Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout1990-05-08 PZC MINUTES• CITY OF ENGLEWOOD PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION May 8, 1990 I. CALL TO ORDER. D RA FT The regular meeting of the City Planning and Zoning Commission was called to order by Chairman Gerlick at 7:00 P. M. in the Community Room of the Englewood City Hall. Members present: Gerlick, Schultz, Shoop, Tobin, Daviet Wanush, Ex-officio Members absent: Fish (with previous notice) Members late: Glynn, Covens Also present: D. A. Romans, Planning Administrator II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES April 17, 1990 Chairman Gerlick stated that the Minutes of April 17, 1990 were to be con- sidered for approval. Tobin moved: Daviet seconded: The Minutes of April 17, 1990 be approved as written. AYES: NAYS: Schultz, Shoop, Tobin, Daviet, Gerlick None ABSENT: ABSTAIN: Glynn, Fish, Covens None The motion carried. III. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Strategic Plan Mr. Wanush stated that Ms. Pam Pepper, Economic Development Coordinator, was to be in attendance to discuss the Strategic Plan for Economic Development. He has been informed, however, that Ms. Pepper has had car trouble in Aurora, and did not think she would be able to attend the meeting . Mr . Wanush stated that he would try to answer any questions the members might have on the Strategic Plan, and would suggest that the in-depth discussion on the Plan be rescheduled to another date when Ms. Pepper is able to attend. Mr. Glynn entered the meeting, and took his seat with members of the Commission. Some questions were posed on the "Visions" section of the Strategic Plan. Mr. Wanush stated that this section is the result of a brainstorming session by -1 - members of the Economic Development Coalition on the future of the City. Tobin questioned the envisioned major recycling plant on the east side of ta Fe, and asked where such a development might be considered. Ms. Tobin ther questioned the need for a new post office. Ms. San- fur- Members discussed the economic well-being of Cinderella City and other malls in the metro area. Mr. Gerlick noted that some of the smaller shopping cen- ters, such as the one near South Holly and Arapahoe Road, seem to be doing quite wel 1. Ms. Tobin stated that she had contacted the owner of the Japanese Restaurant to discuss welcoming the students at Teikyo University. Mr. Wanush stated that contacts have been made to the Chamber regarding the University students. and that welcoming the students has also been discussed with other board and commissions. Ms. Daviet suggested a hospitality meeting. Ms. Tobin stated that she would like to be involved in whatever is done, and suggested there may be a need for preschool facilities to care for small children, and/or a school for spouses to attend. Mr. Wanush stated that the majority of Japanese students that he has seen in Cinderella City appear to be late teens, and questioned that they would have spouses and children. Ms. Daviet stated that she felt the Strategic Plan was well done, and the "vi- sions" section was well thought-out and well put together. IV. DIRECTOR'S CHOICE. Mr. Wanush stated that Mrs. Becker has submitted a letter of resignation from the Commission due to personal reasons. Mr. Wanush stated that Swedish Medical Center will be submitting an applica- tion to amend the Planned Development approved in 1989. The SMC proposes con- struction of the third medical office building (MOB III), and a five or six story parking structure. Mr. Covens entered the meeting and took his seat with members of the Commission. Mr. Wanush stated that the MOB III was included on the original Planned Development, and would not necessitate further consideration by the Commission or by the Council. However, the proposed parking structure on the northeast corner of Clarkson and Hampden was not part of the previous considerations, and will necessitate an amendment of the Planned Development. Ms. Tobin stated that in her opinion, the construction of parking garages and the helicopter service to SMC does affect the desirability of the residential neighborhoods. Mr. Wanush stated that a Public Hearing on the Planned Development amendment would be scheduled in June, probably on the 19th. Mr. Schultz and Ms. Daviet both indicated they would not be able to attend the meeting on June 19th. The possibility of scheduling the public hearing on June 12 was considered. Mr. Covens stated that he would be out of town June 7th through the 18th. Discus- sion ensued. The determination was made to schedule the public hearing on June 12. -2 - The members of the Housing Task Force have been invited to meet with the Plan- ning Commission on May 22. V. COMMISSIONER'S CHOICE. Mr. Covens discussed the Santa Fe Corridor improvements. Mr. Wanush stated that he did not know whether a determination has been made by the City Council to request access at Tufts or at Union, or the nature of access. The State wants to limit points of access to Dartmouth, U.S. 285, Oxford and Belleview. Ms. Daviet asked if the corridor through Englewood will have the "privacy fence" effect that has been done in the Evans vicinity, or will the properties abutting Santa Fe be improved. Mr. Wanush stated that a number of the proper- ties will be subject to taking or partial taking by the State, and frontage roads are proposed in some areas. He