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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2000-08-22 PZC MINUTES• CITY OF ENGLEWOOD PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION AUGUST 22, 2000 I. CALL TO ORDER The regular meeting of the City Planning and Zoning Commission was called to order at 7:00 P.M. in the Community Development Conference Room of Englewood Civic Center, 1000 Englewood Parkway. Chairman Carl Welker presided. Members present: Lathram, Rempel, Rininger, Stockwell, Weber, Welker Willis (arrived late) Members absent: Note: Staff present: Also present: Sauter One vacancy Senior Planner Harold Stitt Planning Analyst Lauri Dannemiller Assistant City Attorney Nancy Reid Parks & Recreation Commissioner Mitch Waldman II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES August 8 , 2000 • Chairman Welker stated that the Minutes of August 8, 2000 are to be considered for approval. Rempel moved: Stockwell seconded: The Minutes of August 8, 2000 be approved as written. Mr. Welker asked if there were any changes or corrections to the minutes. None were made. Mr. Welker asked for the vote. AYES : NAYS: ABSTAIN: ABSENT: Rempel , Stockwell, Weber, Welker None Rininger, Lathram Sauter, Willis The motion carried. III. PARKING AGREEMENT 3601 South Clarkson Street 3701 South Clarkson Street CASE #PA-2000-01 Mr. Welker stated that the issue before the Commission is a request for a "permanent easement", or agreement for shared parking areas. • Ms . Reid stated that the request filed by Mr. Al Castelo , owner of both 360 l South Clarkson Street and 3701 South Clarkson Street, is for approval of the Planning Commission for a "per- H:IGROUP\BOARDS\P LA NCOMM\'vt u1u1 cs\"1inu1cs 1000\PC:vt 08 -20008 .Jo< • manent easement parking agreement" between the two properties . Mr. Castelo is developing 3701 South Clarkson Street as a medical office building , and lacks sufficient parking for the size of building proposed. Mr. Castelo also owns the property at 3601 South Clarkson Street, which has 164 parking spaces and requires only 110 spaces. Therefore, the shared parking agreement, or "permanent easement parking agreement" will satisfy the parking requirements for 3701 South Clarkson Street, and will not negatively impact the required parking for 3601 South Clark- son Street. • Mr. Welker asked if staff had anything to present. Mr. Stitt stated that it is a straightforward re- quest for approval of a shared parking agreement. Mr. Weber referenced the map included in the packet, and questioned whether Jefferson Drive exists , or if it is , in fact , just a "ditch". Mr. Stitt stated that Jefferson Drive is not improved in this area , but the right-of-way still exists. Mr. Willis entered the meeting and took his chair with members of the Commission. Mr. Welker stated that if there were no further comments or questions , he would entertain a mo- tion to approve the permanent easement. Weber moved: Stockwell seconded: The Planning Commission approve the permanent easement parking agreement between 3701 South Clarkson Street and 3601 South Clark s on Street, as cited in Case #PA-2000-01. AYES : NAYS: ABSTAIN: ABSENT: Rininger, Stockwell, Weber, Lathram , Rempel , Welker None Willis Sauter The motion carried. IV. ATTORNEY'S CHOICE Ms. Reid asked, if the Commission did not need her for further discussion , whether she might be excused from the meeting. Mr. Stockwell stated he had one issue to be brought up. At the City Council meeting on August 21, 2000, it was noted that a new tattoo parlor has recently opened on South Broadway. The new tattoo and body-piercing ordinance was passed on second reading on August 7th , but will not be- come effective until September 11th . The question is how this tattoo parlor was approved for the South Broadway location. Will it be "grandfathered in ", or will it have to come before the Commission or the Board of Adjustment for approval. • Ms. Reid stated the City Council did not place an emergency clause on the tattoo and body- piercing ordinance , and it does not take effect until September 11th . If this tattoo parlor has H:IG ROUPIBOARDSIP LANCOMMl."1 in utes\M in u1o s WOOIPCM 0 8·2000B .doc • opened, has obtained all required licenses prior to September 11th , and is in compliance with cur- rent regulations , there is nothing the City can do . The establishment will be "grandfathered" in. • • Ms. Reid stated that the City is about to close on the case filed by Remi Fields , of Remi' s Empo- rium of Mystic Ink. Ms. Reid was excused from the meeting . V. COMPREHENSIVE PLAN DISCUSSION Parks, Recreation , and Open Space Ms . Dannemiller addressed the Commission and stated that this will be a very general, informal presentation . Ms. Dannemiller stated that amendments to and revision of the Comprehensive Plan are planned, and that task forces have been named to concentrate on "Housing'', "Parks and Open Space", a nd "Economic Development". Ms . Dannemiller stated that a general meeting of the three task forces, and all participants on those task forces , has been scheduled for August 30th , 7 :00 p .m., in the Community Room on the second floor of the Ci vic Center. This meeting will pro vide an o ver-v iew of the process to develop the amendments/revisions for those cited sections of the Comprehensive Plan . Ms . Dannemiller