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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1986-11-18 PZC MINUTES• • • CITY OF ENGLEWOOD PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION NOVEMBER 18, 1986 I. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL. The regular meeting of the Englewood Planning and Zoning Commission was called to order at 7:05 P. M. by Chairman Carson. Members present: Barbre, Carson, Magnuson, Beier, Maunakea Romans, Ex-officio Members absent: Allen, Mulhern, Gourdin Also present: Senior Planner Susan King II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES. October 21, 1986 Mr. Carson stated that the Minutes of October 21, 1986 were to be considered for approval. Barbre moved: Maunakea seconded: The Minutes of October 21, 1986 be approved as written . AYES: NAYS: ABSENT: ABSTAIN: Carson, Magnuson, Maunakea, None Mulhern, Allen, Gourdin None The motion carried. III. COMPREHENSIVE PLAN REVIEW. Barbre, Beier Mrs. Romans stated that when the items scheduled for the Commission Agenda for this evening were aborted, it was suggested that the Commission might want to spend the time considering the Comprehensive Plan review. Mrs. Romans stated that she agreed with Mr. Maunakea's statement from the pre- vious meeting that a "mission" statement is needed. Senior Planner King has outlined the Goals and Courses of Action from the 1979 edition of the Plan on flip charts for the consideration of the Commission. This would give a broad look at the overall goals before considering the indi- vidual sections of the Plan. Mr. Mulhern entered the meeting and took his chair with the Commission. Mr. Gourdin entered the meeting and took his chair with the Commission. Goal #1, MAINTAIN ENGLEWOOD AS A FULL SERVICE COMMUNITY, was considered. The Commission determined that this was an acceptable goal and should be retained. -1 - Goal #2, INSURE A BALANCE AMONG THE RESIDENTIAL, INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL AREAS OF THE CITY, was considered. The Commission determined that this also • is an acceptable goal and should be retained. Goal #3, MAINTAIN THE RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOODS AS THE CORNERSTONE OF OUR COM- MUNITY, was considered. This Goal will also be retained as written. Goal #4, PROVIDE THE ENVIRONMENT NECESSARY TO MAINTAIN A STABLE POPULATION, was considered. The Commission determined that this Goal should be rewritten to state: PROVIDE THE ENVIRONMENT AND QUALITY OF LIFE CONDUCIVE TO ATTRACTING AND MAINTAINING A STABLE POPULATION. Goal #5, SUPPORT A HIGH DENSITY ACTIVITY CENTER WITHIN DOWNTOWN ENGLEWOOD, was considered. This Goal was rewritten to state PROMOTE AND MAINTAIN A COMPETI- TIVE ACTIVITY CENTER WITHIN CENTRAL ENGLEWOOD. "Activity Center" is to be defined, and the definition would read: one of 13 Regional Activity Centers in the Denver SMSA. Goal #6, DEVELOP OUR WATERWAYS AS A UNIQUE NATURAL RESOURCE, was discussed. This Goal will be written to state DEVELOP OUR WATERWAYS AS AN AMENITY. Goal #7, ENCOURAGE PROJECTS OF REGIONAL CONCERN IN SUCH AREAS AS MASS TRANSPORTATION AND AIR POLLUTION ABATEMENT, was considered. After con- siderable deliberation, the Goal was suggested as: ENCOURAGE PROJECTS OF REGIONAL CONCERN IN SUCH AREAS AS: A) MASS TRANSPORTATION; B) AIR POLLUTION; • C) SOLID WASTE COLLECTION AND DISPOSAL; D) NOISE POLLUTION. An additional Goal #8 was added to read: ENCOURAGE AND PROMOTE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT WITHIN THE CITY THROUGH PUBLIC/PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS. The suggestion of a former Planning Commission member that a "search" commit- tee be formed to aggressively seek businesses to relocate to Englewood was discussed. Mr. Mulhern