did not anticipate the privacy fence treatment that has been done along the Evans portion. Mr. Schultz discussed a neighborhood survey of the Tufts/Union/Santa Fe area taken before the City election, and the majority of respondents supported some type of interchange, but did not want the heavy traffic to feed directly on to the residential streets. Mr. Shoop stated that he had discussed the possibility of a tour of the City for newer Planning Commission members with Mrs. Romans. Mrs. Romans suggested the tour be on a Saturday morning, and offered a couple of alternate dates. Members decided to have the tour on June 2nd beginning at 8:00 A.M. The format to be used for the revised Comprehensive Plan was discussed. Mrs. Romans stated that the loose-leaf format that has been used in the 1979 edi- tion seems to have worked well, and provides flexibility. The consensus was to follow the existing format in the revised Plan. III B. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Strategic Plan Ms. Pepper had entered the meeting during the course of the previous discussion. Mr. Gerlick welcomed Ms. Pepper to the meeting, and asked that she discuss the Strategic Plan. Ms. Pepper stated that the Economic Development Coalition has worked on the compilation of the Strategic Pl an for the last five months, and the Pl an is now to the point where input is needed from additional community leaders. Ms . Pepper stated that the last two sections of the Plan which were distributed earlier by Mr. Wanush are important facets of the Pl an. Ms. Pepper stated that the "visions" section is based on "optimistic" visions of the future of the City; unless there is strong community commitment the future of the City could be very negative --the mall could continue to deteriorate, businesses will be lost to other retail areas, industrial/manufacturing companies will move out of town, etc. Ms. Pepper reiterated the need to emphasize the posi- tive aspects of the City, and to move forward --build partnerships within the segments of the community, and with outlying communities such as Littleton and Sheridan to work on common problems. -3 - Ms. Pepper stated that a business newsletter has been proposed, and she hopes to have the first published in June; the first edition would be an insert in the Citizen. Ms. Daviet suggested that thought be given to mailing this busi- ness newsletter to property owners who do not reside in Englewood, and who would not receive the Citizen. Mr. Schultz stated that he has heard several suggestions on the need to in- crease the "body count" in downtown Englewood during the day to help the busi- nesses survive. These suggestions concerned increasing the number of people working within a two-mile radius of downtown Englewood, and that they might then shop downtown. Has any attempt been made to address this need. Ms. Pep- per stated that there are 23, 000 jobs in Englewood, and this number wi 11 be increasing once the Hampden Center is fully leased. The Ma 11 has added ap- proximately 1,200 jobs in recent months. Ms. Pepper stated that staff has been investigating the feasibility of a day care center to serve the downtown area. Surveys have been made of City Hall employees, and of employees of several larger employers in the immediate area. Ms. Tobin asked if Ms. Pepper was aware that there are any number of private homes licensed for day care services, and that a large number of these private homes will accept "drop ins". Ms. Daviet stated that in her opinion there is a need for some supervised creative play areas in Malls, and pointed out that if one were to be located in Cinderella City,·the parents working there would be in close proximity to their child. Ms. Tobin discussed her experience in setting up day care centers, and stated that she would give Ms. Pepper the names of some individuals at the State level to talk to. Mr. Covens stated that he would be in favor of a day care center in the Mall. Mr. Covens again discussed his concerns on the Santa Fe Corridor and the im- pact this corridor has on the economic welfare of the City. He stated that in his opinion, the number one blight is the stretch of Santa Fe from U.S. 285 south to Belleview, and it is costing the City money. Ms. Pepper stated that the Economic Development Coalition has addressed the need to have an on-going Transportation Task Force that will look at the long-term transportation is- sues. Ms. Pepper further pointed out that efforts are being made to build the "partnerships" with Littleton and Sheridan, and council members of the three communities are forming an advisory board composed of two councilmembers from each of the communities involved. Staff has been meeting with other represen- tatives to talk about the kinds of businesses we want to attract to the area. Littleton has begun a study of the Corridor area south of Belleview Avenue, and there have been discussions with Sheridan about extending the study to encompass the area along the Corridor north of Belleview. Ross Asset Group is being asked to submit a proposal for this area. Littleton has budgeted funds to make improvements along the Corridor south of Belleview. Mr. Wanush stated that the City of Littleton has had a long-term goal regard- ; ng transportation improvements in their community. They have successfully lobbied at the Highway Department, and were able to get the railroad tracks depressed