HomeMy WebLinkAbout1982-08-23 (Special) Meeting MinutesSPECIA L MEETING:
COUNCIL CHAMBER S
City of Englewood, Colorado
August 23 , 1962
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Th e Ci ty Council of the City of En glewood , Arapahoe
Coun ty , Co lor a d o , met in special session on August 2 3, 1982, at
7:30 p.m .
Mayor Otis , pre s iding, called th e meeting to order.
The invocation was give n by Co un cil Member Th omas Fitz-
patrick . Th e pledge of allegiance was Jed by Ma yor Eugene Ot is.
Mayo r Ot i s ;,sked for r el J cal J. Up on a ca ll of t he rol l,
th e following wer e present:
Coun ci l Membe r s Hig day , Nea l, Fitzpatr ick, Weist ,
Bile , Bradshaw , Otis.
Ab se nt: None .
The Mayor declared a quorum pres~n t .
Al so pre sent we r e : City Ma nager McCo wn
Ass istant City Manage r
City Attorney DeWitt
Vargas
Directo r of Engin eer ing Services
Diede
Director of Community Development
Powe r s
Dir ector of Public Wo rk s Waggo ner
De puty Cit y Clerk Watkins
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COUNCIL MEMBER FITZPATRICK MOVED TO OPEN THE PU BL I C HEAR-
IN G TO CONSIDER CITIZEN n!PUT AN D TESTI MONY REGARDING TH E DOWNT OWN
REDEVELOPMENT PLAN . Coun c il Member Bile seconded the motio n. Up on
a ca ll o f th e roll, th e vote res ul ted a s fa.l ows:
Ayes:
Nays:
Cou ~cil Member s Higday , Neal , Fitzpa tr ick,
We i st , Bile , Bradsha w, Otis .
None .
The Mayor declared the mo tion ca r ried.
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Mayo r Otis stated the pur pose of the h ea ring was t o co n s i -
der the dow nto wn pl an .
Di recto r of Community Deve lopm e nt , Sue Powers, appeared
be f o r e Counc il . Ms . Powe r s ente r ed into the r eco r d th e following :
It e m !I -En g lewood Redevelopme n t l\r ea Justification , date d l\pril ,
J , 2 ; Item 1 2 -Reso luti o n No. 1, Se r ies of 1982 , passe d 7 -20-82 by
t t .. Plann i ng & Zo ning Commi s sion , r eco mmendi ng a dop t ion ; Item 13 -
L,.ter fr om Englewood Boa rd of Education Pr eside nt , Selwyn G.
Hewitt , dated 7-21-82 , recommend ing adoption ; Item fl4 -Resolution
No . 2 , Se r ies of 1982 , passed 5-19-82 by Ur b an Renewa l l\uthority ,
r c ommendi ng adoptio n; Item !5 -Le tt e r fr om Davi d A. Edstrom nf
Lam m, Edstrom, 3r :,;·me r & Wiso r , da t ed 8-23 -82 , stati ng the plan
meets the requir emen ts and cr it e ri o n se t forth i n Color ado Re-
vise d Statutes r ela ting t o an urban r enewa l pl a n ; a nd Item 16 -
Downtown Development Plan , july , 1 982 . Ms . Powers also entered
into th e r ecord the pu bl i s h e r's aff id av it t o show the h ea ring wa s
p r o pe rly noticed in th e ne wspaper . Ms . Po wers discussed th e his-
t o ri ca l background of the plan. Ms. Powers stated th e method of
fin a nc ing would be t ax i n crement bonds , Ms. Powe rs noted the Ur-
ban Renewal l\ut h ri ty was r eactivated to ass i st in th e r edevelop-
ment plan . Ms . Po we rs stated the plan calls fo r public a nd pri-
vate d eve lopment a n d she di sc uss ed th e pr o je c ts p la nn ed unde r each
area. Ms . Pow e r s st a ted the private development wo ul d be pha s ed t o
support public development. Ms . Pow e r s stated the City wo uld pay
for Litt l e Dry Creek imp r oveme n t s. Ms . Po we r s disc ussed th e Coun-
cil Commu nic ation whic h requ est ed two ame ndments to th e pl a n .
