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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1978-07-25 PZC MINUTESCITY OF ENGLEWOOD PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION July 25, 1978 I. CALL TO ORDER. The Special meeting of the City Planning and Zoning Commission was called to order by Chairman Larry Owens at 7:00 P.M. Members present: Lathrop, Owens, Parker, Smith, Draper, Wanush, Ex-officio Members absent: McClintock, Pierson, Tanguma, Williams Also present: Assistant Director Romans II. 1470 WEST TUFTS AVENUE R-1-C, Single-famil y Residence. CASE #9-78 Mr. Owens stated that the purpose of the Public Hearing is to consider the R-1-C, Single-faMily Zone classification for the north one-half of the property at 1470 West Tufts Avenue. Draper moved: Smith seconded: The Public Hearing on Case #9-78 be opened. AYES: Draper, Lathrop, Owens, Parker, Smith NAYS: None ABSENT: McClintock, Pierson, Tanguma, Williams The motion carried. Mr. OWens asked Mr. Vondy, legal counsel for Mr. Bovenzi, to appear before the Commission. Mr. Vondy stated that Mr. Bovenzi, property owner at 1470 West Tufts Avenue, has been called to Italy because of the serious illness of his mother. Mr. Vondy stated that in light of this, he is requesting that the Public Hearings on the zoning designa- tion of this property be continued to a later date. This would, hopefully, allow his client sufficient time to return to the United States and be present at the proceedings. Mr. Owens asked if Mr. Vondy would object to a postponement or continuation until the meeting of September 6, 1978; he asked if this would be adequate time? Mr. Vondy stated that he sees no problem with the September 6th date. Mr. Owens asked if there was any member of the audience opposed to continuing the Public Hearing until September 6th? No member of the audience spoke in opposition to the continuation. -2- Draper moved: Lathrop seconded: The Planning Commission continue the Public Hearing on Case #9-78 until September 6, 1978, at 7:00 P.M. AYES: Draper, Lathrop, Owens, Parker, Smith NAYS: None ABSENT: Williams, McClintock, Pierson, Tanguma The motion carried. III. 1470 WEST TUFTS AVENUE I-1, Light Industrial CASE #10-78 Mr. Owens stated that he felt the same procedure could be followed on this zoning designation. Smith moved: Lathrop seconded: The Public Hearing on Case #10-78 be openai . AYES: Draper, Lathrop, Owens, Parker, Smith NAYS: None ABSENT: Tanguma, Williams, Mcclintock, Pierson The motion carried. Smith moved: Lathrop seconded: Case #10-78 be continued until September 6, 1978, at 7:00 P.M. AYES: Smith, Draper, Lathrop, Owens, Parker NAYS: None ABSENT: Tanguma, Williams, Mcclintock, Pierson The motion carried. Mr. Owens noted that the Commission had moved to reconsider the vote taken on Jul~ 5th on the matter of the I-1 zoning for the entire site; he felt that possibly this reconsidera- tion should also be continued until September 6th. Draper moved: Lathrop seconded: That reconsideration of the decision made on the I-1 zoning of the entire site, Case #8-78, be continued to September 6th. AYES: Smith, Draper, Lathrop, Owens, Parker NAYS: None ABSENT: Pierson, Tanguma, Williams, Mcclintock The motion carried. Mr. Owens announced to the members of the audience that these Public Hearings have been continued to September 6, 1978, and will be heard at that time. IV. VISITORS R.T.D. -3- Mr. Owens welcomed Mr. Charles Pardon of the Regional Transporta- tion District, who was present to answer questions that the Com- mission may have on bus routing through Englewood. Mr. Tanguma entered and took his place with the Commission. Mr. Owens stated that concern had been voiced over the change of bus routes from Girard Avenue to Hampden Avenue, and asked Mr. Pardon to discuss this change. Mr. Pardon stated that the September routing will have the buses traveling on East Hampden Avenue rather than on East Girard Avenue. The change in the route was made because of testimony given at community forums, at which time concern was expressed by citizens about the continued use of that street as a bus route. Requests were made to put the bus on East Hampden Avenue, a commercial street, rather than on East Girard Avenue, a residential street. As a result of this in- put, R.T.D. moved the #35 bus, which was scheduled to travel on U.S. 285, and the #12 bus, the Downing Street bus, to East Hampden Avenue. Mr. Smith expressed concern over the width of East Hampden Avenue, and questioned that two buses could be accommodated side-by-side on that street. He asked if R.T.D. had consider- ed the matter of street width and parking in the designation of the bus routes. Mr. Williams entered and took his place with the Commission. Mr. Pardon stated that R.T.D. did contact the Englewood traffic Engineering Division and no objection was raised regarding street width or parking restrictions on East Hampden Avenue by that Department. Mr. Pardon pointed