response/
vii Shelter Diversion: A best practice to prevent homelessness.
https://www.strategiestoendhomelessness.org/shelter-diversion-a-best-practice-to-prevent-homelessness/
viii https://endhomelessness.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Emergency-Shelter-Role-of-Shelter_Webpage.pdf
ix Colorado: Weld County Housing Navigation Center, Adams County Housing Navigation Center
x Hayward Housing Navigation Center
xi San Diego Navigation Center
xii Proposal to convert St. Paul convent into homeless shelter: https://kstp.com/news/proposal-to-convert-former-
st-paul-convent-into-shelter-for-families-experiencing-homelessness-under-consideration/6022892/
22
xiii Fusion Studios: CCH converts hotel into housing for homeless individuals. https://denverite.com/2020/01/22/practically-instant-housing-this-was-a-hotel-now-its-a-place-for-people-
whove-been-trying-to-find-a-place-to-live-in-denver/
xiv Shuttered Newark school building now becoming a homeless shelter. https://www.nj.com/essex/2021/02/this-
newark-school-building-was-shuttered-in-2012-now-its-becoming-a-homeless-shelter.html
xv Plan for converting vacant big-box stores into housing for homeless individuals.
https://www.designboom.com/architecture/ktgy-vacant-big-box-stores-housing-for-homeless-10-25-2018/
Housing Navigator Job Description
Position Purpose Provide housing navigation and placement to households enrolled in the Homeless Navigation Program. The Housing Navigator works closely with prospective property owners and managers to promote permanent housing opportunities for households
experiencing homelessness. Work involves contacts with local and state government employees, community-based professionals, community residents, and adult and juvenile clientele.
Hours: Monday - Friday, 8:00 am - 5:00 pm Job Functions / Scope of Authority ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS
• Navigation includes providing services to clientele of all ages, including
offering resources and strategic referrals for households in need of services and support; provides impartial and unbiased consultation, advocacy, and extensive independent review of clientele’s needs in support of successful exiting from homelessness; provides access to services offered by municipal,
county, non-profit, and faith-based systems otherwise unattainable by customer’s efforts alone.
• Provides direct service to customers by assisting with transportation and coordination of in-person meetings between customers, landlords and involved
professionals for potential housing placements; facilitates communication via
phone calls, emails, and other methods of communication, provides referral and resources support, entry and exit follow up plan development, and participation in individualized service and support teams. Follows up with individuals and families and provides resources. Applies knowledge of multiple
individual and family serving agencies in the region to all these activities.
• Gathers and maintains information on resources and eligibility requirements for services available to individuals and families. Gathers qualitative and quantitative data from individuals and families regarding services. Prepares and reviews documents (case notes, meeting information); collects and
distributes information; responds to navigation inquiries from individuals, families and professionals.
• Facilitates goal development, provides ideas and input for housing and stabilization outcome goals, and participates on subcommittees to carry out
those goals, follows up with individuals and families, and provides resources; offers expertise around best and promising practices; works within the regional navigation team and other regional boards, committees, and groups to accomplish objectives.
• Provides housing navigation support as a wraparound facilitator and/or liaison
with any other system or professional the customer is involved with.
• Networks and collaborates with area housing resources.
• Assist clients in their search for housing, filling out rental applications, interpreting leases and understanding tenant rights and responsibilities.
• Lease up newly enrolled clients.
• Submit payment requests for payments with all proper documentation including but not limited to Lease, W-9 and Deposit Form.
ATTACHMENT 3
• Coordinates and expedites services for customers in need through the
following activities: researches and presents data collection tools; designs
individual and family involvement opportunities through participation on subcommittees; gathers qualitative and quantitative data from individuals and families regarding services; manages and analyzes data in spreadsheets and databases.
• Assists in planning, development, implementation and management of program strategies, policies, procedures, goals and performance measures; tracks and reports on the progress of goals and performance measures; makes recommendations for changes or improvements to achieve desired
outcomes.
• Promptly enter documentation and information into Client files, HMIS, and other respective tracking system as required
• Attend trainings with government and community agencies that service individuals and families.
• Collaborates and coordinates closely with Public Safety, Housing, Parks, Courts, City Manager’s Office, City Attorney’s Office and other city staff and work systems to accomplish city goals and objectives.
• Collaborates with a variety of municipal, county, non-profit, faith-based
systems, and other applicable agencies to coordinate systems and deliver on program goals.
• Demonstrates a respectful attitude towards customers, coworkers and partners that promotes teamwork, open communication, and effective
customer service.
• Acts with the customer in mind, responds to requests promptly and provides effective services or solutions for customers.
• Exercises appropriate level of initiative and judgment to make decisions within the scope of assigned authority. Working Environment / Qualifications ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES
• Broad knowledge of poverty and homelessness causes, trends, issues, and
solutions.
• Knowledge of existing community resources available to assist individuals experiencing homelessness.
• Training in trauma informed care.
• Experience coordinating and collaborating with internal staff and external
partners to accomplish objectives.
• Knowledge or experience with developing and managing policies, procedures, goals, timelines and performance measures.
• Ability to analyze and evaluate program data and make course corrections or recommendations as needed for successful outcomes.
• Strong customer service and customer/client relationship skills.
• Solid computer skills with ability to maintain databases and enter/organize data accurately.
• Strong organizational skills and experience maintaining filing systems.
• Ability to engage customers in the field with direct service provision.
• Ability to interact and collaborate with others, share information, and provide
consultation and advice.
• Ability to consider different points of view and to use elements of persuasion to gain cooperation and acceptance of ideas, and to reach agreement.
• Ability to apply comprehensive, practical and technical knowledge with use of analytical judgement and decision making abilities.
• Ability to effectively communicate information, both verbally and in writing, to support organizational objectives and interact with all levels of personnel within the city and the public in a positive and cooperative manner.
• Ability to read and comprehend a variety of written communications and
publications.
• Ability to research, interpret, analyze and evaluate data.
• Ability to handle conflict and maintain composure under pressure.
• Ability to drive a motor vehicle.
• Available to work a regular Mon-Fri schedule with flexibility on evenings and
weekends and willingness to be on-call to respond to emergent situations OTHER FUNCTIONS:
• Other duties as assigned. —Employees are held accountable for all duties of this job— SCOPE OF AUTHORITY: Receives general supervision under the direction of the Manager of Housing Preservation and Resources. Plans and prioritizes daily work activities and
tasks. Supports the preparation and/or development of plans for projects and
programs involving coordination with other departments and/or outside organizations. Few established precedents and/or procedures exist. Employee is expected to follow procedures and handle difficult and specialized situations in functional area with support from supervisor.
Financial Accountability: None WORKING ENVIRONMENT/PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES:
The work environment/physical activities described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of the job.
Work is primarily performed in an office environment with moderate noise levels. Will visit camps, parked cars, and other sites to meet people where
they are as well as in-person visits in an office environment. Physical effort and activities include: occasionally operating a personal or City-owned motor vehicle to drive to and from meetings and business locations; ability to talk, hear and listen, use of hands/fingers to type and handle, feel or manipulate objects constantly; frequent sitting; occasional standing, walking, and
reaching with hands and arms; visual acuity to focus on details at a close distance, and make general observations and inspections; frequent handling of objects weighing up to 10 pounds, and up to 50 pounds occasionally.
MINIMUM REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS (EDUCATION, LICENSE, TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE):
Bachelor’s degree in social work or a related field and three to five (3-5) years of related experience. Experience or training in trauma informed care and/or poverty or homelessness issues required. Background check and driver’s license required.
Preferred Qualifications: Master’s Degree in social work or related field is preferred. Experience creating or developing programs, policies, procedures, goals, and performance measures preferred. Bilingual English/Spanish language skills preferred.
WHEAT RIDGE • GOLDEN • EDGEWATER
HOMELESS
NAVIGATION
DEMOGRAPHIC
REPORT
QUARTERLY
MAY 2021
ATTACHMENT 4
May 2021
Introduction
This quarterly Homeless Navigation Demographic Report contains details that are self-reported
by individuals experiencing homelessness during the client intake process in the Homeless
Management Information System (HMIS). During this process, the Homeless Navigator does
not verify or validate the information as true or accurate.
The Homeless Navigator serves the cities of Wheat Ridge, Golden and Edgewater. All data
included in this report represents active client demographics. Once a client is housed or the
relationship is inactive for 180 days, they are removed from the HMIS database.