In response to Council Memb ers Neal and Higday 's qu es -
tion s , Ms . Pow e r s stated Counc il ha s co nt r ol wit hin the Zoning Or-
dinance t o determine building height rest r icti o n s .
Mayor Otis opened the for um t o the audience .
Larry Di c kenson, 3171 So uth Clarkson , came f o rw ard . Mr .
Dicke n son stated he was membe r of the Urban Renewal Autho rity . Mr.
Dickenson ac kn o wledged a need for r edeve lopme nt an d the plan was
a cce ptable . Mr . Dickenson stated his questi ons dealt with the d e -
velope r 's c a p ab ility to prov ide the necessary ca p ital for th e pro-
jec t s ; but his app r e h ensio n was di mini s h ed pr io r t o this hearing.
Nor i ta Hat haw ay , 3 143 So uth Che r okee , came fo rw a r d . Ms.
Hathaway sta t ed she al so owned property at 30 9 5 So ut h Che roke e . Ms .
Hatha way sta t ed she f avo r ed the overall plan but had some que st ions
rega rdin g po rtio ns o f the p lan . Ms. Hat hawa y asked i f placi ng RTD
on pub lic areas would r ed u c e residential traffic.
Ms . Po we rs stated
r esid ential RTD se rvice.
was not the project's in tent to stop
August 23, 1982
Page 3
Ms . Hathaway a s ked if office towers were n ecess a r y and
r e ntabl e wh en so ma ny a r e pre sently empt y .
Ms . Powers stated a st udy shows th e do wn t own area c an
s upp o r t an office tow e r ri ght no w, a11d ano th e r one if major im-
provements i n the downtown a r ea are ma de .
Co un cil M mber Neal explained the City wo ul d not own the
off i~e space , th e o wner of th e office wo u ld ; wh o in tur n would be
r espo n s ibl e for payi ng pr oper ty t axes.
Ms . Ha thaway asked if th e Ci ty h ad r ece i ved any commit-
ments fr om c ompan i es willing to develop in Engl e wood.
Counci l Member Fi tzpa Lrick stated th e p lan mu s t first be
adopted an d then adver tis ed before a ny c omm itm e n ts c1 n be made .
Council Member Hig day stateL th• City has hired soE•one t o
publ i cize t he activit i es of th e downtown r edeve l opment area .
Ms . Hathaway asked what Co un cil pla nned to d o about r~-
locat ing businesses .
Council Mem ber Ne al stated the pla n h as minimu m r e quire-
ments and Counci l wil l do eve r ything poss ible to help th e busi-
nesses . Counci l would b e fair and eq uit able . Mr. Neal stated
the r e was a cha nce some of these busin esses may mo ve out anyway if
r.othing is done .
Steve Bell, Hanifen, Imhoff , Inc ., cam e fo rw ard to exp lai n
tax increment bond financing . Mr. Bell stated th e r e was no debt
se r vice on the r esiden t s . The mi ll levy is f ix ed and capital is
based on inc r eased reve nu es c r ea t ed by the new cons t r uc tion. The se
a r e not City of Englewood bonds . They are i ssued by the Urban
Rene wal Au tho rity . The City of Englewood 's monies can not be
called up on for d ebt paymen t . Mr . Bell stated the fina nci ng was
r ela tivel y n ew; fu,thermor e , the City of Bo ,ild e r was th e only
munici pa li ty in the St a te of Colorado that has a tax i ncreme n t
i ssue .
Pau l Be n edetti , 37 04 Pe nros e Pl ace , Bo ul de r , Colorado ,
special c o uns el for the d ownt o wn evelopm e nt, stated t he Auth o rit y
would not be a ble to sel l t he bo nds un til the r edeve loper ha s
fina n ci ng with no obstac l es. Mr . Benedetti stat ed h e also r ep r e -
sents the Boulde r Urb a n Renewal Auth or i ty and t he De nver Urban
Re newal Authority .
