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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05.13.24 - Special Study Session NotesSPECIAL STUDY SESSION NOTES CITY OF WHEAT RIDGE, COLORADO Hybrid - Virtual Meeting May 13, 2024 1. Call to Order Mayor Starker called the Special Study Session to order at 8:12 p.m. 2. Attendance This meeting was conducted both as a virtual meeting and hybrid, where some members of the Council or City staff were physically present at the Municipal building, and some members of the public attended in person as well. A quorum of members of Council were present in Council Chambers for this session. The Mayor also explained the virtual/hybrid meeting format, how citizens will have the opportunity to be heard, and the procedures and policies to be followed. Council Members present: Jenny Snell, Scott Ohm, Rachel Hultin, Janeece Hoppe, Amanda Weaver, Korey Stites, Dan Larson, and Leah Dozeman. Also present: City Manager, Patrick Goff; Senior Deputy City Clerk Margy Greer; Deputy City Manager, Allison Scheck; Director of Community Development, Lauren Mikulak; Director of Public Works, Maria D’Andrea; City Attorney, Gerald Dahl; Parks and Recreation Director Karen O’Donnell, Recreation Aquatics Supervisor, Sara Heisdorffer, and other staff and interested residents. 3. Public’s Right to Speak Larry Matthews spoke about taking surveys to find out what the people want. He stated he had heartburn as a Councilor when they went through a lot of surveys and they were given options, A, B, and C, but there was never an option D for “none of the above”. He asked that surveys give residents an Option D. Wheat Ridge Speaks: There were no public comments from Wheat Ridge Speaks. 4. Lutheran Legacy Campus Height Survey Results Issue: - A survey was conducted between April 30th and May 8th by Magellan Strategies to obtain input from Wheat Ridge residents and to measure support for or against a proposed ballot measure to amend the City Charter to remove the building height limitations for those areas described as mixed use in the Lutheran Legacy Campus Master Plan. Representatives from Magellan Strategies will present the results of the survey at the May 13th study session. Staff Reports City Manager Patrick Goff presented the issue and summarized the background of the legislative rezoning, and the master plan completed for the Lutheran Legacy Campus. He stated there was a recommendation to remove the restriction on height. Currently the Charter limits height to 35 feet for residential and 50 feet for commercial buildings. He stated that some of those restrictions, and after a vote, removed this for certain urban renewal areas. A survey was done to gauge the communities support of this recommendation. Magellan Strategies conducted this survey. City Manager turned the presentation over to Ryan Winger to present the results of the survey. He explained a text message went out to all registered voters in Wheat Ridge, during the period of April 30-May 9. During that time 1,043 surveys were received, which he stated was a great number for the period the survey was available. Survey questions asked were specific to how residents felt the city was doing, how many residents knew about the Lutheran Legacy Campus Plan, and specific questions about how these residents would vote, if a ballot question was added to this year’s ballot. He stated that after several questions, explanations, etc., the results showed 53% for, 37% against and 10% undecided. Mr. Winger expressed that a significant result of the survey shows that residents need more clarification on the information proposed before they would be voting for this charter amendment. Council Comments • Council Member Hoppe asked for clarification on one slide of the presentation. She then commented she felt the survey was positive news and agreed it showed there needs to be education around this. She stated she was surprised to see how many people stated they were not aware of the issue but appreciates the work and is glad it was done. • Council Member Ohm expressed thanks for the information on the issue. He asked if there was no visual, if residents understand that the height would be no higher than the height of the current hospital on that site now. • Council Member Dozeman asked a question of staff, stating that the survey shows more education is needed, asked what kind of education pieces will be used during the process, and what information and marketing would be done. City Manager Goff stated the survey was not complete, and apologized, as there weren’t staff suggestions at the time the packet was prepared. He explained if staff is given the direction to move forward, there would be several places where this education could take place. Director Mikulak agrees that staff needs to be very visible with the details and facts of this item. She stated they need to use all mediums to include social media, in person, etc., to get the word and education out to residents. • Council Member Hultin stated she is not encouraged by these results, stated going into a presidential election year, fears residents will be bombarded with items on the ballot. She expressed concerns that the numbers are not closer to 60%, and that it does not garner the attention this needs prior to the election. She asked if there was more polling or something they can do, to be more confident with these results. • Mayor Pro Tem Stites asked Magellan, with the results provided, what their suggestion was to move forward. Mr. Winter explained they would typically get a higher number, but this issue does not have a monetary component to it, which is typically when you want to be closer to that 60% figure. He stated that 20,000 people will be voting and getting 20,000 people to fully understand this would be very hard. Mayor Pro Tem Stites stated that this is a Wheat Ridge ballot question, stating the last ballot item passed with 70%. He stated he feels like that doesn’t happen often, and he feels the opposition will be kicking themselves in the rear, because they will be fighting against open space, etc. He stressed this is strictly a height issue, not a height and density issue. This is an ask of the Council as