The following data points are included in this report:
•Age Range
•Gender
•Race
•Disability Status
•Physical Disability
•Chronic Health Condition
•HIV/AIDS Status
•Mental Health
•Substance Abuse
•Chronic Homeless Status
•Homelessness Frequency
•Veteran Status
•Hispanic Ethnicity
•Prior Living Situation
•Prior Living Duration
•Individual Income
•Household Income
Client
Demographics
Report
Jeffco Homeless Navigator Collaborative
Date Range: 02/01/2021 thru 05/01/2021
Veteran: All
Client Project Stays: All active
Age Range Chart
Under 5 5 - 12 13 - 17 18 - 24 25 - 34 35 - 44 45 - 54 55 - 61 62+No Answer
Unde
r
5
5 - 1
2
13 - 1
7
18 - 2
4
25 - 3
4
35 - 4
4
45 - 5
4
55 - 6
1 62+
No A
n
s
w
e
r
Age Range
0
Nu
m
b
e
r
o
f
C
l
i
e
n
t
s
0 0 0 0
3
2
9
5
0 0
Age Range # of Clients
Under 5 0
5 - 12 0
13 - 17 0
18 - 24 0
25 - 34 3
35 - 44 2
45 - 54 9
55 - 61 5
62+0
No Answer 0
19Total:
1 / 21
Powered ByThu May 6 09:48:10 AM 2021
Client
Demographics
Report
Jeffco Homeless Navigator Collaborative
Date Range:02/01/2021 thru 05/01/2021
Veteran:All
Client Project Stays:All active
Gender Chart
Female Male Client doesn't know
5.26%
63.16%
31.58%
Gender #of Clients
Female 6
Male 12
Trans Female (MTF or Male to Female)0
Trans Male (FTM or Female to Male)0
Gender Non-Conforming (i.e.not exclusively male or female)0
Client doesn't know 1
Client refused 0
No Answer 0
19Total:
2 /21
Powered ByThuMay609:48:10 AM 2021
Client
Demographics
Report
Jeffco Homeless Navigator Collaborative
Date Range:02/01/2021 thru 05/01/2021
Veteran:All
Client Project Stays:All active
Race Chart
Black or African American Multiple races White Client Don't know / Refused
5.26%
84.21%
5.26%
5.26%
Race #of Clients
American Indian or Alaska Native 0
Asian 0
Black or African American 1
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 0
Multiple races 1
White 16
Client Don't know /Refused 1
No Answer 0
19Total:
3 /21
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Client
Demographics
Report
Jeffco Homeless Navigator Collaborative
Date Range:02/01/2021 thru 05/01/2021
Veteran:All
Client Project Stays:All active
Disabled (Adults & HoH) Chart
No Yes
78.95%
21.05%
Disabled (Adults &HoH)#of Clients
No 4
Yes 15
Client doesn't know 0
Client refused 0
No Answer 0
19Total:
4 /21
Powered ByThuMay609:48:10 AM 2021
Client
Demographics
Report
Jeffco Homeless Navigator Collaborative
Date Range:02/01/2021 thru 05/01/2021
Veteran:All
Client Project Stays:All active
Physical Disability Chart
No Yes
78.95%
21.05%
Physical Disability #of Clients
No 4
Yes 15
Client doesn't know 0
Client refused 0
No Answer 0
Total:19
5 /21
Powered ByThuMay609:48:10 AM 2021
Client
Demographics
Report
Jeffco Homeless Navigator Collaborative
Date Range:02/01/2021 thru 05/01/2021
Veteran:All
Client Project Stays:All active
Developmental Disability Chart
No Yes
31.58%
68.42%
Developmental Disability #of Clients
No 13
Yes 6
Client doesn't know 0
Client refused 0
No Answer 0
Total:19
6 /21
Powered ByThuMay609:48:10 AM 2021
Client
Demographics
Report
Jeffco Homeless Navigator Collaborative
Date Range:02/01/2021 thru 05/01/2021
Veteran:All
Client Project Stays:All active
Chronic Health Condition Chart
No Yes
52.63%
47.37%
Chronic Health Condition #of Clients
No 9
Yes 10
Client doesn't know 0
Client refused 0
No Answer 0
Total:19
7 /21
Powered ByThuMay609:48:10 AM 2021
Client
Demographics
Report
Jeffco Homeless Navigator Collaborative
Date Range:02/01/2021 thru 05/01/2021
Veteran:All
Client Project Stays:All active
HIV/AIDS Chart
No
100%
HIV/AIDS #of Clients
No 19
Yes 0
Client doesn't know 0
Client refused 0
No Answer 0
Total:19
8 /21
Powered ByThuMay609:48:10 AM 2021
Client
Demographics
Report
Jeffco Homeless Navigator Collaborative
Date Range:02/01/2021 thru 05/01/2021
Veteran:All
Client Project Stays:All active
Mental Health Problem Chart
No Yes
52.63%
47.37%
Mental Health Problem #of Clients
No 9
Yes 10
Client doesn't know 0
Client refused 0
No Answer 0
Total:19
9 /21
Powered ByThuMay609:48:10 AM 2021
Client
Demographics
Report
Jeffco Homeless Navigator Collaborative
Date Range:02/01/2021 thru 05/01/2021
Veteran:All
Client Project Stays:All active
Substance Abuse Chart
No Alcohol Abuse Drug Abuse
10.53%
15.79%
73.68%
Substance Abuse #of Clients
No 14
Alcohol Abuse 3
Drug Abuse 2
Both Alcohol and Drug Abuse 0
Client doesn't know 0
Client refused 0
No Answer 0
Total:19
10 /21
Powered ByThuMay609:48:10 AM 2021
Client
Demographics
Report
Jeffco Homeless Navigator Collaborative
Date Range:02/01/2021 thru 05/01/2021
Veteran:All
Client Project Stays:All active
Chronic Homeless (Adults & HoH) Chart
No Yes
47.37%
52.63%
Chronic Homeless (Adults &HoH)#of Clients
No 10
Yes 9
Clients Entering from Homelessness #of Clients
16Yes
3No
Approximate Date Started #of Clients
365 Days or More 10
Less Than 365 Days 6
Missing 0
Not applicable 3
Times Homeless in the Past Three Years #of Clients
One Time 9
Two Times 4
Three Times 1
Four or more times 2
Client doesn't know 0
Client refused 0
11 /21
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Client
Demographics
Report
Jeffco Homeless Navigator Collaborative
Date Range:02/01/2021 thru 05/01/2021
Veteran:All
Client Project Stays:All active
Times Homeless in the Past Three Years #of Clients
No Answer 3
Total Months Homeless in the Past Three years #of Clients
One month (this time is the first month)1
Two Months 0
Three Months 0
Four Months 0
Five Months 0
Six Months 0
Seven Months 1
Eight Months 0
Nine Months 1
Ten Months 1
Eleven Months 0
Twelve Months 1
More than 12 Months 11
Client doesn't know 0
Client refused 0
No Answer 0
Not Applicable 3
19Total:
12 /21
Powered ByThuMay609:48:10 AM 2021
Client
Demographics
Report
Jeffco Homeless Navigator Collaborative
Date Range:02/01/2021 thru 05/01/2021
Veteran:All
Client Project Stays:All active
Veteran Status (Adults Only) Chart
No Yes Client doesn't know
5.26%
5.26%
89.47%
Veteran Status (Adults Only)#of Clients
No 17
Yes 1
Client doesn't know 1
Client refused 0
No Answer 0
19Total:
13 /21
Powered ByThuMay609:48:10 AM 2021
Client
Demographics
Report
Jeffco Homeless Navigator Collaborative
Date Range:02/01/2021 thru 05/01/2021
Veteran:All
Client Project Stays:All active
Hispanic Ethnicity Chart
Non-Hispanic/Non-Latino Hispanic/Latino Client doesn't know
5.26%
15.79%
78.95%
Hispanic Ethnicity #of Clients
Non-Hispanic/Non-Latino 15
Hispanic/Latino 3
Client doesn't know 1
Client refused 0
No Answer 0
19Total:
14 /21
Powered ByThuMay609:48:10 AM 2021
Client
Demographics
Report
Jeffco Homeless Navigator Collaborative
Date Range:02/01/2021 thru 05/01/2021
Veteran:All
Client Project Stays:All active
Prior Living Situation (Adults & HoH) Chart
Place not meant for habitation (e.g., a vehicle, an abandoned building, bus/train/subway station/airport or anywhere outside)
Emergency shelter, including hotel or motel paid for with emergency shelter voucher, or RHY-funded Host Home shelter Safe Haven
Foster care home or foster care group home Hospital or other residential non-psychiatric medical facility
Jail, prison or juvenile detention facility Long-term care facility or nursing home Psychiatric hospital or other psychiatric facility
Substance abuse treatment facility or detox center Residential project or halfway house with no homeless criteria
Hotel or motel paid for without emergency shelter voucher Transitional housing for homeless persons (including homeless youth)
Host Home (non-crisis)Staying or living in a friend's room, apartment or house
Staying or living in a family member's room, apartment or house Rental by client, with GPD TIP housing subsidy
Rental by client, with VASH housing subsidy Permanent housing (other than RRH) for formerly homeless persons
Rental by client, with RRH or equivalent subsidy Rental by client, with HCV voucher (tenant or project based)
Rental by client in a public housing unit Rental by client, no ongoing housing subsidy
Rental by client, with other ongoing housing subsidy Owned by client, with ongoing housing subsidy
Owned by client, no ongoing housing subsidy Interim Housing (RETIRED)Client doesn't know Client refused No Answer
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Prior Living Situation (Adults &HoH)#of Clients
15 /21
Powered ByThuMay609:48:10 AM 2021
Client
Demographics
Report
Jeffco Homeless Navigator Collaborative
Date Range:02/01/2021 thru 05/01/2021
Veteran:All
Client Project Stays:All active
Prior Living Situation (Adults &HoH)#of Clients
Place not meant for habitation (e.g.,a vehicle,an abandoned building,bus/train/subway station/airport
or anywhere outside)10
Emergency shelter,including hotel or motel paid for with emergency shelter voucher,or RHY-funded
Host Home shelter 3
Safe Haven 0
Foster care home or foster care group home 0
Hospital or other residential non-psychiatric medical facility 0
Jail,prison or juvenile detention facility 0
Long-term care facility or nursing home 0
Psychiatric hospital or other psychiatric facility 0
Substance abuse treatment facility or detox center 0
Residential project or halfway house with no homeless criteria 0
Hotel or motel paid for without emergency shelter voucher 5
Transitional housing for homeless persons (including homeless youth)0
Host Home (non-crisis)0
Staying or living in a friend's room,apartment or house 1
Staying or living in a family member's room,apartment or house 0
Rental by client,with GPD TIP housing subsidy 0
Rental by client,with VASH housing subsidy 0
Permanent housing (other than RRH)for formerly homeless persons 0
Rental by client,with RRH or equivalent subsidy 0
Rental by client,with HCV voucher (tenant or project based)0
Rental by client in a public housing unit 0
Rental by client,no ongoing housing subsidy 0
Rental by client,with other ongoing housing subsidy 0
Owned by client,with ongoing housing subsidy 0
Owned by client,no ongoing housing subsidy 0
Interim Housing (RETIRED)0
Client doesn't know 0
Client refused 0
No Answer 0
19Total:
16 /21
Powered ByThuMay609:48:10 AM 2021
Client
Demographics
Report
Jeffco Homeless Navigator Collaborative
Date Range:02/01/2021 thru 05/01/2021
Veteran:All
Client Project Stays:All active
Prior Living Duration (Adults & HoH) Chart
One night or Less Two to six nights One week or more, but less than one month One month or more, but less than 90 days
90 days or more, but less than one year One year or longer Client doesn't know Client refused No Answer
One
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1
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0 0 0
Prior Living Duration (Adults &HoH)#of Clients
One night or Less 2
Two to six nights 4
One week or more,but less than one month 1
One month or more,but less than 90 days 2
90 days or more,but less than one year 5
One year or longer 5
Client doesn't know 0
Client refused 0
No Answer 0
19Total:
17 /21
Powered ByThuMay609:48:10 AM 2021
Client
Demographics
Report
Jeffco Homeless Navigator Collaborative
Date Range:02/01/2021 thru 05/01/2021
Veteran:All
Client Project Stays:All active
Individual Income (Adults & HoH) Chart
$0 $1 - $10K $10K - $20K $20K - $30K $30K - $40K $40K - $50K $50K - $60K $60K+No Answer
$0
$1 -
$
1
0
K
$10K
-
$
2
0
K
$20K
-
$
3
0
K
$30K
-
$
4
0
K
$40K
-
$
5
0
K
$50K
-
$
6
0
K
$60K
+
No A
n
s
w
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r
Individual Income
0
Nu
m
b
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r
o
f
C
l
i
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n
t
s
8
3
7
1
0 0 0 0 0
Individual Income (Adults &HoH)#of Clients
$0 8
$1 -$10K 3
$10K -$20K 7
$20K -$30K 1
$30K -$40K 0
$40K -$50K 0
$50K -$60K 0
$60K+0
No Answer 0
19Total:
18 /21
Powered ByThuMay609:48:10 AM 2021
Client
Demographics
Report
Jeffco Homeless Navigator Collaborative
Date Range:02/01/2021 thru 05/01/2021
Veteran:All
Client Project Stays:All active
Household Income Chart
$0 $1 - $10K $10K - $20K $20K - $30K $30K - $40K $40K - $50K $50K - $60K $60K+No Answer
$0
$1 -
$
1
0
K
$10K
-
$
2
0
K
$20K
-
$
3
0
K
$30K
-
$
4
0
K
$40K
-
$
5
0
K
$50K
-
$
6
0
K
$60K
+
No A
n
s
w
e
r
Household Income
0
Nu
m
b
e
r
o
f
C
l
i
e
n
t
s
8
3
7
1
0 0 0 0 0
Household Income #of Clients
$0 8
$1 -$10K 3
$10K -$20K 7
$20K -$30K 1
$30K -$40K 0
$40K -$50K 0
$50K -$60K 0
$60K+0
No Answer 0
19Total:
19 /21
Powered ByThuMay609:48:10 AM 2021
Memorandum
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Patrick Goff, City Manager Chris Murtha, Police Chief Jerry Dahl, City Attorney
DATE: May 12, 2021 (for Study Session of May 17, 2021)
SUBJECT: Pedestrians hindering the flow of traffic and pedestrian use of roadway center medians
ISSUE: Staff has prepared two new ordinances regulating pedestrian behavior along roadways which are intended to reduce danger to persons and property, prevent traffic delays, and otherwise avoid
pedestrian interference with traffic flow.