out that he works in the T.S.M. Department of R.T.D., which division works with Traffic Engineers throughout the metropolitan area. From a traffic standpoint their determination is that Girard would be an operationally better street for the bus routes. The Operations Department of R.T.D. did request citizen input, and that citizen input requested the removal of the bus route from East Girard Avenue. It was pointed out that East Girard Avenue is a residential street while East Hampden Avenue is a commercial street, and the front entrance to Swedish Medical Center is from East Hampden Avenue. Mr. Wanush noted that the #35 bus, which will travel U.S. 285 could make no stops at all along U.S. 285, and no stops in Englewood until it would get to Cinderella City. This seemed to be unwise, and if the bus went down East Hampden Avenue, it could give better service to potential riders. Mr. Wanush pointed out that both the Transportation Committee and the Com- mercial Committee recommended that the #12 Bus be rerouted to -4- East Hampden Avenue. Mr. Wanush acknowledged that in terms of street width, East Girard Avenue is better, but he does feel strongly that the #35 Bus should be on East Hampden Avenue rather than on U.S. 285. Mr. Wanush pointed out that the Public Works Department has stated that the residential streets are not made to handle the large buses in terms of width, paving, etc., and that problems could arise from routing those large buses on the residential streets. Mr. Wanush pointed out the need for the local circulator buses. Mr. Lathrop inquired about the width of Hampden Avenue. Mr. Pardon stated that he understood East Hampden Avenue has a 36 foot roadway. Mr. Lathrop then discussed the width of buses and cars that might be parked along both sides of Hampden Avenue. The routing of the #35 bus was discussed. Mr. Lathrop pointed out that East Girard Avenue has parking eliminated in one block because of the Heli-pad at Swedish Medical Center, which would facilitate the use of East Girard Avenue for the bus route. Mr. Lathrop discussed the grades of the streets and noted the steep grade on Clarkson at Hampden, which is quite slippery in the winter time. Mr. Lathrop stated that he would strongly object to rerouting the buses to use East Hampden Avenue, and discussed the "pioneer businessmen" along that street and their dependence upon on-street parking. Mr. Pardon stated that the parking would be removed for 75 feet from the intersections at points of bus stops. This distance would be sufficient to accommodate one bus at a time, which is all that is proposed on this section. Mr. Pardon stated that the T.S.M. Division of R.T.D. recommended East Girard Avenue for the bus route initially because of the width of the street, the access to Cinderella City, and the fact that the Transit Center is proposed to be located along East Girard Avenue. · Mr. Lathrop pointed out that the Transit Center will be located more toward Floyd Avenue than Girard Avenue. Mr. Pardon stated that the routing on East Hampden Avenue, which will begin in September, is already approved, the bus schedules are printed, and that the routing cannot be changed before the September starting date. Mr. Lathrop charged R.T.D. with bringing the bus route changes to the City after they have been made. Mr. Wanush stated that this was not true, and pointed out that there were several Public Hearings on the matter of bus routes, and that the Transportation Committee had a meeting with R.T.D. officials at which time the matter of bus routing was discussed. Mr. Owens reminded Mr. Lathrop that the Transportation Committee, which he chaired, did make the recommendation that the bus routes be changed to East Hampden Avenue rather than Girard Avenue. -5- Mr. Pardon stated that the rerouting will begin in September, but will be re-evaluated for possible changes in December. During this re-evaluation period, problem areas, routing problems and citizen requests will be t aken into consideration and necessary changes will be made. He emphasized that the East Hampden Avenue routing can be changed,· but not before December. Mr. Williams asked what size buses R.T.D. was proposing to run in Englewood? Mr. Pardon stated the 40 foot, 42-passenger buses would be run in Englewood. Mr. Williams inquired as to why there was not more use made of the smaller buses through Englewood. Mr. Pardon pointed to the local circulator route in Englewood along Cherokee and Logan Streets, and stated that smaller buses would be used on this route. Mr. Pardon pointed out that on buses such as the #12, there may be persons riding to and from the North Glenn or Thornton area to the southern terminal in Englewood; the buses cannot be changed mid-route because most passengers disembark before reaching the final point of the route. Discussion ensued. Mr.. Pardon stated that it was more economical for R.T.D. to purchase al~ the same type and size of bus. Mr. Williams stated