well as staff to get out there and knock on doors to educate residents also. • Council Member Weaver commented that she has background with polling statistics, and she is concerned about doing this in a big election year, and states residents tend to vote across the board with strong emotion. She stated she feels it is an uphill battle because they would be giving the public information on top of information and that residents are already struggling to understand. She stated the survey results show to her there is education that is not happening. She stated there is a perception that this is public property, not private property and the city would need to buy it to make it all parkland. She said not deciding is not an option. Weaver also stated she took this survey, and it was hard for her to understand it even after being in all the discussions. • Council Member Hoppe stated that timing is something to consider. She stated Lutheran already has the property on the market, and feels like they are waiting on this, could cause the City to lose out on the opportunity to have a say about what happens to the property. She asked City Manager Goff if there was a way to put out more education and then put out another survey after some of that has happened. City Manager Goff agrees there is a risk in waiting for another election, agrees that Lutheran does have the property on the market, and stated if the issue isn’t decided nothing will happen to this campus for a long time. He also stated the presidential election year is the best time, due to a higher voter turnout. He suggested if another survey is done, it needs to give specific height limits and give more certainty, to get the results we need. He stated that the city has done a very good job of educating, but not all residents are paying attention to the master plan. Goff stated he feels there should be an effort to further educate the community and produce a survey with better defined questions. on another survey. Director Mikulak stated with the hospital moving, it will be a pivotal moment, really a visual opportunity for the staff to bolster education, especially on moving day. She also stated that if the City doesn’t make a move the opportunity may be lost. Council Member Hoppe asked to go back to the informed ballot slide again and asked that the slide deck be sent to Council. Council Member Hoppe commented that the city should not drop this, it just hasn’t’ been flushed out enough yet. She asked if the city could educate and push it out again in July. • Council Member Larson asks a little bit about the method, why the city used Magellan Strategies instead of something more outward, like calling people. Mr. Winger explained that in the last five years, calling someone even on a survey of this length, the response rates to that kind of a survey have dropped to below 1%. He said no one even answers the phone anymore, unless they know who is calling. You would have to hire a call center, and the cost would be much more substantial than this method. Concill Member Larson asks about focus grouping. Winger agreed that it could be useful. He stated he tried to do both, a mix of both with this, but a focus group, downside, is that you are still looking at 20 thousand people voting, so hard to guess at a focus group of 15-20 people making that determination. Council Member Larson talked about renters vs. homeowners and asks if there is a way to weigh the survey, also on the household income, the dividing line is $75,000 a year, most people own more than $75,000 and seems skewed to those on the lower income side of that coin. Winger stated that he weighted the survey on state statistics, if you look at rent vs own, the vote is still more those that they are homeowners. He stated that anyone not registered to vote was in the 1% other category, but stated that anyone not registered, is highly unlikely to engage with us. Council Member Larson also asked residents who stated they don’t trust the government to do the right thing, and how Magellan would suggest tackling that. Winger stated residents will point to specific things that have affected them, and states council needs to explain why decisions were made, and how they were in the city’s best interest. • Council Member Dozeman thanked Winger for answering all the questions. She stated she was concerned by the number and wasn’t confident to take this to the ballot. However, she agreed with Patrick Goff, that a presidential election has a better turn out, and is afraid if they don’t move forward, it would be too little too late. She stated the engagement we already have, provides us the opportunity to get the education out, that we won’t have any in the following years. She stated that she wants this put on the ballot, so we don’t lose the opportunity. • Mayor Pro Tem Stites, agreed to move forward with moving this item to the ballot this year. He commented that if they wait until next year, it is a Mayoral election year, and won’t be fair to add this to the candidates already running for a seat. • Council Member Hultin commented that the city needs to harness the fact that there is a perception that the City is doing the right thing. Also need to do the education and explain the universal benefit to the residents. She asked that they move forward with a Charter cleanup ballot initiative as well. • Council Member Snell echoed statements of her colleagues, that now is the time to move forward with this and agreed that the Charter cleanup needs to move forward as well. She stated that with all this going on, it puts a lot on staff, stating staff does an amazing job, but is very necessary, and asks Council, for anything they can do to assist staff with this is also very necessary. • Mayor Starker asks for a consensus of the Council. Consensus was reached by Council. 5. Staff Reports None. 6. Elected Officials’ Report(s) Council Member Dozeman reported that Lutheran is on track to open August 3. She stated she had an opportunity to tour it and it is a beautiful facility. Adjournment Mayor Starker adjourned at 9:11 pm. _________________________________ Margy Greer, Senior Deputy City Clerk _________________________________ Korey Stites, Mayor Pro Tem