spoke against such a committee, stating that if a firm receives a number of proposals from communities seeking their firm, they may have a tendency to become confused and put them all aside to seek the counsel of a real estate broker. Mr. Magnuson suggested that perhaps the Commission should be speaking to rea 1 estate agents and brokers in our attempts to "se 11" Englewood. The Goals of the DOWNTOWN section of the Comprehensive Plan were then considered. Goal #1, TO SUPPORT THE DOWNTOWN AS A REGIONAL ACTIVITY CENTER BY FOCUSING HIGH-DENSITY, HIGH ACTIVITY USES WITHIN THAT AREA, was considered. Mr. Magnu- son suggested that the phrase "high-density" be deleted. This Goal would then read: TO SUPPORT THE DOWNTOWN AS A REGIONAL ACTIVITY CENTER BY FOCUSING HIGH ACTIVITY USES WITHIN THAT AREA. Goal #2, TO REVITALIZE THE BROADWAY/ACOMA RETAIL AREA, was considered. This Goal was reworded to state: TO REVITALIZE THE CENTRAL BUSINESS AREA. Goal #3, TO PROMOTE THE REGIONAL NATURE OF CINDERELLA CITY, was then dis- cussed. The wording on this Goal will remain the same as presently written. -2 - • • • • Goal #4, TO LINK CINDERELLA CITY AND THE BROADWAY/ACOMA AREA SO THAT THEY COM- PLEMENT ONE ANOTHER was considered. This Goal will be modified to read: TO LINK CINDERELLA AND THE CENTRAL BUSINESS AREA SO THAT THEY COMPLEMENT ONE ANOTHER. The Goals of the Commercial Corridor section of the Plan were displayed. These Goals are: Goal #1: TO ENCOURAGE AND SUPPORT THE VITALITY AND THE EXISTING VARIETY OF ESTABLISHED BUSINESSES. Goal #2: TO PROVIDE THE CLIMATE FOR ATTRACTING NEW BUSINESS, THUS INCREASING OUR TAX BASE; and Goal #3: TO UPGRADE MARGINAL USES AND TO REPLACE OR REHABILITATE DETERIORAT- ING STRUCTURES. Mr. Barbre stated that there does need to be something done to attract a use other than used car lots in some of the strip commercial areas. The possibility of locating a Park and Ride in the City was discussed, and the use of the lower level of Cinderella City as an RTD Transit Center was also discussed. Mrs. Romans suggested that in the original plans for Cinderella City, bus service was to have been provided on the lower level; however, the ceiling elevation of the lower level of Cinderella City is such that it traps the diesel fumes and there was a problem with clearance for the buses, also. For these reasons, the bus service in the lower level was eliminated . Goals of the INDUSTRIAL SECTION of the Plan were considered. Goal #1, A PER- MIT SYSTEM WITH FLEXIBILITY FOR DEVELOPMENT AND ENCOURAGE BETTER QUALITY was considered. Mr. Maunakea suggested that this statement should be modified to state A PERMIT SYSTEM WITH FLEXIBILITY FOR DEVELOPMENT AND TO ENCOURAGE BETTER QUALITY OF DEVELOPMENT. GOAL #2, DEVELOP A LANDSCAPING ORDINANCE, was considered. A landscaping or- dinance has been adopted; however, concerns have been expressed by many people that the requirements are not stringent enough. Ms. King cited the require- ment of "street trees", but the ordinance does not state where these trees must be planted. Some developers are "clustering" these plantings in an out- of-the way spot, which rather defeats the purpose of requiring a "street tree". Members of the Commission suggested that this Goal has been achieved, and should be deleted, but that the Landscaping Ordinance should be reviewed as a matter of course. The staff was asked to research the several drafts of the proposed Ordinance and to bring back to the Commission information on the required minimum sizes of trees and shrubbery at time of planting, required locations for planting street trees, etc., which was presented to the Commis- sion in the First draft. Goal #3, CITY-SPONSORED TREE PLANTING PROGRAM AND RELIEF FROM INDUSTRIAL PARK- ING LOTS was discussed. This Goal