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Augu rJL 23 , 1982
Pag e 4
Cl e tu s Gasson, Chai rman of the Englewood Down t own Develop-
ment Auth o rity, cam e forward . Mr. Gas so n stated the Auth o rity
favored the red e v e lopme nt plan if Council agrees to assist the me r-
chants and property owners along th e develo pment in r eloc ating .
Cou nc il Me mb e r Hlgday stated Council h as com mitted t o
assl n t ing the me r c h a n ts in relo ca ting un de r l ega l gu ide lines .
Fr ed Kau fman , 3395 South Broadway , came forward . Mr.
~•u fman r ndo r sed the r edeve lopm ent plan . Mr. Kaufman bel iev ed
ch~r e was s inc e rity between Coun ci l a nd staff t o h e lp disp lac ed
bu s in esses .
Cou n cil Me mb er Neal asked for Mr . Kaufm a n's opinion on the
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0 nces o f wha t wo ul d happen if th e red eve l o pment plan was no t
irn .le111~nt ed .
Mr. Ka u f ma n stated t he downtown a re a needs qu a lity bu i l d -
ir :gs t o ~ntice b usi nesses and others t o r ~novate t he ar ea . Mr.
Kaufman s~ated th e area may lose e xi s tin9 bus i nesses if nothing is
d ')n P .
Oli ve r Giseburt , 3 171 Sou th Hi gh, cam e f o rw a rd . Mr . Gise-
bur t questio n ed wh ether the City Ch a rter a llow ed for th e is sua nce
of bo nds .
Mr . Be n ede tti s t a te d unde r th e Colo ra do Revised Statut es
the Ur ba n Re n e wal Aut h o rity may is s u e tax in creme n t bo nds. They
are not t o be issued by th e City.
Richa rd L. Banta , 2 1 08 E Dartmout h Circle , came f orwa r d .
Mr. Banta t oo k i ss ue with the st a tement t he pro ject wo ul d not cost
the cit izen s anything . Mr . Banta asked wh e r e the add itiona l fun d s
wou ld com e from to pay for City serv i ces . Mr . Ba nta stated it
appeared taxes would h ave to be raised t o pa y f or th e services.
Mr . Bened e t ti stated tax increment financing involve s the
fre ez ing o f assessments not ta xes .
Mr. Banta sta te d th e r esults of this pr o j ect would no t be
r ea lized f o r y ea rs. Mr. Banta a r g u ed th e possibility th a t f ina nc-
ing wo ul d sti ll co ul d go ba ck t o its cit ize ns.
Bil l Fa rringt o n, 3422 South Ba nno ck , ca me forward. Mr.
Farri ng ton s tat ed he ha s owned prope rty in a blighted area f o r 20
years . Mr . Farri ngton favo red th e red evelo pm e nt plan because he
wo uld never hav e done the improv ements himse f .
Augu st. ,3 , 1982
Page 5
Gary Christ opher , 34 6 1 South Br oad wa y, came forward . Mr .
Ch ri stophe r s tated h e operated an a r c~de ve nding business and saw
no n e •d to sta y on the proposed mall area. Mr. Christopher r e-
port d he wa s unh appy with the nu mb e r of pigeons that flock th e
st reet s in thi s area. He received no resr~nse from th e humane
d e pa r tme nt to co n trol th e pig eo ns . Mr . Ch ri stopher alleged the r e
was il l ga l activity in th e alley behind h is bu s in ess and two doors
down. Mr . Chr i sto ph e r stated he di d not unde r sca nd the need fo r
flood co ntr ol i mp r ove me nt s .
Rob e rt Garrison , 3422 South Bannoc k, came forward . Mr .
Gar r i so n in qui re d about the timeframe under which bus i nesses wo uld
be evicted .