PRIOR ACTIONS: These code amendments were first raised with City Council at the October 19, 2020 study session. Consensus was reached by City Council to bring forward two ordinances for
consideration to address pedestrians hindering the flow of traffic and pedestrian use of roadway
center medians.
Both ordinances were approved on first reading at the December 14, 2020 council meeting. However, motions were made and approved at the January 25, 2021 council meeting to cancel
the public hearings on both ordinances and republish for future public hearings after the items
were reviewed again in study session.
FINANCIAL IMPACT: Enacting these ordinances is not expected to have any significant fiscal impact.
BACKGROUND: Pedestrian use of roadway center medians and roadways for various reasons is continuing to increase in Wheat Ridge. The two following photos are recent evidence of such activity in separate locations in the City. These ordinances are intended to reduce auto/pedestrian accidents by regulating center
medians that are unsafe for occupation by pedestrians and other pedestrian behaviors that interfere
with traffic, including entering the roadway in a way that obstructs or hinders traffic flow, and soliciting in areas that are unsafe for such activity. The ordinances adopt new sections of the Code governing pedestrian and traffic safety and amending the current section on solicitation activities to add a legislative declaration. These ordinances provide Wheat Ridge police officers with an
enforcement tool to maintain separation between automobiles and pedestrians, thereby reducing
auto/pedestrian accidents and improving overall traffic safety in the City.
Item No. 2
Staff Report – Pedestrians hindering flow of traffic and use of medians May 17, 2021
Page 2
RECOMMENDATIONS: Staff is asking City Council for direction and consensus on these two proposed ordinances to
increase the safety of pedestrians in the City. ATTACHMENTS: 1. Use of roadway medians draft ordinance 2. Pedestrians hindering the flow of traffic draft ordinance
ATTACHMENT 1
CITY OF WHEAT RIDGE, COLORADO INTRODUCED BY COUNCIL MEMBER ___________ COUNCIL BILL NO. 27
ORDINANCE NO. _________ Series 2020
TITLE: AN ORDINANCE ADOPTING SECTION 16-70 OF THE WHEAT RIDGE CODE OF LAWS CONCERNING PEDESTRIAN USE OF ROADWAY CENTER MEDIANS, AND
AMENDING SECTION 16-113, SALES AND SOLICITATION IN CERTAIN PLACES PROHIBITED
WHEREAS, the City of Wheat Ridge is a home rule municipality having all powers conferred by Article XX of the Colorado Constitution; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to its home rule authority and C.R.S. § 31-23-101, the City,
acting through its City Council (the “Council”), is authorized to adopt ordinances for the protection of the public health, safety or welfare; and
WHEREAS, traffic safety statistics for the City demonstrate that traffic crashes involving pedestrians have increased significantly; and
WHEREAS, traffic safety statistics for the City also demonstrate that traffic
crashes resulting in pedestrian fatalities occur along roadways that carry higher volumes of vehicles or that are posted with higher speed limits; and
WHEREAS, conduct by a pedestrian that distracts a driver’s attention from a roadway, that hinders traffic, or that otherwise obstructs a roadway, increases the dangers to both pedestrians and to those traveling in vehicles; and
WHEREAS, the dangers associated with interactions between vehicles and pedestrians increase the government’s interest in controlling pedestrian interactions with vehicles in the traveled portion of a roadway; and
WHEREAS, working to maximize the distance between the traveled portion of a roadway and pedestrians will increase pedestrian and traffic safety; and
WHEREAS, the primary purpose of a roadway center median is to enhance the safety of and ensure the free flow of traffic on roadways by separating opposing lanes of vehicular traffic, channeling traffic for turning purposes, and, within designated areas, to provide a temporary refuge for pedestrians crossing busy or wide roadways; and
WHEREAS, an individual who occupies or uses a roadway center median area
that is not designed or suitable for pedestrian use creates a safety hazard danger for himself or herself and for traffic in the adjacent roadway; and
WHEREAS, working to reduce the circumstances and minimize the time during which pedestrians are in close proximity to traffic will increase pedestrian and traffic safety; and
WHEREAS, the use by pedestrians of entry and exit ramps along Interstate highways for sales or collection transactions with passing motorists poses a special safety hazard to the pedestrians where no safe pull-out or parking areas exist, and also
creates a distraction for passing motorists which can inhibit the free flow of traffic; and
WHEREAS, alternative means and locations for the sales and solicitation are available elsewhere throughout the City; and
WHEREAS, prohibiting the use of certain areas along certain highways for sales or solicitations will directly advance the safety and welfare of the public; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds that adoption of laws relating to the regulation
of pedestrians who are in close proximity to roadways within the City is necessary to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WHEAT RIDGE, COLORADO:
Section 1. Section 16-70, Pedestrian Use of Roadway Center Medians,
is adopted within Chapter 16 of the Wheat Ridge Code of Laws, to read as follows:
Sec. 16-70. Pedestrian use of roadway center medians.
a. Legislative declaration; purpose. The city council hereby finds that collisions between pedestrians and vehicles in Wheat Ridge have
increased and declares it necessary to clearly delineate the responsibilities of pedestrians to allow for safer pedestrian and vehicle interactions throughout the city. Certain higher speed roadways in Wheat Ridge have center medians that are designed to separate traffic and channel the flow of traffic through turns and intersections. Except
for crosswalk refuge areas, such center medians were not designed and are not suitable for access, occupation, or use by pedestrians. Pedestrians who use center medians not designed for pedestrian use may distract or even startle drivers, especially along higher speed roadways. This endangers the pedestrian as well as drivers and their
passengers. The purpose of this section is to reduce the number of situations during which pedestrians are in close proximity to the traveled portion of a higher speed roadway. The city council finds this ordinance will promote pedestrian and traffic safety and is necessary to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public.
b. Definitions. The following words or phrases, when used in this section, shall have the meaning ascribed to them in this section, except where the context
Higher speed roadway means a roadway within the city within which a center median is present.
Center median means the raised area that divides a roadway carrying traffic in opposite directions, and which is defined by curbing, landscaping, or other obstacles. Center median does not
include traffic calming devices.
Temporary pedestrian refuge area means that part of a crosswalk that is located within or at the end of a center median that is
designed to allow a pedestrian to safely pause before continuing to
cross from one side of a roadway to the other.
Traffic calming device means a speed bump or speed bump placed upon the roadway, as well as landscaped or other median located on side of pedestrian crosswalks, the purpose of which is to slow
traffic.
c. Unlawful act. It shall be unlawful for any person to access, occupy, use, assemble or congregate on or about any center median not designed or suitable for pedestrian use that has been posted, either on such center median not designed or suitable for pedestrian use or at the
crosswalk access points to such center median, with a sign pursuant to
this section prohibiting such access, occupancy, use, assembly, or congregation.