referenced the staff report regarding open space , which was submitted to mem- bers in their packets . She stated that the report concentrates on three subject areas : 1) Current Status of Open Space (What we have ) 2 ) Trends in Open Space (What is changing) 3)) Tools for Development (How we get there ) M s. D a nnemiller s tated that the Commission has talked a bout o pen s pace for se veral months dur- ing the course of their meetings . M s . Dannemiller di scussed a proposed timel i ne , and s ta ted that staff hopes to be through the Comprehensive Plan amendments by mid-February , 2001. A grant for an open space plan along the South Platte River corridor will have to be written and submit- ted by late fall 2000; if the grant is approved, we will not be notified until early 2001. Ms. Dannemiller discussed the Current Status of Open Space . She noted that the 1979 edition of the Comprehensive Plan did not set forth any "goals and objectives" in the Parks & Recreation element, but did present "courses of action". Ms. Dannemiller suggested that one objective of the task force will be to revisit this element and de velop goals and objectives , and update the courses of action. Ms. Dannemiller further noted that the majority of the courses of action set forth in the 1979 Comprehensive Plan were accurate , and has been pretty much carried out. Ms. Dannemiller stated that the 1979 Comprehensive Plan cited facilities lacking in the City of Englewood ; the community center was constructed, but the ice skating rink and indoor firing range are no longer priorit y issues . Ms. Dannemiller stated that the City has had a facility study done to determine needs. Mr. Waldman briefly discussed this facility study , and noted that the construction of a new swimming pool is at least two years off. An ice skating rink might be located in the Civic Center area and would be a "natural area". He further discussed expansion of Centennial Park with the H:IGR OU Pll!O ARD SIPLANC OMMIMinu «slMin u1•s 2000\PCM 08·20008 .uO<: • new ball fields and kayaking improvements . Mr. Waldman stated that the City of Englewood does have a good, cooperative relationship with South Suburban Parks & Recreation District. • • Mr. Welker asked if the transportation study that the City will have done next year will encom- pass issues of hiking/biking paths along the river. Mr. Stitt stated that it could encompass those issues , but would more likely address means to get people to the paths. Ms. Dannemiller discussed the issue of expansion of existing facilities , or additional facilities . She stated that in talking to Parks staff, there is no plan in place identifying properties for acqui- sition . Ms. Dannemiller referenced the Metro Vision 2020 Plan from the Denver Regional Coun- cil of Governments (DRCOG); this document puts into perspective who is responsible to acquire , maintain , and protect open space . In terms of land acquisition for open space purposes , it will be much easier for "outer ring" jurisdictions to comply than it will be for communities like Engle- wood, which is landlocked. Ms . Dannemiller stated that the Plan recommends the region protect and preserve an additional 2% of the total region as open space between 1997 and 2020 . Engle- wood cannot provide an additional 2 % of open space ; therefore , it is incumbent upon the C it y to work with redevelopers of specific areas -such as along the South Platte River, and determine what is the highest and best use of the land. When the Cit y has an opportunity to purchase prop- erty for open space , we need to have a goal identified and the tools in place to accomplish the acquisition . Brief discussion ensued. Ms. Dannemiller then discussed the Trends in Open Space Planning . Trends cited in the staff report inc I ude : • A greater emphasis on comprehensive open space planning and preservation , including broader definitions of open space and green space ; • More greenway planning along urban waterwa ys and other corridors , supporting flood plain management , fish and wildlife habitat protection , water quality enhancement, off- street bikeways , aesthetic amenities and passive recreation : • More protective measures for wetlands , waterways and uplands in natural resource plan- ning; • Increasing importance of recreation and open space contributing to more w a lkable , li v- able and sustainable communities; • Merging of recreation, open space and transportation goals, especially in multi-modal systems ; • More stakeholder involvement in adopt-a-park projects , park stewardship committees , friends-of-the park groups and other forms of community volunteering ; • The legitimization of parks and open spaces as part of the urban land use planning and development process ; • Green sp aces contributing to downtown and neighborhood re vitalization ; • More collaboration between parks and schools through joint acquisition , de velopment, and use o f lands and joint construction and use of facilities ; • Joint use of utilities for linear connectors , pathways and bikeways . Ms. Dannemiller pointed out that people need access to all recreational and open space opportu- nities. She pointed out that the piazza area at the Ci vie Center is part of the open space in Englewood. Ms . Dannemiller emphasized the need to look at "multi-usage" of open spaces . She H:IG ROU PIBO ARDSIPLANCO:l-1M l.'1 in utes\M i11utcs 2000\PCM 08·20008.Joc • also noted that in Englewood, parks and open space are not an "after-thought", but are a major part of the system, and are considered as part of our infrastructure. • • Mr . Welker stated that the school district is looking for quality development and use on their pro- jects; he noted there are still opportunities and cited open area at Clayton Elementary School. Improvements could be used by both the school district and by the general neighborhood. He stated he would also like to see more development along the order of the Little Dry Creek open space improvement with bicycle and pedestrian paths. Ms. Dannerniller discussed the Level of Service Evaluation Standards. She pointed out that there are many standards to work with. Ms. Dannemiller stated that the Level of Service approach identifies space and facilities required to meet the community recreation demand, and the mini- mum amount of park land needed to accommodate specific facilities and unprogrammed recrea- tion activities. The community needs to look at the number of v isits to park and recreation areas , and look at w hat that community is providing. Ms . Dannemiller c ited the proje c ted residential development in CityCenter; supposing the open s p ace w as maxed out for the projected 438 units -how could the City provide addition a l open space . In this scenario , the o pen s pace for the sur- rounding area would be taken into consideration -the pro x imit y o f the re s ident ia l units to the Piazza, and to Cushing Park would be considered as open space for this development. Ms. Dannemiller then addressed the Tools for De velopment, which includes Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO), and the Conservation Trust Fund, Land Trusts , Brownfields , Impact Fees , Open Space Taxes , and Non-Profit Foundations. Ms . Dannemil ler stated that some of these tools are now being used to implement goals and objectives for park s and open s pace . She noted that GOCO funding is very competitive . The Conservation Trust fund provide s direct a llocation of funds to local governments and s pecial districts . These funds are di s tributed on a per capita ba- sis. Acquisition of properties classified as "Brownfield" is also a means to acquire open space ; these sites may need remediation of contaminates , and eventuall y used for soccer fields, park, or open spaces. Impact Fees were addressed; these are one-time charges to developers to pay a proportionate share of revenue required to construct or expand capital facilities to serve the new development. Englewood does not impose impact fees at the present time . Open Space Taxes were then discussed. This process would impose a sales tax specificall y for purchase of land for open space . Most metro counties have some type of tax to fund acquisition of land for open space; Denver does not. Arapahoe County is now considering the possibility of s uch a tax and it may be on the November ballot. Ms. Dannemiller discussed the Land Trusts. The Trust for Public Lands (TPL) is a national non- profit organization working to conserve and protect land for recreation and human enjoyment. TPL works with landowners , government agencies , and community groups. Other nonprofit or- ganizations include the Sierra Club and the Nature Conservancy. These two organization s fre- quently team up with other entities to preserve critical open lands , develop waterways , and pre- serve habitats and species . Mr. Welker noted that Littleton has developed several "pocket parks "; he surmised that some of this land might have been donated to the City by an estate . He asked how Englewood could work something like this into the Plan. Ms . Dannemiller agreed that some pocket parks are ac- H:IGR OU PIB OARD SIP LANCOMM\Mi11u tc s\\1 111u1e s ;QOOIPC:l-1 08 ·2000 8 .00.: • complished via escace planning. Ms . Dannemiller further discussed methods of saving lands from development, used primarily in rural areas ; these means can establish a conservation "easement" which preserves the land in open space, reduces tax burden on inheritors of estates, and may allow continued use or development of the remainder of the land if the "easement" is not applicable to the entire ownership . Mr. Welker discussed ownerships along the river corridor, and questioned if there is a potential of the City being a benefactor of conservation easements, and how to go about encouraging property owners to consider leaving property specifically for open space purposes. Mr. Welker cited excess railroad right-of-way -can this be recaptured and redeveloped for open space pur- poses . Ms. Dannemiller stated that it is a matter of getting to business and property owners and try to educate them on the benefits of open space and encouraging them to consider conservation easements or other means of recapturing and preserving the open space. Ms. D annemiller stated that the Comprehensive Plan should include information on the conservation easements , trust funds , and other means to assure open space . Mr. Stockwell asked about requiring "x " amount of a proposed de velopment to be dedicated for open space. Ms. Dannemiller stated that this requirement is not in the Comprehensi ve Plan , and it would be well to have it in the Plan before asking City