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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-17-2025 - Study Session NotesSTUDY SESSION NOTES CITY OF WHEAT RIDGE, COLORADO Hybrid - Virtual Meeting March 17, 2025 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 explained the virtual/hybrid meeting format, how citizens will have the opportunity to be heard, and the procedures and policies to be followed. 1. Call to Order Mayor Starker called the Special Study Session to order at 6:30 p.m. 2. Attendance Council Members present: Jenny Snell, Rachel Hultin, Janeece Hoppe, Korey Stites, Leah Dozeman, Dan Larson, Scott Ohm, and Amanda Weaver (remote). Absent: None. Also present: City Manager Patrick Goff, Assistant City Manager Marianne Schilling, Community Development Director Lauren Mikulak, Management Analyst Cole Haselip, City Attorney Gerald Dahl, and Senior Deputy City Clerk Margy Greer, 3. Public’s Right to Speak Wheat Ridge Speaks Kelly Blynn – Resident - I wanted to submit these comments to support the direction staff has suggested with respect to the land use and housing laws adopted by the state legislature in 2024. Wheat Ridge has already demonstrated significant leadership in the direction of these laws, and as staff note, has already complied or need only make modest changes to do so. Wheat Ridge has already enabled homeowners to build ADUs, has lowered parking requirements for affordable housing, has taken steps to remove occupancy limits based on family status, and has enabled more density around our transit corridors and stations. Taking these steps helps Wheat Ridge achieve its goals of becoming a more walkable, bikeable, sustainable, and affordable city. To comply with these laws will take minimal changes that simply move Wheat Ridge further in the direction it is already going and will help the city implement planning best practices. Additionally, it will help ensure the city is first in line for grants and incentive programs established in the laws for jurisdictions in compliance, such as the program that can support permitting fees and other costs for ADUs, financing programs for ADUs from CHFA, an infrastructure grant program for transit-oriented communities, and tax credits for affordable housing in transit-oriented communities. Additionally, the state has signaled it will continue to prioritize jurisdictions working to support infill and transit- oriented housing through Executive Order D 2023 014. At a time when federal funding is far from guaranteed, and when Wheat Ridge is already leading in this direction, it feels like a no-brainer to take these steps. Finally, the housing crisis we find ourselves in is regional and statewide. While Wheat Ridge is showing great leadership on this issue, ultimately, we can’t solve it on our own. By continuing to be a leader, we can help ensure that others follow and create a greater impact. Thank you for the opportunity to comment, and for doing what you do! 4. 2025 Legislative Forum Mayor Starker thanked Senator Jessie Danielson, Representative Monica Duran, and CML’s Municipal Advocate Heather Stauffer for joining the Wheat Ridge City Council to discuss the upcoming 2025 Legislative Agenda. Representative Duran spoke to some of the upcoming Bills which may affect Colorado and the local agencies this year. She stated that any Bill containing a fiscal note is being sent back for review, as the budget constraints this year will cause many Bills not to get passed this year. What is happening at federal level is impacting the state and local government as well. She stated she is working hard to find ways to work within the framework of no fiscal notes and is trying to ensure that those costs are not being passed along to the local municipalities. Senator Danielson stated she has been working hard on Senate Bill 25-005 concerning the removal of a second election required for union contracts; a bill regarding child sexual abuse accountability; and convincing others to recognize Title IV orders. Management Analyst Cole Haeslip introduced Wheat Ridge’s new Legislative Committee, their Legislative Agenda, and spoke to the 2025 priorities of Wheat Ridge. Legislative Committee. Legislative Committee Chair Hultin spoke to how this year, Wheat Ridge has formalized their Legislative Agenda which speaks to the priorities of City Council and the residents. She stated that they will also review Bills which may have an impact on Wheat Ridge, and in some cases, where they feel very strongly about a Bill, will ask the whole of Council to adopt a resolution of support or opposition. Beginning with SB25-001- Colorado Voting Rights Act, she stated that the Committee is taking a strong voice in opposition to the Bill due to it taking away rights of municipalities to run their elections as they see necessary. Representative Duran stated that there is no backup for any wrongdoings by municipalities in the state regarding the running of their elections. Duran stated she hopes it gets amended. Chair Hultin also stated that HB25-1272-Constructoin Defects an& Middle Market Housing is a Bill they wholly support. Although it is not a 100% cure for the problem, it is a good Bill working to solve the problem. Duran and Danielson both stated that it is vitally important that they hear from the local governments regarding proposed legislation. Duran stated that Council should be proud of the work and their Legislative Agenda. Heather Stauffer, CML’s municipal advocate, spoke to many of the Bills being introduced this year in session. She stated that the economic forecast in Colorado is not looking good, as the State is needing to cut $1 billion from their budget. She stated CML is trying hard to make sure that cost doesn’t get pushed down to local governments. She reviewed some of the Bills CML is weighing in on such as HB1056 regarding AT&T wanting preferential treatment for cell phone tower permitting and HB1176 regarding Failures to Appear in Court. Mayor Starker asked her to keep track of HB1039 regarding muffler requirements and electric fence permits for commercial businesses. Mayor Starker thanked Duran, Danielson, and Stauffer for their time. 5. State Land use Legislation- Impacts to Wheat Ridge Economic Development Director Lauren Mikulak stated that in 2004 the State of Colorado legislature passed several bills that have direct impacts to Wheat Ridge, and she