Exceptions: This section shall not apply to:
1. A person using that portion of a center median designed as a
temporary pedestrian refuge along a crosswalk if the person was
not able to safely cross the entire roadway during the traffic signal pedestrian phase or green light signal phase. This exception allows a person to occupy the pedestrian refuge area for the duration of one traffic signal cycle before crossing the entire
roadway;
2. A local, state, or federal law enforcement officer or authorized first responder engaged in the performance of his or her official duties;
3. A city or state employee or contractor authorized by the city
manager or designee thereof, or by the state, to access the
center median to perform construction, landscaping, maintenance, repair, or similar duties thereon; or
4. An employee or contractor of a utility company authorized by the city or the state to access the center median to perform
construction, landscaping, maintenance, repair, or similar duties
thereon.
d. Determination. The traffic engineer may prohibit pedestrian access, occupancy, use, assembly, or congregation on or about any center median not designed or suitable for pedestrian use by having posted or
placed upon, or at the crosswalk access points to, such center median
not designed or suitable for pedestrian use a sign that reads “unlawful to occupy center median,” or that contains similar language. Only a raised center median that lies along a higher speed roadway may be posted under this section. A sign posted or placed under this section
must be posted or placed in a way that is reasonably calculated to
provide effective notice to an ordinarily observant person entering upon the center median. However, there is no requirement that the sign be visible from every position on or about the center median or from every
position at or about the crosswalk access points to such center median.
e. Sign constitutes prima facie evidence of notice. The posting or placement of a sign reading “unlawful to occupy center median” or similar language upon a center median or at the crosswalk access points to such center median shall be prima facie evidence that the
notice was sufficient. The prosecution is not required to prove that the
sign was visible from every position on or about the center median or at the crosswalk access points to such center median.
f. Strict liability. A violation of any provision of this section is strict liability in nature. No culpable mental state or mens rea of any type or degree
shall be required to prove a violation of this section.
g. Penalty. Any violation of this section shall be punished by a fine or imprisonment not to exceed the limits in section 1-5 of this Code.
Section 2. Section 16-113, Sales and solicitation in certain places prohibited, of the Wheat Ridge Code of Laws is hereby amended as follows:
Sec. 16-113. Sales and solicitation in certain places prohibited.
a. LEGISLATIVE DECLARATION; PURPOSE. UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES, PEDESTRIAN SOLICITATION DIRECTED AT VEHICLES OPERATING ON A ROADWAY CREATES SAFETY HAZARDS TO THE PUBLIC. IN ADDITION, THE PRESENCE OF PEDESTRIANS ON
INTERSTATES 70 AND 76, AND ON ENTRANCE AND EXIT RAMPS THERETO CAUSES SAFETY CONCERNS AS A RESULT OF THE HIGH RATES OF SPEED PERMITTED AND THE LACK OF PULL-OFF LOCATIONS OR VEHICLE PARKING AREAS THAT WOULD OTHERWISE FACILITATE TRANSACTIONS IN THESE AREAS. THE PURPOSE OF THIS SECTION
IS TO PROVIDE FOR THE SAFETY OF THE PUBLIC RELATED TO SOLICITATION ACTIVITY AS DESCRIBED BELOW. THE CITY COUNCIL FINDS THIS ORDINANCE WILL PROMOTE PEDESTRIAN AND TRAFFIC SAFETY AND IS NECESSARY TO PROTECT THE HEALTH, SAFETY, AND WELFARE OF THE PUBLIC.
b. It shall be unlawful for any person to solicit employment, business, contributions, or sales of any kind, or collect monies for same, from the occupant of any vehicle traveling upon any street or highway or entrance to or exit from any highway included in the interstate highway system within the city when such solicitation or collection:
(1) causes the person performing the activity to enter onto the traveled portion of a street or highway; or
(2) Involves the person performing the activity to be located upon any median area which separates traffic lanes for vehicular travel in opposite directions; or
(3) The person performing the activity is located such that vehicles cannot move into a legal parking area to safely conduct the transaction.
c. No person shall solicit on private property if the owner, tenant, or person in
lawful control of the property has asked the person to leave or has asked the
person to refrain from soliciting on the property or has posted a sign clearly indicating that solicitations are not welcome on the property.
d. The words and phrases used herein, unless the context otherwise indicates, shall have the following meaning:
Soliciting shall mean any solicitation made in person requesting an
immediate donation of money or other thing of value. Purchase of an item for an amount far exceeding its value, under circumstances where a reasonable person would understand that the purchase is in substance a donation, is a donation for the purpose of this section.
Traveled portion of the street or highway shall mean that portion of the road
normally used by moving motor vehicle traffic.
INTERSTATE HIGHWAY MEANS ANY PORTION OF A ROADWAY WITHIN THE CITY THAT HAS BEEN DESIGNATED BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AS PART OF THE
INTERSTATE HIGHWAY SYSTEM, OR THAT IS A CONTROLLED
ACCESS HIGHWAY OR BELTWAY, AND INCLUDES ANY ENTRANCE TO OR EXIT FROM THAT ROADWAY.
e. Penalty. Any violation of this section shall be punished by a fine not to exceed the limits established in section 1-5 of this Code.
Section 3. Severability, Conflicting Ordinances Repealed. If any section,
subsection or clause of this Ordinance shall be deemed to be unconstitutional or otherwise invalid, the validity of the remaining sections, subsections and clauses shall not be affected thereby. All other ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict with the provisions of this Ordinance are hereby repealed.
Section 4. Effective Date. This Ordinance shall take effect fifteen (15) days after final publication, as provided by Section 5.11 of the Charter. INTRODUCED, READ, AND ADOPTED on first reading by a vote of ___ to ___ on this ____ day of ____________, 2020, ordered published in full in a newspaper of
general circulation in the City of Wheat Ridge, and Public Hearing and consideration on final passage set for ____________________, 2021 at 7:00 o’clock p.m., as a virtual meeting, and that it takes effect 15 days after final publication. READ, ADOPTED AND ORDERED PUBLISHED on second and final reading by
a vote of ___ to ___, this _____ day of ______________, 2021. SIGNED by the Mayor on this _____ day of ____________, 2021
_________________________ Bud Starker, Mayor
ATTEST: ________________________ Steve Kirkpatrick, City Clerk
Approved as to Form ________________________________ Gerald Dahl, City Attorney
1st publication: December 17, 2020 2nd publication: Jeffco Transcript Effective Date:
Published: Jeffco Transcript and www.ci.wheatridge.co.us
ATTACHMENT 2
CITY OF WHEAT RIDGE, COLORADO INTRODUCED BY COUNCIL MEMBER ___________ COUNCIL BILL NO. 28
ORDINANCE NO. _________ Series 2020
TITLE: AN ORDINANCE ADOPTING SECTION 16-69 OF THE WHEAT RIDGE CODE OF LAWS CONCERNING PEDESTRIAN HINDERING THE FLOW OF TRAFFIC
WHEREAS, the City of Wheat Ridge is a home rule municipality having all powers conferred by Article XX of the Colorado Constitution; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to its home rule authority and C.R.S. § 31-23-101, the City, acting through its City Council (the “Council”), is authorized to adopt ordinances for the protection of the public health, safety or welfare; and
WHEREAS, traffic safety statistics for the City demonstrate that traffic crashes involving pedestrians have increased significantly; and
WHEREAS, conduct by a pedestrian that distracts a driver’s attention from a roadway, that hinders traffic, or that otherwise obstructs a roadway, increases the dangers to both pedestrians and to those traveling in vehicles; and
WHEREAS, the dangers associated with interactions between vehicles and pedestrians increase the government’s interest in controlling pedestrian interactions with vehicles in the traveled portion of a roadway; and
WHEREAS, working to maximize the distance between the traveled portion of a roadway and pedestrians will increase pedestrian and traffic safety; and
WHEREAS, working to reduce the circumstances and minimize the time during which pedestrians are in close proximity to traffic will increase pedestrian and traffic safety; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds that adoption of laws relating to the regulation of pedestrians who are in close proximity to roadways within the City is necessary to
protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WHEAT RIDGE, COLORADO:
Section 1. Section 16-69, Pedestrian Hindering the Flow of Traffic is hereby adopted within Chapter 16, Miscellaneous Offenses, of the Wheat Ridge
Code of Laws, to read as follows:
Sec. 16-69. Pedestrian hindering the flow of traffic.
a. Legislative declaration; purpose. The city council hereby finds that collisions between pedestrians and vehicles in Wheat Ridge have increased significantly and
ATTACHMENT 1
declares it necessary to clearly delineate the responsibilities of pedestrians to allow for safer pedestrian and vehicle interactions throughout the city. The purpose of this ordinance is to reduce dangers to persons and property, to prevent traffic
delays, and to avoid interference with traffic. Efforts to reduce the possibility that
pedestrians may interfere with vehicular traffic are key to promoting pedestrian and traffic safety. The city council finds that this ordinance is necessary to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public.
b. Definition. The following word, when used in this section, shall have the
meaning ascribed to it in this section, except where the context clearly indicates
otherwise:
• Obstruct means to render impassable or to render passage unreasonably inconvenient or hazardous, and includes but is not limited to, conduct such
as extending objects into the traveled portion of a roadway.
c. Unlawful act. It shall be unlawful for any person to willfully and unnecessarily hinder, obstruct, or delay traffic, or to willfully and unnecessarily attempt to hinder, obstruct, or delay any other person who is lawfully driving or traveling along or upon any roadway so as to interfere with the effective movement of traffic.
d. Exception: This section shall not apply to any person within a crosswalk who
lawfully entered the crosswalk and is crossing from one side of the traveled portion of the roadway for that period of time reasonably necessary to cross over the roadway.
e. Penalty. Any violation of this section shall be punished by a fine not to exceed the
limits established in section 1-5 of this Code.
Section 2. Severability, Conflicting Ordinances Repealed. If any section, subsection or clause of this Ordinance shall be deemed to be unconstitutional or otherwise invalid, the validity of the remaining sections, subsections and clauses shall not be affected thereby. All other ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict with the
provisions of this Ordinance are hereby repealed.
Section 3. Effective Date. This Ordinance shall take effect fifteen (15) days after final publication, as provided by Section 5.11 of the Charter.