is reworded to state CITY-SPONSORED TREE PLANTING PROGRAM AND RELIEF FROM STERILE-APPEARING INDUSTRIAL PARKING LOTS. Goal #4, STRICT ENFORCEMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CODES, was modified to state: CONTINUE THE STRICT ENFORCEMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CODES. -3 - Goal #5, ENCOURAGE STREET PAVING AND IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS IN UNDEVELOPED AREAS, was then considered. Mrs. Romans cited an instance in southwest Engle-• wood wherein right-of-way is needed for South Navajo Street, which is proj- ected to go through from West Tufts Avenue to West Oxford Avenue. A parcel of land has been sold to Angle Tree Company by the Public Service Company, and Angle Tree Company wants to divide the parcel and sell or lease the east por- tion of the property. The matter of the right-of-way for South Navajo Street has been discussed at the Technical Review Committee. It has been the City policy that right-of-way will not be purchased unless it is for "public" pur- poses and not private benefit. In this case, there is access to the Angle property from West Radcliff Avenue and they do not necessarily need access from Navajo. A map of the area was displayed for the edification of the Com- mission, and staff indicated the route that South Navajo Street would follow through the subject site. South Navajo Street is shown on the Master Street Plan and will be a necessary route in this area at such time as West Quincy Avenue is either closed or upgraded as part of the Santa Fe improvement. Dis- cussion ensued. It was the consensus of the Commission that in this instance, extension of South Navajo Street would serve a public purpose. Goal #6, PREPARE AN INVENTORY OF COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL SITES AVAILABLE FOR POTENTIAL DEVELOPMENT, was considered. Mrs. Romans suggested that this Goal should be modified to include "and redevelopment". This suggestion was ap- proved by the Commission, and the Goal reads: PREPARE AN INVENTORY OF COMMER- CIAL AND INDUSTRIAL SITES AVAILABLE FOR POTENTIAL DEVELOPMENT AND REDEVELOPMENT. Goal #7, INCLUDE SPECIAL DISTRICTS IN THE CITY IN THE ENGLEWOOD WATER AND • SEWER PROGRAMS, was discussed. This Goal was modified to read; INCORPORATE SPECIAL DISTRICTS IN THE CITY INTO THE ENGLEWOOD WATER AND SEWER PROGRAMS. The Goals of the HOUSING SECTION of the Comprehensive Plan were then considered. Goal #1, TO PROTECT All EXISTING RESIDENTIAL AREAS, PRESERVING AND MAINTAINING THOSE WHICH ARE SOUND AND IMPROVING THOSE AREAS WHERE THERE IS DETERIORATING OR DILAPIDATED HOUSING STOCK was considered. Mrs. Romans discussed the Engle- wood Housing Rehab program, which has assisted in financing improvements to over 300 homes in Englewood since its inception. Mrs. Romans stated that fu- ture funding for this program is questionable because of the cuts in Federal and State Programs. Mrs. Romans stated that Mrs. Janet Grimmett, Housing Finance Specialist, has written to many foundations seeking grants to provide further funds for the continuation of this program, and submits applications for all public programs that are available. Mrs. Romans suggested that per- haps the Commission would want to mention the Rehab Loan Program in this Goal, thereby adding the support of the Commission to the continuation of this very worthwhile program. The Commission agreed, and the Goal is modified to read: TO PROTECT ALL EXISTING RESIDENTIAL AREAS, PRESERVING AND MAINTAINING THOSE WHICH ARE SOUND AND IMPROVING THOSE AREAS WHERE THERE IS DETERIORATING OR DI- LAPIDATED HOUSING STOCK AND THE CONTINUANCE OF THE CITY OF ENGLEWOOD HOUSING REHABILITATION LOAN PROGRAM. Goal #2, TO RETAIN THE NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOL CONCEPT, was considered. This Goal was acceptable as written. Goal #3, TO PROVIDE MORE PUBLIC HOUSING FOR THE ELDERLY, was modified to read TO PROVIDE MORE AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR THE ELDERLY. -4 - • • • • Goal #4, TO IMPROVE THE VISUAL QUALITY OF THE CITY, was considered, and no changes were suggested . Goal #5, TO MAINTAIN ENGLEWOOD AS A FULL SERVICE CITY, was cited as a duplica- tion of a previously cited goal, and was stricken. A new Goal #5, TO PROVIDE HOUSING TO MEET THE DEMANDS FOR THE MIDDLE AND UPPER INCOME SEGMENT OF OUR SOCIETY, was approved. The Goals of the TRANSPORTATION SECTION were then considered. Goal #1, IMPROVE THE CAPACITY ON U. S. 285, was considered. While the one-way couplet cannot be implemented now, the Commission is still of the opinion that the carrying capacity of U.S. 285 must be improved. Goal #2, SUPPORT THE IMPROVEMENT TO SOUTH SANTA FE FROM FLORIDA TO BOWLES, INCLUDING PROVISIONS FOR HIGH OCCUPANCY VEHICLE LANES, A MASS TRANSPORTATION CORRIDOR AND INTERCHANGES AT DARTMOUTH, U. S. 285, OXFORD/QUINCY AND BELLEVIEW was considered. The Commission felt that there must be continued support for improvements to South Santa Fe. Mr. Gourdin discussed the implementation of light rail and pointed out that Littleton is making provisions for light rail. It was suggested that light rail would have to be a regional undertaking. Goal #3, DEVELOP ALTERNATIVE MODES OF TRANSPORTATION, was discussed. This Goal was modified to read ENCOURAGE ALTERNATIVE MODES OF TRANSPORTATION TO THE USE OF THE AUTOMOBILE. Goal #4, ENCOURAGE HIGH-DENSITY RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT WITHIN AND CLOSE TO THE DOWNTOWN SO THAT PEOPLE CAN LIVE CLOSE TO THEIR PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT, was approved as written. Goal #5, IMPROVE THE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY OF ENGLEWOOD AND DEVELOP AND IMPLE- MENT A PLAN TO ATTACK THE PROBLEM OF AIR POLLUTION was discussed. The wording was changed to IMPROVE THE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY OF ENGLEWOOD AND DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT A PLAN TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEM OF AIR POLLUTION. Goal #6, EXTEND WEST FLOYD AVENUE BETWEEN SOUTH HURON STREET AND SOUTH ZUNI STREET TO PROVIDE AN ALTERNATE ROUTE TO CINDERELLA CITY AND TO DOWNTOWN ENGLE- WOOD, was dropped. Goal #7, ASSIST RTD IN LOCATING AND SECURING LAND FOR A TRANSIT CENTER IN DOWNTOWN ENGLEWOOD, was considered, and modified to read ASSIST IN LOCATING AND SECURING LAND FOR A TRANSIT CENTER IN THE PROXIMITY OF THE CENTRAL BUSI- NESS DISTRICT. Goal #8, SUPPORT INCREASED PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SERVICE TO RESIDENTIAL AREAS OF ENGLEWOOD, was considered. Goal #9, ALTER THE COMPREHENSIVE ZONING ORDINANCE TO PERMIT HIGH DENSITY RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE DOWNTOWN AND THE STRIP COMMERCIAL AREAS OR MIXED-USE DISTRICTS, WHERE RESIDENTS WILL BE CLOSE TO THE EMPLOYMENT CENTER AND PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION, has been accomplished and was dropped. -5 - Goal #10, ADOPT THE ATTACHED MASTER STREET PLAN, was modified to suggest PERI- ODIC REVIEW OF THE MASTER STREET PLAN. Inasmuch as Mr. Allen was not present, the goals of the Parks and Recreation Section of the Comprehensive Plan were not reviewed. IV. PUBLIC FORUM. No one was present to address the Commission. V. DIRECTOR'S CHOICE. Mrs. Romans reminded members of the Commission of the Downtown Walk scheduled for November 24, and urged that members make every effort to participate. VI. COMMISSIONER'S CHOICE. Mr. Maunakea briefly discussed the Buyer's Club Store. The meeting was declared adjourned at 9:25 P. M -6 - • • •