through town, and are now concentrating on improvements to the Santa Fe Corridor. Ms. Daviet agreed that Santa Fe is one of the biggest detractions that Engle- wood has; people do not realize that the majority of the corridor is actually in the corporate limits of Sheridan, and that the Englewood mailing address does not correspond to the corporate limits of the City. -4 - The relocation of the railroad tracks was discussed. Mr. Wanush stated that the tracks are being relocated to allow sufficient distance to depress the street under the tracks and intersect Santa Fe at grade. There wi 11 not be sufficient space to accommodate further development after the relocation of the tracks. Mr. Schultz asked whether landscaping could be planted in this area to improve the general appearance. Mr. Wanush stated that he did not know what the plans for landscaping are along Santa Fe; he did point out that a number of the buildings along Santa Fe on the west side will have to be de- molished. Lobbying efforts were further discussed. Ms. Pepper stated that she has met with people who control the former General Iron site; they are doing soils testing to determine whether there is any con- tamination of the soil and what would need to be done to pr epare the site for redevelopment. Mrs. Romans recalled concerns of Mr. Gerri VonFrellick, developer of Cinderel- la City in the 1960's, regarding the appearance of Santa Fe. This has been of concern for a number of years, but there has not been a consistent consensus on the part of Englewood on the type of improvement and development we want to see along this corridor. Improved signage denoting the City limits of Engle\'/ood were suggested. Ms. Daviet pointed out that Sheridan is also making progress in their attempts to improve, and cited the Pace development and the office developments along U.S. 285 in Sheridan. The matter of zip codes was discussed. Ms. Pepper stated that there are several zip codes which have an "Englewood" mailing address, such as 80111, 80112, etc., which do not apply to the corporate limits of the City. The 80110 Zip Code also encompasses areas, such as Cherry Hills Village and Sheridan, which are not part of the corporate City of Englewood. Mr. Wanush cited an article from Lakewood addressing the problem of zip codes. He sug- gested that this article be copied and included in the next packet for Commis- sion members. Mr. Wanush suggested that inasmuch as there are several zip code areas which have the Englewood mailing address, we should concentrate marketing efforts in these areas, as well. Ms. Tobin reiterated her question on the need for a new post office, as noted in the "Visions" section of the Strategic Plan. She asked why the community cultural center could not be considered for the old railroad station. It was pointed out to Ms. Tobin that this railroad station is not within the corpo- rate limits of Englewood, but is in Sheridan. Ms. Pepper stated that this "vision" section of the Plan is a compilation of ideas that were submitted by members of the Coalition --particular items cited may or may not come to fruition. Ms. Tobin stated that she felt the fact that' Englewood does not have busing of school children is a positive factor, and should be emphasized. Other points Ms. Tobin suggested be emphasized included the rec re at ion center and golf course. Mr. Gerlick asked what was proposed on Trolley Square. Ms. Pepper stated that within the next two months, she wanted to conduct a panel discussion focused on the retail sector --how can one deal with retail centers that are not -5 - f moving, and invite representatives of centers that have turned themselves around to participate. Ms. Pepper stated that she would like to invite Mr. John Martin, one of the owners of the Tro 11 ey Square, to participate. She hoped that some ideas on ways to move Trolley Square could come out of this panel discussion. Ms. Pepper stated that when the panel discussion date is firmed up, she will notify the members of the Commission. Ms. Pepper stated that the Coalition is also considering conducting a shopping survey, with an eye toward having shuttles to move employees from their place of business to the downtown area to shop during breaks and lunch hours. Mr. Gerl ick asked what signage was being considered at the major points of entry to the City. Ms. Pepper stated that Council is being asked to budget for the improved signage, and suggested that the wooden signs such as the one by the Buyer's Club site are attractive and would be considered. Ms. Tobin stressed the need for greenery/landscaping along U.S. 285. There is also no signage adjacent to U.S. 285 indicating the location of the King Sooper's in the downtown area. Mr. Schultz stated that he recalled past dis- cussions of landscaped medians in U. S. 285 from Santa Fe to South University Boulevard. Traffic flows by the Buyer's Club site were discussed. Mr. Gerlick suggested that members peruse the two sections of the Strategic Plan which were distributed this evening, and submit comments to Ms. Pepper by telephone. V B. COMMISSIONER'S CHOICE. Mr. Covens and Ms. Daviet discussed their attendance at the American Planning Association (APA) Conference which was held in Denver April 22 -25. Both agreed the Conference was a good experience for Commission members. The meeting adjourned at 8:40 P.M. Gertrude G. Welty Recording Secretary -6 -