INTRODUCED, READ, AND ADOPTED on first reading by a vote of ___ to ___
on this 14th day of December, 2020, ordered published in full in a newspaper of general circulation in the City of Wheat Ridge, and Public Hearing and consideration on final passage set for January 25, 2021 at 7:00 o’clock p.m., as a virtual meeting, and that it takes effect 15 days after final publication. READ, ADOPTED AND ORDERED PUBLISHED on second and final reading by a vote of ___ to ___, this _____ day of ______________, 2021. SIGNED by the Mayor on this _____ day of ____________, 2021
_________________________ Bud Starker, Mayor
ATTEST:
________________________ Steve Kirkpatrick, City Clerk
Approved as to Form ________________________________
Gerald Dahl, City Attorney
1st publication: December 17, 2020 2nd publication: Jeffco Transcript
Effective Date: Published: Jeffco Transcript and www.ci.wheatridge.co.us
1
Item No. 3
Memorandum
TO: Mayor and City Council
THROUGH: Steve Nguyen, Engineering Manager Kenneth Johnstone, Community Development Director Patrick Goff, City Manager
FROM: Mark Westberg, Projects Supervisor
DATE: May 7, 2021 (for May 17 study session)
SUBJECT: Revisions to the City’s Floodplain Regulations
ISSUE: Mile High Flood District (MHFD) is a valuable stormwater and floodplain management resource
to not just the City but to the entire Denver Metro area. Their goal is to create innovative
solutions that address stormwater and watershed holistically in order to protect people, property, and the environment through preservation, mitigation, and education. MHFD provides assistance, guidance, and regulations for the Denver Metro area. The Mayor is the City’s representative on the MHFD Board of Directors.
MHFD regulations specifically prohibit tents and makeshift structures in the floodplain due to
numerous public safety issues. Although camping has been prohibited within City parks since 2004, staff now is requesting that Council amend the City’s floodplain regulations in Chapter 26 to also specifically prohibit tents and makeshift structures in the City’s floodplains.
In addition, staff is seeking to improve the approval process for Class II Floodplain Permits and
the appeal process of Floodplain Manager’s decisions. Among the changes, staff is proposing to
remove the Board of Adjustment (BOA) as the review and approval body for floodplain permits and to add the Building Code Advisory Board (BCAB) as the body to hear appeals.
BACKGROUND: 1. No Camping in the City’s Floodplain
Section 17-33 of the City Code states that “It shall be unlawful to camp overnight, or to park any
vehicle, trailer or camper for overnight camping purposes.” However, this prohibition onlyapplies to City parks. While much of our floodplain is within City owned property, almost half isnot, including several areas that are within the right-of-way for Interstate 70 that are popular andhazardous locations for camping.
In October 2019, the MHFD Board passed a resolution expressly prohibiting tents and makeshift
structures within the floodplain. MHFD’s enabling statutes state, “In the event of any conflict between this floodplain regulation and any floodplain regulation adopted by any other public body within MHFD, the more restrictive regulation shall control.” This means that the MHFD’s October 2019 camping ban is the controlling regulation. While staff can and should enforce the
more stringent MHFD regulations, having the regulations in the City Code allows more direct enforcement by staff.
These floodplain regulation changes were made for the sole purpose of public safety. The
dangers of allowing tents and other makeshift structures for human habitation within floodplains are as follows:
1. Individuals living in these structures put themselves at grave risk of serious injury and death by drowning during flooding. On July 21, 2019, a 38-year-old woman drowned in
North Dry Gulch during a high water event. Her body was found the next morning in an
area that was 10 feet underwater during the event. 2. Swift-water rescues of inhabitants of these makeshift structures during times of flood puts the lives of first responders at risk. 3. The building materials and furnishings of tents and makeshift structures within
floodplains add to the debris load of the flood, potentially clogging bridge and culvert
openings, thereby endangering the rest of the community. 4. The byproducts of human habitation of these structures (feces and trash) pollute the floodwaters with fecal bacteria and other hazardous substances, endangering the rest of the community.
2. Approval of Class II Floodplain Permits
Currently the floodplain regulations in Article VIII of Chapter 26 require that the BOA provide the final approval for Class II Floodplain Permits. Class II permits are for construction of new habitable structures or new dwelling units. Before a Class II permit can be issued, a public hearing by the BOA is required. Staff ensures all technical issues have been resolved and code
requirements have been met either during or as part of the building permit review process. Only
after a request meets all applicable regulations is a BOA public hearing scheduled. Therefore, having the BOA conduct a public hearing adds an additional, seemingly unwarranted layer, to the process. The BOA does not have any technical training in floodplain regulations and does not provide any additional substantive review to the process. In addition, since the BOA only meets
once a month, an additional month is often added to the approval process for Class II permits due
to the need for the public hearing in front of the BOA.
The BOA typically hears cases that involve variances to the City’s regulations due to some kind of hardship alleged on the part of the applicant. Any variance from the floodplain regulations is not allowed without going through a lengthy state and federal review process. This difficult
process is intentional due to the fact that variances to floodplain regulations inevitabley put life
and property at risk of flooding.
Approval of Class II floodplain permits should be a ministerial (not discretionary) based on compliance with local, state, and federal floodplain regulations. Staff is recommending that the Floodplain Administrator, who holds a certification issued by the American Society of
Floodplain Managers, be the final approval authority for Class II permits as currently occurs with
Class I permits. Staff checked with both State and FEMA staff on the need to have any approval beyond the staff level for Class II permits. They confirmed that staff level approval only is sufficient and that they did not know of another jurisdictions that required some kind of board approval.
Also, due to the very technical nature of the review of any potential appeals to the Floodplain Administrator’s decisions on floodplain permits, staff is suggesting that the current appeal
process be revised to refer appeals to the BCAB instead of the BOA. This would then be
consistent with the appeals process for decisions made by the Chief Building Official related to the building code.
Lastly, a review of the floodplain variance procedures currently contained in subsection 26-808.D of the City’s floodplain regulations found that the procedure is not in compliance with the
state floodplain variance process. The City’s variance procedures can be amended along with
these other proposed amendments.
RECOMMENDATIONS City staff is requesting authorization to proceed with working with the City Attorney to amend the floodplain regulations to incorporate into City Code the existing MHFD prohibition on tents
and makeshift structures within the floodplain, to remove the BOA from their role in the review
of Class II permits and appeals related to floodplain permits, and to correct the City’s floodplain variance procedures to be in compliance with the state process. ATTACHMENTS:
1. MHFD Floodplain Regulations
2. Floodplain Map
Project No. 105939 1
URBAN DRAINAGE AND FLOOD CONTROL DISTRICT
d/b/a
FLOODPLAIN REGULATION
SECTION 1: PURPOSE
To promote the public health, safety, and general welfare, to minimize flood losses in areas subject to flood
hazards, and to promote wise use of the floodplain through the development of sound floodplain
management practices that assist the Mile High Flood District (MHFD) and the communities it serves with
implementation of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) National Flood Insurance Program
(NFIP) and the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) Rules and Regulations for Regulatory
Floodplains in Colorado; this Floodplain Regulation has been established with the following purposes
intended:
1.1 To reduce the hazards of floods to life and property; by:
1.1.1 Prohibiting certain uses which are dangerous to life or property in times of flooding.
1.1.2 Restricting uses which would be hazardous to the public health in times of flooding.
1.1.3 Restricting uses which are particularly susceptible to flood damage, so as to alleviate
hardship and eliminate demands for public expenditures for relief and protection.
1.1.4 Requiring permitted floodplain uses, including public facilities which serve such uses, to be
protected against floods by providing floodproofing where applicable, and general flood
protection at the time of initial construction.
1.2 To alert floodplain occupants or potential occupants of the potential for flood damages which may
result from their land uses; (or that of others) by:
1.2.1 Regulating the manner in which structures designed for human occupancy may be
constructed so as to prevent danger to human life within such structures.
1.2.2 Regulating the method of construction of water supply, sanitation systems and other
utilities, so as to prevent disease, contamination and unsanitary conditions.
1.2.3 Delineating and describing areas that could be inundated by floods so as to protect
individuals from purchasing floodplain lands for purposes which are unsuitable for those
areas.
ATTACHMENT 1
Project No. 105939 2
1.3 To protect the public from the burden of avoidable financial expenditures for flood control and
relief; by:
1.3.1 Regulating all uses within the floodplain so as to produce a method of construction and a
pattern of development which will minimize the probability of damage to property and loss
of life or injury to the inhabitants of the flood hazard area.
1.4 To protect the flood storage capacity of floodplains and to assure retention of sufficient floodway
area to convey flood flows which can reasonably be expected to occur; by:
1.4.1 Regulating the filling, dredging, and alteration of channels by deepening, widening, or
relocating.
1.4.2 Prohibiting unnecessary and damage-creating encroachments.
1.4.3 Encouraging floodplain uses such as open space, natural areas, agriculture and recreation.
1.5 To protect the hydraulic characteristics of the small watercourses, including the gulches, sloughs
and artificial water channels used for conveying flood waters, which make up a portion of the urban
drainage system; by:
1.5.1 Regulating the filling and channelization of watercourses so as to maintain natural storage
capacity and slow flow characteristics.
1.5.2 Prohibiting encroachment into the small watercourses to maintain their water carrying
capacity.
1.5.3 Encouraging uses such as open space, natural areas, recreation and trails.
SECTION 2: GENERAL PROVISIONS
2.1 Authority: Per 32-11-218(1)(f)(I) C.R.S., MHFD has the power to adopt, amend, repeal, enforce, and
otherwise administer this Floodplain Regulation. In the event of any conflict between this
floodplain zoning regulation and any floodplain regulation adopted by any other public body within
MHFD, the more restrictive regulation shall control. Most local governments within MHFD also
have floodplain regulations and processes in place to administer and enforce those regulations. For
this reason, the MHFD Floodplain Administrator will generally defer to the floodplain administrators
appointed by those local governments for the administration of routine floodplain management
activities such as granting grading and floodplain development permits, etc., and will not be
involved in these matters unless directed to do so by the MHFD Board of Directors.
2.2 Jurisdiction: The jurisdiction of this section includes all lands adjacent to any watercourse within
MHFD that would be inundated by the one-percent annual chance flood for that watercourse (as
defined in Section 10, Definitions), and areas removed from the Floodplain by the placement of fill.
2.3 Floodplain Components: The Floodplain covers the mapped area corresponding to the one-percent
annual chance flood (a.k.a. the 100-year flood). This is the area susceptible to inundation during a
flood that has a one percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year. Where
deemed to be in the public interest by the MHFD, and to promote wise use of the Floodplain, the
Floodplain may be subdivided into the Floodway and the Flood Fringe.