turned the meeting over to Senior Planner Scott Cutler. Scott Cutler stated that while the State had five bills with direct impact to Community Development, they would ask Council for direction on three of them, beginning with HB24-1007 (Prohibit Residential Occupancy Limits). After a question-and-answer period amongst Council and staff, Council unanimously consented to the recommended code changes as follows: • Update the definition of “family” in Section 26-123 to simplify and to remove the numerical limit on unrelated individuals. • Update the definition of “congregate care home” in Section 26-123 to remove the numerical limit on unrelated individuals and residential density. • Update Section 26-638 (Occupancy limits) to remove the numerical limit and instead reference health and safety standards, greatly simplifying this section. These updates will ensure the zoning code matches the approved Charter amendment and ensure that no one will be cited for occupancy violations. HB24-1304 (Minimum Parking Requirements): After a question-and-answer period between Council and staff, Council unanimously consented to the recommended code changes as follows: • Update all applicable parking sections in the code to remove minimum parking requirements for multi-unit residential (i.e., apartments and condominiums). • Refine definition of townhomes/single unit attached to ensure they are a separate category from multi-unit residential, so that parking requirements can be retained for townhomes. • Update use charts and zoning requirements charts to use consistent terminology when referencing townhomes (single unit attached) vs. multi-unit. Staff asked Council the following questions: 1. Because the applicable Transit Service Areas cover a large portion of Wheat Ridge (see Map 1 attached). Map 2 shows the city’s zoning, were multi-unit residential (e.g. R-3, MU-N, and MU-C) is already concentrated around transit corridors. In fact, nearly all areas eligible for multi-unit residential fall within the Transit Service Areas. Given this overlap, staff believe it would be simpler to exempt all multi-unit residential from the requirements rather than applying separate rules for areas inside and outside the Transit Service Areas. Does Council agrees with this recommendation? 2. Currently, EV parking is based on the overall number of required parking spaces. Since parking is not required to be provided for multi-unit residential, staff’s recommendation is to base the number of required EV spaces on the number of provided spaces. That way a similar proportion of EV spaces are included and the intent of the EV legislation is met so that EV spaces are still provided. If this recommendation is not taken, no EV parking will need to be provided which would violate the intent of the applicable EV legislation. Does Council agree with this recommendation? There was consent from Council on both questions agreeing with staff recommendations. HB24-1152(Accessory Dwelling Units) Staff asked for Council’s input on the 3rd Scenario as follows. The first two scenarios are required by state law and are currently in the city’s code.: Scenario 1: For a new single-unit home being constructed concurrently with a new ADU, cities cannot require owner occupancy. • Scenario 2: For an ADU being used as a short-term rental, cities can enforce owner occupancy. • Scenario 3: For a new ADU being constructed/converted on a lot with an existing primary dwelling that is currently occupied, cities may require evidence of owner occupancy only at time of application for the ADU. The bill prevents a city from enforcing owner occupancy after the permit is issued and deed restrictions are not allowed. This category would also apply to existing nonconforming ADUs. Cutler stated that owner-occupancy requirements was a focus of Council in prior discussions regarding the ADU ordinance. ADUs have not proliferated widely with owner-occupancy requirements. Staff believes that even if the owner-occupancy requirement was removed, that they still would not proliferate widely due to costs. It’s expensive to build an ADU. It’s been hard to track down property owners with the deed requirements. It’s hard to track owner-occupancy especially when the house/ADU is sold. Staff recommends retaining owner occupancy requirements only for STRs in ADUs. Although the state allows the city to ask for proof of owner occupancy at time of permit for a new ADU on a lot with an existing house, it likely does not achieve the city’s original policy intent and may not be necessary. Cutler went on to say the Bill does require ADUs to e allows in all existing/approved Planned Developments where single-unit dwellings are allowed: in effect, this treats PDs the same as standard zoning districts. Scott Cutler stated that to comply with HB24-1152, the recommended code changes as follows would be necessary: • Update Section 26-646 (ADUs) and applicable zone district development standards to comply with ADU size restriction requirements • Update Section 26-646 to update owner occupancy requirements, continuing to require owner occupancy for STRs in ADUs, but modifying requirements for other ADU use case types • Update Section 267-646and Article II (Planned Developments) to modify requirements of ADUs in existing PDs. After Council discussion, there was consensus from Council to agree with the three staff recommendations regarding the code changes as presented. In regard to Scenario No. 3, Council reached consensus on removing the owner occupancy requirements altogether since they cannot be enforced after permit issuance. Council also reached consensus on staff moving forward with Wheat Ridge becoming an ADU Supportive Jurisdiction adopting the requirements of the bill and implementing at least one strategy, as written in the bill, by June 30, 2025. Council Member Hultin said she would be comfortable with removing Item H. from the list and having staff spend time on the other items on the list. 6. Staff Report(s) No report. 7. Elected Officials’ Report(s) At Council Member Weaver’s request there was consensus from Council to bring the discussion of drones to a study session. 8. Adjournment With no further business to come before Council, Mayor Starker adjourned the meeting at 9:17 p.m. _________________________________ Margy Greer, Senior Deputy City Clerk _________________________________ Korey Stites, Mayor Pro Tem