Council to approve an ordinance. • Ms. Dannemiller discussed the possibility of the City forming a "green way f und". GOCO has funds in place for land acquisition ; if the City had money in the "green wa y fund" to use as matching funds for GOCO grants, maybe the City would ha ve a better chance to get grants from GOCO . Discussion ensued. • Mr. Welker commented that it was interesting to look at qualifications for the Arapahoe County open space committee members; all members must live within the rural part of the County -not in an urbanized area such as Englewood or Littleton. Ms. Dannemiller thanked members of the Commission for their input. Mr. Waldman stated he was under the impression the purpose of this meeting was formation of the open space committee. Ms. Dannemiller stated that the organizational meeting of the special task forces is scheduled for August 30 at 7:00 p.m. She stated that this would include staff members , Planning Commission members , and representatives from the schools and other or- ganizations. Mr. Rempel asked if the meeting on August 30 is to inform of the overall purpose , and provide guidelines to the task forces -to shepherd them through the process . Mr. Welker stated that all members of the Commission, and Mr. Waldman , are welcome to j oin in on this meeting and process . Ms . Dannemiller stated that we would really be addressing goals and ob- jectives now . Mr. Rempel stated that he really like the confluence of forces concept, and likes the idea of ap- proaching businesses and property owners , and assist them in understanding the benefits of open space to the quality of life. He asked what kind of community-wide education could we do to H:\G ROU P\BOARDSIPLAN COMM \Minutcs\"1 inutc s 2000\PC:-.I 08 -20006 .uoc • make the benefits more widely known and accepted. Ms . Dannemiller stated that one way is to make better use of the public input process. • • Discussion ensued on membership of the task forces . Mr. Willis stated that Senior Planner Gra- ham had called him earlier in the day with six names of persons to serve on the task force. VI. CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM Mr. Stitt distributed copies of the Master List for the proposed Five Year Capital Plan, the Con- servation Trust Fund; the Public Improvement Fund projects, and the Capital Improvement pro- jects. This information was not made available until earlier this date . Mr. Stitt directed the attention of the Commission to the fact that the Master List contains 525 projects for which fund- ing has been requested. Mr. Stitt reviewed each fund -Conservation Trust Fund, Public Im- provement Fund, and Capital Improvement Plan Fund -with the Commission. Mr. Stitt noted that the PIF is funded from use tax, and the CIP is part of the general fund . Mr. Stitt stated that he had discussed the proposed projects s ug gested by the Commission a t their meeting of August 81h; the extension of the Little Dry Creek bicycle/pedestrian pathway is miss- ing only one small part from the Plaza at Little Dry Creek to this development. The City applied for a $1,000,000 grant to GOCO , but it was not approved. Mr. Stitt discussed alignment of this trail system from the Plaza to at least Floyd A venue, and stated that he has discussed the issue with Parks & Recre ation personnel. The extension of this portion of the trail system is not in- cluded for funding in this next budget year. Mr. Stockwell asked why it was not included; could not funds be included for at least a study. Mr. Stitt stated that the study has been done: however, the solutions proposed in the st ud y are very expensive, and he suggested the possibility of filing for another GOCO grant. Mr. Stitt stated that he has also discussed the trail system along Big Dry Creek with the Public Works personnel. Discussion ensued. Mr. Stitt noted that the departments of Public Works and Parks & Recreation want to look at several options prior to inclusion of the project in the CIP . Routing of the bicycle path from the Plaza at LDC was discussed. Ms . Dannemiller stressed the need to keep bicycle paths/motorized traffic intersections as minimal as possible. She stated that the more intersections you have to go through, the less desirable a route is from a biker's per- spective. Mr. Willis asked if consideration had been given to routing the trail across the old City Hall property when it is demolished. Mr. Stitt stated that an RFP is being prepared for that property; plus, there is a group what wants to see the property donated for use as a performing arts center. Mr. Willis suggested that the site might be a good location for a park or open space, and put the bicycle trail across the site. He urged that a lot of thought be given to the use of this site and the possible extension of the trail system. This would be a focal point for the trail system extending from South Clarkson. Further discussion on routing of this bicycle path ensued . H :IGROUP\BOARDSIPLANCOMMl.