The Floodplain is defined by computing the limits of the one-percent annual chance flood under
existing channel and Floodplain conditions, and typically with consideration of future runoff
potential from full development of the watershed.
Project No. 105939 3
Subdivision of the Floodplain into the Floodway and the Flood Fringe must not cause a one-percent
annual chance rise of more than one-half foot in either the flood water surface elevation or
corresponding energy grade line (as defined in Section 10, Definitions) elevation above that for the
Floodplain unless requirements of or comparable to those in 44 CFR. § 65.12 of the NFIP regulations
have been met. This ensures that alternative options have been considered and documentation of
individual legal notice (as defined in Section 10, Definitions) to all impacted property owners has
been provided. This also requires certification that no structures will be impacted by the rise in
water surface elevation profile.
The subdivision of the Floodplain and accompanying hydraulic studies shall be based upon
computational hydraulic analyses which consider a portion (to be determined by the Floodplain
Administrator) of the Flood Fringe reach being filled. Determination of the Floodway and Flood
Fringe must be made only with the full understanding that such subdivision may tend to increase
flood peaks downstream.
2.4 Boundaries: The boundaries of the Floodplain shall be as they appear on the floodplain maps kept
on file with the Floodplain Administrator. The boundary lines on the map shall be determined by
the use of the scale appearing on the map. Where there is a conflict between the boundary lines
illustrated on the map and actual field conditions, the dispute shall be settled according to Section
7.3, Mapping Disputes.
2.5 Interpretation: In the Floodplain Administrator's interpretation and application, the provisions of
this Regulation shall be held to be minimum requirements and shall be liberally construed in favor
of the governing body and shall not be deemed a limitation or repeal of any other powers granted
by Colorado Statutes.
2.6 Warning and Disclaimer of Liability: The degree of flood protection intended to be provided by this
section is considered reasonable for the regulatory purposes and is based on engineering and
scientific methods of study. Larger floods can and will occur on occasions, and the depth of any
flood may be increased by man-made or natural causes, such as ice jams and bridge openings
restricted by debris. This Regulation does not imply the areas outside Floodplain area boundaries or
land uses permitted within such areas will always be free from flooding or flood damage. Nor shall
this section create a liability on the part of or a cause of action against MHFD or any officer or
employee thereof for any flood damages that may result despite reliance on this Regulation.
2.7 Adoption of Floodplain Maps: The location and boundaries of the Floodplain established by this
regulation shall be as they appear on the maps and profiles contained in engineering reports
adopted after a public hearing by the MHFD Board of Directors, and any subsequent revisions to
these maps and profiles as approved or designated by FEMA or CWCB. The MHFD Board of
Directors may designate Floodways and Flood Fringes by adopting floodway tables and
corresponding delineations contained in the above mentioned engineering reports, or subsequent
map revisions after a public hearing. Each change in the official maps shall be subject to the
Amendment procedure as required in Section 7.3, Mapping Disputes. The adopted maps and flood
profiles shall be on file with the Floodplain Administrator and also with the County Clerk and
Recorder of the county in which the Floodplain is located.
SECTION 3: NONCONFORMING USES
3.1 The existing lawful use of a structure or premises which is not in conformity with the provisions of
this Regulation may be continued, subject to the following conditions:
3.1.1 No such use shall be expanded or enlarged except in conformity with the provisions of this
Regulation.
Project No. 105939 4
3.1.2 Substantial improvement (as defined in Section 10, Definitions) to any nonconforming
structure or use must result in the permanent change of the structure or use to a
conforming use.
3.1.3 If such use is discontinued for twelve (12) consecutive months, any future use of the
building and premises shall conform to this Regulation.
3.1.4 Uses or adjuncts thereof which are public nuisances shall not be permitted to continue as
nonconforming uses. These shall include, but not be limited to, tents and makeshift
structures, enclosures, or other shelters used for human habitation; except in locations
expressly permitted by the local government (as defined in Section 10, Definitions) and
having adequate sanitation facilities and flood evacuation plans (also as defined in Section
10, Definitions).
3.1.5 Any alteration, addition, or repair to any existing nonconforming structure shall be
protected, where applicable, by floodproofing measures pursuant to Section 7.44(1),
Floodproofing.
SECTION 4: THE FLOODPLAIN
4.1 Application: These provisions shall apply to all Floodplains of watercourses in MHFD, for which one-
percent annual chance flood limits have been determined.
4.2 Description: The Floodplain shall include the areas so delineated on the maps and profiles for the
one-percent annual chance flood limits along the watercourses adopted by the MHFD Board of
Directors in accordance with Section 2.7, Adoption of Floodplain Maps, and subsequent map
revisions approved and/or designated by FEMA or CWCB.
4.3 Special Provisions: The following regulations shall apply to all uses within the Floodplain,
notwithstanding that such uses may be permitted under the terms of this Regulation.
4.3.1 No new construction; substantial improvement; fill, including fill for roads and levees;
deposit; obstruction (as herein defined); storage of materials, or other Floodplain uses shall
be permitted that decreases the efficiency or the capacity of the Floodway, unless
requirements of or comparable to those in 44 CFR. § 65.12 of the NFIP regulations have
been met. This ensures that alternative options have been considered, documentation of
individual legal notice to all impacted property owners is provided, and requires
certification that no structures will be impacted by the rise in the one-percent annual
chance water surface elevation profile.
4.3.2 No Floodplain use shall adversely affect the efficiency of or unduly restrict the capacity of
the channels or Floodways of any tributaries to the main stream, drainage ditches, or any
other drainage facilities or systems, unless requirements of or comparable to those in 44
CFR. § 65.12 of the NFIP regulations have been met. This ensures that alternative options
have been considered, documentation of individual legal notice to all impacted property
owners is provided, and requires certification that no structures will be impacted by the rise
in water surface elevation profile.
4.3.3 All new construction and substantial improvements shall be anchored to prevent flotation,
collapse, or lateral movement of the structure.
4.3.4 All new construction, substantial improvements, and utility equipment shall be constructed
with materials resistant to flood damage. Flood-resistant material is defined in Section 10,
Definitions.
Project No. 105939 5
4.3.5 All new construction or substantial improvements shall be constructed by methods and
practices that minimize flood damage.
4.3.6 All new and replacement water supply systems shall be designed to minimize or eliminate
infiltration of flood waters into the system; and all new and replacement sanitary sewage
systems shall be designed to minimize or eliminate both infiltration of flood waters into the
system and discharges from the system into flood waters.
4.3.7 Onsite waste disposal systems shall be located to avoid impairment to them or
contamination from them during flooding.
4.3.8 Except as allowed under Section 4.5.3, mobile homes and recreational vehicles should not
be placed in the Floodplain. Mobile homes and recreational vehicles already placed within
the Floodplain shall be anchored to resist flotation, collapse, or lateral movement by
providing over the top and frame ties to ground anchors. Specific requirements shall be
that:
(1) Over-the-top ties be provided at each of the four corners of the mobile home, with
two additional ties per side at intermediate locations and mobile homes less than
fifty feet long requiring one additional tie per side.
(2) Frame ties be provided at each corner of the home with five additional ties per side
at intermediate points and mobile homes less than fifty feet long requiring four
additional ties per side;
(3) All components of the anchoring system be capable of carrying a force of 4,800
pounds; and
(4) Any additions to the mobile home be similarly anchored.
4.3.9 Tents and makeshift structures, enclosures, or other shelters used for human habitation,
shall not be permitted in the Floodplain, except in locations expressly permitted by the local
government (as defined in Section 10, Definitions) and having adequate sanitation facilities
and flood evacuation plans (also as defined in Section 10, Definitions).
4.4 Description of Uses
Permitted Uses: The following uses shall be permitted within the Floodplain to the extent that they
are not prohibited in a particular area by any underlying county or city zoning ordinance or
regulation.
4.4.1 Agricultural uses such as: general farming, livestock grazing, forestry, sod farming, and wild
crop harvesting;
4.4.2 Industrial-commercial uses such as: loading areas, parking areas, airport landing strips, and
temporary storage of equipment or machinery easily moved or not subject to flood damage;
4.4.3 Public and private recreational uses not requiring "permanent or temporary structures"
designed for human habitation such as: parks, swimming areas, golf courses, picnic
grounds, wildlife and nature preserves, fish hatcheries, hunting, fishing and hiking areas;
and
4.4.4 Utility facilities such as: flowage areas, transmission lines, pipelines, water monitoring
devices, roadways, and bridges.
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4.5 Special Exceptions: Any use enumerated in Subsections 4.51 through 4.55 may be permitted only
upon the issuance of a special exception letter by the Floodplain Administrator as provided in
Section 7.4, Special Exceptions.
4.5.1 Residential Construction. New construction or substantial improvement of any residential
structure may be permitted only upon a finding by the Floodplain Administrator that the
lowest floor, including basement, is to be elevated to or above the flood protection
elevation (as defined in Section 10, Definitions). As a condition of such finding, such
condition shall be certified by a Colorado-licensed professional engineer, architect, or land
surveyor to the Floodplain Administrator. This includes structures placed on areas removed
from the Floodplain by fill.
4.5.2 Nonresidential Construction. Critical facilities shall be regulated in accordance with Section
6.3, Special Provisions. New construction or substantial improvement of any other
commercial, industrial or other nonresidential structure may be permitted only upon a
finding by the Floodplain Administrator that the lowest floor, including basement, is to be
elevated to or above the flood protection elevation or, together with attendant utility and
sanitary facilities, is to be floodproofed so that below the flood protection elevation, the
structure is water tight and contains adequate structural components having the capability
of resisting hydrostatic and hydrodynamic loads and effects of buoyancy. This includes
structures placed on areas removed from the Floodplain by fill. A Colorado-licensed
professional engineer or architect shall certify to the Floodplain Administrator that the
standards of this subsection are satisfied.