Ms . Po wers stated net ting would be impo sed un til d eve lop-
ment in an area beg an . At th at po int and time , 120 da ys would be
the pe riod of time given t o mo v e .
Lar r y Dickenson wh o had spa ,en e a rlier asked what would
happen if nothi ng was do ne ; wou l d t he d ow ntown area s till b e mak-
in g money .
Ms. Powe r s stated accorOing t o a study cond uct ed by
Bo ettcher and Compan y , the do wntow n area is no payi ng it s way now;
and th e s ituatio n would onl y get wo rs e .
May or Ot is r ead int o the reco r d a communica ti on f rom Bob
Powell , Chairman of the Urban Renewal Authority , recommend ing
adoptio n o f the redevelopment plan.
Th e r e wer e no further comm ents on th i s ma t te r .
CO UNCIL ME MBER BR ADS HAW MOVED TO CLOSE THE PU BL IC HE AR -
ING. Co un c il Me mber Fi t zpatrick seconded the motion . Upon a c al l
of the r oll , the vo te re s ulte d as follows:
Ayes :
Nay s :
Co uncil Membe r s Hi gday, Nea?, Fitzpat rick,
We ist , Bila, Bradsha w, Otis .
None .
The Mayor declared the motio n carried .
RES0L UTIO N NO. 39 ,
SERIES OF 1982
A RESOLUT I O AP PROVING TH E ENGLEW OOD DOWNTOWN REDEVE LOPMENT PL AN
PR EPA RED PUR SUANT TO PART 1, ARTICLE 35 , TITLE 31 , COLOR ADO RE-
VI SED STATUTE S , 19 73 , AS AM END ED , AND AUTH OR IZING IM PL EMENTA TION
PRE SC RI BED THEREI N.
Augu st 23 , 198 2
Pag e 6
CO UNC IL MEMBER BRAD f,!lAW MOV ED TO PA SS RE SOL U'1 TON NO. 39 ,
SER IE S OF 1982 . Co un c il Memb ~r N~a l seco nd e d th e motio n .
COUN CIL MEMB ER BIL O MO '✓ED \'O /\MEND THE MOTION AND A'.lD TO
THE REDE VELOPMENT PLAN ON PAGE 39 S~IORE TH E LA ST PARAGRA PH TH E
PROPER TY LISTINGS (A DDENDUM I J); ~N D TO ADD ON PAGE 30, CHANGE
PHASE I TO REA D AS FOLLOWS: '·' PHA 'l E J: THE FIRST PHASE OF DEVELOP-
MENT INCLUDE S PARCELS D, F, AND II. A PRIVATE DEVEL OPE R CURRENTLY
HAS AN OPTIO N ON A LARGE PORTION OF TH E PROPERTY IN PA RCE L D, AND
IS INT ERESTE D IN DEVE LOPING 'f l!E fHTE IN ACCORDANCE WIT H THE REDE -
VELOPM ENT PLAN .•.. " (AD DE ~D UM 2). Coun c i l Membe r Higday se c -
onded th e mot i o n. Up o n a ca ll of Lhe r ol l, the vote on th e amend-
ment r esulted as foll o ws :
~y es:
Na ys :
Counci l Me mbers Higda y, Ne al , Fi tzpa tric k ,
Weis t, Bilo, Brad s ha w, Oti s .
No n e .
Th e Mayo r de c l a r ed the mo ti on ca rried ,
Upon a ca ll v f the r ol l, the vo te on th e orig i nal moti on
resul t ed as foll o ws :
9 : 10 p.m .
Ayes :
Nays:
Coun cil Memb e rs Hig day , Nea l , Fitzpatrick ,
We i st , Silo , 9ra dshaw , Otis .
None.
The May o r declare d the motion carried .
COUNCIL MEMBE R HI GD AY MOVED TO AD JOU~N THE ME ETING.
Mayor Ot i s adjo urn ed the me et in g with out a vote at