~linutcsl."1inutcs ~000\PCM 08-20008 .uo< • • Mr. Stitt stated that the Parks & Recreation Department wants to obtain grants to accomplish the connection. Redevelopment of other sites was also briefly discussed and the possibility of trail extension through these sites was noted. Mr. Willis suggested that the former City Hall site might be a good location for a movie: theater: this would bring in pedestrian traffic . Mr. Stitt suggested that a movie theater would be tough to develop in this area. Use of a portion of the Acoma Street parking lot for the bicycle/pedestrian path connection was briefly mentioned . Mr. Stitt stated that the City does have control of the parking lot on South Acoma Street. Mr. Stitt suggested that there may be a great deal of redevelopment over the next few years in the downtown area and other areas in close proximity to the CityCenter. Mr. Stitt stated that City Council is very sensitive to the redevelopment of CityCenter, and will be very conscious that any new development will be complementary to this project. Mr. Stockwell asked about the funding for the shuttle buses. Ms. D:mnemiller stated that staff submitted a request to fund acquisition of two buses: however , the request was pulled from in- clusion for next year's funding . Mr. Stockwell suggested that funding s hould be requested for shuttle-bus stops; he has heard about a new bus stop to be located at Belleview and Broadway. Ms. Dannemiller stated that the City is working with RTD on shelter-bus stops: right now the group looking at the shelter stops won't consider going all the way south on Broadway with the prototype shelters. The first priority for shuttle service was in the downtown area , including the medical campus: second priority was to branch into neighborhoods . Mr . Stockwell discussed need for improvement of the infrastructure at Galapago and U.S. 285. He noted there is a severe storm drainage problem at this intersection, and that Cokesbury Books gets flooded when there is a severe storm. He also suggested a need to eliminate parking along Galapago Street to ease the flow of traffic on South Galapago Street. Mr. Stitt discussed a traffic analysis which was done on the entire area; at one point in time, the Colorado Department of Transportation had indicated they were considering closure of some streets along U.S. 285 . Mr. Welker noted a problem at the Bradley Service Station as far as ac- cess and stacking is concerned. Mr. Stockwell suggested that insofar as eliminating the parking , it should be a mere matter of changing signs. He stated that the drainage issue should be a capital budget item. Mr. Stitt sug- gested that unless the drainage issue is a major problem, it probably would not make it onto the CIP listing. Mr. Stockwell reiterated his opinion that the City needs to consider this intersection on the Five-year Capital Plan. Mr. Welker asked how to get issues that are raised by the Commission included in the budget. Discussion ensued. Ms. Dannemiller stated that if an issue is addressed in a Comprehensive Plan element. it improves the chances of getting included in the CIP . • Brief discussion ensued. H:IGRO UP\BOARD SIPLANCOMM \Minu«sl.\<li11u1<s 2000\PCM 08-2000B .u0.: • • VII. DIRECTOR'S CHOICE Mr. Stitt distributed notification of the APA Colorado conference which will be held in West- minster September 21 -23. Members were urged to contact staff if they were interested in at- tending; the City will pay for registration and mileage to the conference . Mr. Stitt also distributed letters to Ms. Lathram, Mr. Stockwell, Mr. Willis , and Mr. Welker re- garding the August 30 meeting for task forces. Mr. Stitt discussed his perspective of the meet- ing, stating he will provide an overview of the Comprehensive Plan update process, and other chairs/co-chairs will then address the meeting. Mr. Stockwell stated that he had names to submit of people who are interested in participating on the Housing and Economic Development task forces. Mr. Willis stated that Mr. Graham had provided him a list of participants for the Housing Task Force. Brief discussion ensued. Mr. Stitt reminded Commission members of the Old Tyme Fair to be held at Miller Field on Au- gust '26th and August 27th. He also reminded members of the MOA open house celebration to be held in the Ci vie Center Piazza at which time there will be a performance of Vi val di ' s Four Sea- sons featuring a chamber orchestra and the David Taylor Dance Theater. Mr. Stitt noted that the first meeting in September has been cancelled: the Labor Day Holiday will push the Commission meeting onto a Wednesday evening, and in recent experience it has been difficult to get a quorum on Wednesday evenings. VIII. COMMISSIONER'S CHOICE Mr. Welker stated that Mr. Goodyear, appointed to the Commission in July, has submitted his resignation from the Commission; he will be relocating to California . Mr. Welker stated that he heard from Mr. Sauter earlier this date that he will be relocating to the east coast, and will be resigning from the Commission effective immediately. Mr. Welker stated that he does, in fact, have a letter of resignation which Mr. Sauter faxed to him. A letter of res- ignation should be received by the Mayor very shortly. Mr. Stockwell stated that Council did discuss resignations from the Commission at their meeting of August 21; they will be contacting people previously interviewed to determine if they have interest in serving so that appointments can be made very soon. There was no further business brought before the Commission . The meeting was declared ad- journed. Gertrude G. Welti, RecordingCTetary H:IGROUP\BOARDS\PLANCOMM\M inutos\Minuto s 1000\PCM 08-20008.Joc