4.5.3 Mobile Homes. New mobile home parks and mobile home subdivisions, expansions of
existing mobile home parks and mobile home subdivisions, and existing mobile home parks
and mobile home subdivisions where the repair, reconstruction, or improvement of the
street utilities and pads equals or exceeds 50 percent of the value of the streets, utilities
and pads before the repair, reconstruction or improvement has commenced and for mobile
home subdivision, may be permitted only upon a finding by the Floodplain Administrator
that:
a) Stands or lots will be elevated on compacted fill or on pilings so that the lowest
floor of the mobile home will be elevated to or above the flood protection
elevations; and
b) Adequate surface drainage and access for a hauler will be provided.
This includes mobile home parks placed on areas removed from the Floodplain by fill.
4.5.4 Fills or Deposits of Materials. This may be permitted only upon a finding by the Floodplain
Administrator that:
(1) Any fill or deposit of materials will comply with the Section 4.3, Special Provisions;
(2) The fill or deposit of materials will have some beneficial purpose and the amount
thereof will not be greater than is necessary to achieve that purpose, as
demonstrated by a plan submitted by the owner showing the final dimensions of
the proposed fill or other material and the use to which the filled land will be put;
(3) The fill or deposit of materials does not imprudently reduce the flood storage
capacity of the waterway and the other requirements of this section are met; and
the fill or deposit of materials does not encroach on that portion of the Floodplain
which would have significant flow during the flood, and which for that reason would
Project No. 105939 7
help convey the flood waters. Any filling that reduces the hydraulic capacity
requires appropriate hydraulic studies and a review of the impact of such reduction;
(4) The fill or other materials will be protected against erosion in conformance with
stabilization best management practices as described in the Urban Storm Drainage
Criteria Manual; and
(5) The fill or deposit of materials does not otherwise adversely impact upstream,
downstream, and/or adjacent property owners.
4.5.5 Storage or Processing of Hazardous Materials. Materials that are buoyant, flammable, toxic,
explosive, or in times of flooding, could be injurious to human, animal, or plant life, shall be
at or above the flood protection elevation for the particular area. Solid waste disposal
facilities, such as junkyards or areas for the dumping of refuse shall also require a permit
from the Floodplain Administrator.
4.5.6 Uses Similar in Nature to Permitted Uses. These may also be allowed provided that they are
consistent with the provisions of this Regulation.
SECTION 5: THE FLOODWAY
5.1 Application: Section 4.1, Application, Floodplain, shall also apply hereto.
5.2 Description: The Floodway shall include the areas so delineated on the maps and profiles for the
one-percent annual chance flood limits along the watercourses adopted by the MHFD Board of
Directors in accordance with Section 2.7, Adoption of Floodplain Maps, and subsequent map
revisions approved and/or designated by FEMA or CWCB.
5.3 Special Provisions: The following additional provisions shall apply to all uses within the Floodway.
5.3.1 No encroachments, including fill, new construction, substantial improvements, or other
development shall be permitted within the Floodway that would result in any increase in
flood levels during the occurrence of the one-percent annual chance flood unless
requirements of or comparable to those in 44 CFR. § 65.12 of the NFIP regulations have
been met. This ensures that alternative options have been considered, documentation of
individual legal notice to all impacted property owners is provided, and requires
certification that no structures will be impacted by the rise in water surface elevation
profile.
5.3.2 No mobile homes or recreational vehicles shall be placed in the Floodway.
5.3.3 No buildings or structures designed or intended for human occupancy shall be placed in the
Floodway.
5.3.4 No floatable or buoyant material, nor any material that could easily become dislodged and
move downstream during a flood, shall be stored or placed in the Floodway.
5.3.5 No storage or processing of materials that are flammable, toxic, explosive, or in times of
flooding, could be injurious to human, animal, or plant life, shall be stored or placed in the
Floodway.
5.3.6 No solid waste disposal facilities, such as junkyards or areas for the dumping of refuse shall
be placed in the Floodway.
Project No. 105939 8
5.4 Description of Uses: The uses that are permitted in Section 4.4, Description of Uses, Floodplain, are
permitted, provided that such use does not include any filling or deposit of materials, and the
capacity of the Floodway is left unimpaired.
SECTION 6: THE FLOOD FRINGE
6.1 Application: All provisions of Section 4.1, Application, Floodplain, shall also apply hereto.
6.2 Description: The Flood Fringe shall include the areas so delineated on the maps and profiles for the
one-percent annual chance flood limits along the watercourses adopted by the MHFD Board of
Directors in accordance with Section 2.7, Adoption of Floodplain Maps, and subsequent map
revisions approved and/or designated by FEMA or CWCB.
6.3 Special Provisions:
6.3.1 The provisions of Sections 4.3 and 4.5 shall apply to all uses in the Flood Fringe.
6.3.2 Within shallow flooding areas, all new construction and substantial improvement of
residential structures may be permitted only upon a finding of the Floodplain Administrator
that the lowest floor, including basement, will be elevated one foot above the crown of the
nearest street or one foot above the flood depth specified on the map, whichever is higher.
6.3.3 Within shallow flooding areas, all new construction and substantial improvement of
nonresidential structures may be permitted only upon a finding of the Floodplain
Administrator that the lowest floor, including basement, will be elevated one foot above the
crown of the nearest street; or the highest adjacent grade of the structure will be one foot
above the flood depth specified on the map, whichever is higher; or together with
attendant utility and sanitary facilities, will be completely floodproofed to or above that
level so that any space below that level is watertight and contains adequate structural
components having the capability of resisting hydrostatic and hydrodynamic loads and
effects of buoyancy.
6.3.4 All new critical facilities shall be located outside the Floodplain whenever possible.
6.3.5 All new critical facilities which are unable to be located outside the Floodplain, substantially
improved critical facilities, and new additions to existing critical facilities in the Flood Fringe
shall be elevated or floodproofed to at least one foot above the flood protection elevation.
6.3.6 New critical facilities shall, when practicable, have continuous non-inundated access
(ingress and egress for evacuation and emergency services) during a one-percent annual
chance flood event.
SECTION 7: ADMINISTRATION
7.1 Floodplain Administrator: The MHFD Executive Director is the Floodplain Administrator who shall
administer the provisions of this Regulation.
7.2 Special Exception Letter: A special exception letter must be obtained from the Floodplain
Administrator before any new land use not expressly allowed by this Regulation may be initiated.
7.3 Mapping Disputes: The following procedure shall be used by the Floodplain Administrator in
deciding contested cases in which the location of a Floodplain boundary is disputed:
7.3.1 In all cases the person contesting the location of the Floodplain boundary shall be given the
opportunity to submit technical evidence certified by a Colorado-licensed professional
engineer that demonstrates the Floodplain is scientifically or technically incorrect, or that an
Project No. 105939 9
indisputable error has occurred. The Floodplain Administrator shall not allow deviations
from the boundary line as mapped unless the evidence clearly and conclusively establishes
that the mapped location of the line is incorrect.
7.3.2 The Floodplain Administrator shall render a written opinion within 30 days following receipt
of the applicant's technical evidence setting forth the findings of fact and the reasons for the
decision.
7.3.3 Contestants shall have the right to appeal such decisions to the MHFD Board of Directors.
Such appeal must be made within 30 days.
7.4 Special Exceptions:
7.4.1 Application: Any use listed in this Regulation as requiring a special exception may be allowed
only upon the issuance of a special exception letter by the Floodplain Administrator.
7.4.2 Procedure to be followed in Passing on Special Exception Letters: Pursuant to a Special
Exception Letter Application the Floodplain Administrator may:
(1) Require the applicant to submit, at the time of application, a geo-referenced
topographic work map, certified by a Colorado-licensed engineer competent in open
channel hydraulics. This work map shall show vertical datum, horizontal datum, and
mapping projection used. This map shall be required to accurately locate the
proposed Floodplain and/or Floodway boundaries with respect to the effective
Floodplain and/or Floodway limits (as defined in Section 2.7, Adoption of Floodplain
Maps), the pre-project or existing Floodplain and/or Floodway limits, channel of
stream, and existing Floodplain development. This map shall further be required to
include, as attachments, all other pertinent information such as the nature of the
proposal; legal description of the property; fill limits and elevations; building floor
elevations; and floodproofing measures, as applicable.
(2) Require the applicant to furnish the following additional information, as deemed
necessary by the Floodplain Administrator for the evaluation of the effects of the
proposal under flood flows and Floodplain storage and to render a decision of the
proposed Floodplain use:
(a) Cross-sections (as appropriate), showing the channel of the stream, the
Floodplain and/or Floodway adjoining each side of channel, cross-sectional
area to be occupied by the proposed development, and high water
information.
(b) Plan (surface view), a geo-referenced map showing vertical datum,
horizontal datum and mapping projection, elevations or contours of the
existing and proposed ground; pertinent structure, fill or storage elevations;
size, location and spatial arrangement of all proposed and existing structures
on the site; location and elevations of streets, water supply, sanitary
facilities, and soil types, water surface elevations, and other pertinent
information.
(c) Profile (as appropriate), showing the slope of the bottom of the existing and
proposed channel or thalweg of the stream and existing and proposed one-
percent annual chance water surface profiles.
Project No. 105939 10
(d) Specifications for building construction and materials, floodproofing, filling,
dredging, grading, channel improvement, storage of materials, water supply,
and sanitary facilities.
(e) Hydrologic and Hydraulic Analyses and/or supplemental calculations for all
proposed development within the Floodplain.
The Floodplain Administrator shall render, within 30 days of receipt of all necessary
application documents and materials, a written decision granting or denying a permit
application. If a denial is made, the decision shall set forth the Floodplain Administrator's
findings of fact and reasons for the denial. Applicants shall have the right to appeal any
adverse findings or decision to the MHFD Board of Directors. Such appeal must be made
within 30 days.
7.4.3 Bases for the Floodplain Administrator’s Determination: The determination of the Floodplain
Administrator on each special exception letter application shall be based on the effects of
the proposed land use with respect to the objectives and purposes of this Regulation.
7.4.4 Conditions Attached to Special Exception Letters: Upon consideration of the factors listed
above and the purposes of this Regulation, the Floodplain Administrator may attach such
conditions as he deems necessary in furthering the purposes of this Regulation. Such
conditions may include specifications for, without limitation because of specific
enumeration, modification of other waste disposal methods and facilities, landscaping,
periods of operation, operational controls, sureties, deed restriction and adequate
floodproofing, where applicable.