that he felt tht! R·. T. D. should "branch out" into Englewood with a smaller bus fleet, because there are a lot of people in Englewood who might ride the bus if they had reasonable access to it. Mr. Pardon pointed out that during the peak hours, buses running through Englewood are filled; he acknowledged that more riders are needed during off-peak hours. Mr. Pardon stated that the proposed routing system which will begin in September will be a grid system; one can get any place in town, but it will require transfers. This system is designed to emphasize the cross-town routes and to integrate them with routes that go downtown. Mr. OWens asked when the next public hearings and citizen forums would be held? Mr. Pardon stated that they would be held before December so that the changes could be made in December. Mr. Lathrop agreed with Mr. Williams that small collector buses are needed throughout the residential areas of Englewood; he noted that R.T.D. has stated that they want to eliminate the dependence on the automobile, but as it is now, riders must use their car to get to a local bus line. Discussion ensued. Mr. Tanguma stated that there is a circulator bus that has run on South Huron Street, and that he has never seen more than five people on that bus. He pointed out that different routes have been attempted by R.T.D., and the ridership re- mains low. Mr. Williams stated that if these circulator buses could be connected to the main line, and if people could get to work within 30 minutes, more people might take advantage of the bus system. Mr. Pardon stated that R.T.D. is trying to im- prove the time people must ride the bus in addition to improving -6- the routing 0 Mr. Pardon stated that during peak hours, major line headways are down to 10 to 15 minutes, and at some points less. Mr 0 Draper asked how many bus stops there would be along East Hampden Avenue, and if they would be on both sides of the street? Mro Pardon stated the bus stops will be spaced evenly along East Hampden Avenue, and they are attempting to get all stops at the same intersections so that riders are less con- fused. He stated that the bus stops would be approximately . 1,000 feet apart. Traffic congestion that could be caused on East Hampden Avenue with the bus stops was discussed. Mro Smith questioned if R.T.D 0 had investigated the bus "pocket" --an off-set the bus may pull into for loading and unloading passengers; this pro- cedure gets the bus out of the line of traffic and does not impede traffic to the degree that a stop in the traffic lane does. Mr. Pardon stated that in some instances this can cause problems in the timing for buses, and cited what could happen on a street such as Colorado Boulevard where it could be difficult to get the bus back into the traffic line. Mr. Draper asked if the decision to relocate the bus routes to East Hampden Avenue was made on citizen input alone, without any surveys as to the traffic volume and width of the street? Mr. Wanush stated that R.T.D. did contact the City, and talked to persons in the Public Works Department and the Traffic Engineer. Mr. Wanush stated that R.T.D 0 was probably informed that East Hampden Avenue is narrow, but that it is capable of carrying the bus traffic. Mr. Pardon reiterated that R.T.D. did talk to City representatives, and they did ask about Hampden Avenue; Hampden was determined to be operationally feasible for the bus route, and thus, the decision was made to put the bus route on East Hampden Avenue. Mr. Smith asked for further clarification on the bus stops that would be planned along East Hampden Avenue. Mr. Pardon stated that R.T.D. would try to put them at signalized inter- sections where possible. He stated that review by the City of the proposed bus stops was asked, but he did not know whether or not consideration was given to removal of parking. Mr. Williams inquired as to what facilities are available for persons who work at night and might want to ride the bus? Mr. Pardon stated that this is a problem, and will remain a problem even after the September routing is instituted. He stated that R.T.D. does not have all-night service at any location, but hoped that such service would be instituted in the future. He pointed out that some businesses such as Gates are given service until 11:00 P.M. or so. He stated that there is good service on Colfax Avenue --every 15 minutes or so --until after midnight. Mr. OWens expressed his appreciation to Mr. Pardon for his attendance and discussion with the Commission. . .~ • -7- V. OTIIER • Mr. Tanguma asked what was happening with the Friedman Paper Plant. Mr. Owens stated that he understood the plant is up for sale, and tha t the paper recycling operation will be centralized at the downtown plant. Mr. Wanush reminded Commission members that there would be a special meeting on August 1st to consider the Capital Improve- ment Program. The meeting adjourned at 8:15 P.M. G~ trude G. Welti ~cording Secretary