(1) Floodproofing. Special exceptions requiring floodproofing measures such as the
following shall be designed consistent with the flood protection elevation for the
particular areas and flood velocities, forces and other factors associated with the
flood protection elevation. Methods shall be in conformance with the latest FEMA
guidance relative to floodproofing practices.
The Floodplain Administrator shall require that the applicant submit a plan or
document certified by a Colorado-licensed professional engineer that the
floodproofing measures are consistent with the flood protection elevation for the
particular area.
(a) Anchorage to resist flotation and lateral movement.
(b) Installation of watertight doors, bulkheads, and shutters.
(c) Reinforcement of walls to resist water pressures.
(d) Use of paints, membranes, or mortars to reduce seepage of water through
walls.
(e) Addition of mass or weight to structures to resist flotation.
(f) Installation of pumps to lower water levels in structures.
(g) Construction of water supply and waste treatment systems to prevent the
entrance of flood waters.
(h) Pumping facilities for subsurface drainage systems for buildings to relieve
external foundation wall and basement floor pressure.
Project No. 105939 11
(i) Construction to resist rupture or collapse, caused by water pressure or
floating debris.
(j) Backflow prevention valves on sewer lines, or the elimination of gravity flow
basement drains.
SECTION 8: ENFORCEMENT AND PENALTIES
8.1 Any structure, building, fill, or development placed or maintained within any Floodplain in violation
of this Regulation is a public nuisance and the creation thereof may be enjoined and maintenance
thereof may be abated by action at suit of the City, Town, or County in which it is located or by
MHFD, or any citizen thereof. Any person who places or maintains any structure, building, fill, or
development within any Floodplain in violation of this Regulation may be fined not more than $500
for each offense. Each day during which such violation exists is a separate offense.
SECTION 9: AMENDMENTS
9.1 The MHFD Board of Directors may from time to time alter, supplement, or change the Floodplain,
Floodway, and Flood Fringe boundaries and the provisions contained in this Regulation in the
manner provided by law.
9.1.1 Amendments to this Regulation may be made on petition of any interested party in
accordance with the provisions of the Colorado Revised Statutes.
9.1.2 The subdivisions of the Floodplain into the Floodway and Flood Fringe will be made only by
action of the MHFD Board of Directors.
SECTION 10: DEFINITIONS
Unless specifically defined below, words or phrases used in this Regulation shall be interpreted so as to give
them the same meaning as they have at common law and to give this Regulation its most reasonable
application.
10.1 Channel: That area of a watercourse where water normally flows and not that area beyond where
vegetation exists.
10.2 Critical Facility: A structure or related infrastructure, but not the land on which it is situated, that if
flooded may result in significant hazards to public health and safety or interrupt essential services
and operations for the community at any time before, during, or after a flood. Typical critical
facilities include hospitals, fire stations, police stations, storage of critical records, similar facilities,
and all other facilities and uses identified in Rule 6 of the Colorado Water Conservation Board’s
Rules and Regulations for Regulatory Floodplains in Colorado. These facilities should be given
special consideration when formulating regulatory alternatives and floodplain management plans.
A critical facility should not be located in a Floodplain if at all possible.
10.3 Energy Grade Line: The line representing the elevation of the potential energy for water flowing in a
conduit or channel that is indicative of a change in how fast water is moving under given conditions.
10.4 Flood: A general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land
areas from (a) the overflow of streams, rivers, or other inland water, or (b) the unusual and rapid
accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source.
10.5 Flood Evacuation Plan: A document describing the procedures for evacuating an area inundated by
a flood. Such document shall include, at a minimum:
(a) Conditions that will activate the plan;
Project No. 105939 12
(b) Chain of command during a flood event;
(c) Emergency functions and who will perform them;
(d) Specific evacuation procedures, including routes and exits; and
(e) Procedures to account for personnel, customers, and visitors.
10.6 Flood Fringe: The Fringe portion of the Floodplain in which flows are characteristically of shallow
depths and low velocities.
10.7 Flood Profile: A graph or a longitudinal profile showing the relationship of the water surface
elevation of a flood event to the location along a stream or river.
10.8 Flood Protection Elevation: An elevation one foot above the elevation of the one-percent annual
chance flood under existing channel and Floodplain conditions. It is one foot above the elevation of
the Floodplain, as shown on the floodplain maps in the office of the Floodplain Administrator, and
at www.mhfd.org.
10.9 Flood-Resistant Material: Flood-resistant material includes any building product capable of
withstanding direct and prolonged contact with floodwaters without sustaining significant damage.
Prolonged contact means at least 72 hours. Significant damage is any damage requiring more than
low-cost cosmetic repair (such as painting).
10.10 Floodplain: An area both including and adjacent to a watercourse, which area is subject to flooding
as the result of the occurrence of the one-percent annual chance flood and which area is so adverse
to past, current, or foreseeable construction or land use as to constitute a significant hazard to
public health and safety or to property. The Floodplain may be further subdivided into the
Floodway and the Flood Fringe.
The term includes, but is not limited to:
(a) Mainstream Floodplains;
(b) Debris-fan Floodplains; and
(c) Dry wash channels and dry wash Floodplains.
10.11 Floodplain Administrator: That individual appointed by the MHFD Board of Directors to administer
the provisions of these Regulations. MHFD Resolution No. 5, series of 1979, designates the MHFD
Executive Director as the Floodplain Administrator.
10.12 Floodplain Maps: Those maps that accurately indicate the boundaries of the Floodplain.
10.13 Floodproofing: A combination of structural provisions, changes, or adjustments to properties and
structures subject to flooding primarily for the reduction or elimination of flood damages to
properties, water and sanitary facilities, structures, and contents of buildings in a flood hazard area.
10.14 Floodway: That portion of the Floodplain required for the reasonable passage or conveyance of the
one-percent annual chance flood which is characterized by hazardous and significant depths and
velocities. The Floodway limits are based on the cumulative encroachment into the Floodplain
resulting in a maximum water surface increase of one-half foot (unless the requirements of Section
2.3, Floodplain Components are met).
10.15 Individual Legal Notice: Public notice distributed by MHFD to all affected property owners by
publication in a newspaper of general circulation within the boundaries of MHFD and by mailing an
individual notice to each affected property owner.
Project No. 105939 13
10.16 Local Government: The town, city, county, or city and county having regulatory police power over
the use of property covered by this Regulation.
10.17 Obstruction: Sandbars formed by the natural flow of a watercourse, temporary structures, planks,
snags, and debris, in and along an existing channel, which cause a flood hazard.
10.18 Occupancy: The use or possession of a building by humans for purposes including, but not limited
to, residential, office, hospital, or commercial.
10.19 One-Percent Annual Chance Flood: Also known as the one-percent annual exceedance probability
flood and more colloquially as the 100-year flood, a flooding event of this magnitude has a one-
percent chance of occurring in any given year, giving it an average return period (recurrence
interval) of one hundred years, as determined from an analysis of floods on a particular watercourse
and other watercourses in the same general region.
10.20 Public Nuisance: A public nuisance is defined as an act or omission that has the potential to affect
the health, safety, welfare, and/or comfort of the general public.
10.21 Reach: A hydraulic engineering term to describe longitudinal segments of a stream or river.
10.22 Shallow Flooding Area: An area subject to inundation by the one-percent annual chance flood with
average depths of less than three feet, and not typically related to the flood profile. These are areas
where no clearly defined channel exists, where the path of flooding is indeterminate, but where
conveyance may be evident.
10.23 Storage Capacity of a Floodplain: The volume of space above an area of floodplain land that can be
occupied by flood water of a given stage at a given time, regardless of whether the water is moving.
Storage capacity tends to reduce downstream flood peaks.
10.24 Structure: Anything constructed or erected, the use of which required a more or less permanent
location on or in the ground. Includes, but is not limited to, walled and roofed buildings (including
gas or liquid storage tanks), that are principally above ground, as well as a manufactured homes.
The terms "structure" and "building" are interchangeable for the purposes of this Floodplain
Regulation.
10.25 Structure, Permanent: A structure which is built of such materials and in such a way that it would
commonly be expected to last and remain useful for a substantial period of time.
10.26 Structure, Temporary: A structure which is built of such materials and in such a way that it would
commonly be expected to have a relatively short useful life, or is built for a purpose that would
commonly be expected to be relatively short-term.
10.27 Substantial Improvement: Any repair, reconstruction, or improvement of a structure, the cost of
which equals or exceeds fifty (50) percent of the actual cash value of the structure either (a) before
the improvement has started, or (b) if the structure has been damaged and is being restored, before
the damage occurred. Substantial improvement is started when the first alteration of any structural
part of the building commences and is cumulative over a ten (10) year period.
10.28 Watercourse: A channel, natural depression, slough, artificial channel, gulch, arroyo, stream, creek,
pond, reservoir, or lake in which storm runoff and flood water flows either regularly or infrequently.
This includes major drainageways for carrying urban storm runoff.
CO58 EB HWY
CO58 WB HWY
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26TH AVE
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3095000
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¯City of Wheat Ridge, Colorado
7500 West 29th Avenue
Wheat Ridge, CO 80033-8001
303.234.5900
Open Space AnalysisSpecial Flood Hazard Area
0 2,100 4,2001,050
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Date: 08/24/2016
Disclaimer:This data is intended for information purposes only.The City of Wheat Ridge provides this information onan "as is" basis and makes no representation or warrantythat the data will be error free. WR is not responsible toany user for costs or damages arising from inconsistenciesin its data.
Legend
City Limits (6,155 Acres)
Open Space (294 Acres)
Impervious Areas Removed (11 Acres)**
Hydro Feature Removed > 10 Acres (61 Acres)
Floodway in Open Space - 123 Acres
Floodway - 262 Acres
**Impervious Areas:
Buildings Footprint (.96 ac,)
Driveways (.11 ac)
Parking Lots (9.6 ac),
Sport Facilities (.36)
ATTACHMENT 2