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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPACKET Estes Park Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee 2022-01-13ESTES FORWARD Page 1 CompPAC – TOWN OF ESTES PARK TO BE HELD VIRTUALLY Thursday, January 13, 2022 9:00 am. Estes Park, CO 80517 The Estes Park Board Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee will participate remotely due to the Declaration of Emergency signed by Town Administrator Machalek on March 19, 2020, related to COVID-19 and provided for with the adoption of Ordinance 04-20 on March 18, 2020. Procedures for quasi-judicial virtual public hearings are established through Emergency Rule 06-20 signed by Town Administrator Machalek on May 8, 2020, and outlined below. Please click the link below to join the meeting: https://zoom.us/j/92672524563 Or Join by Telephone: 1. Dial US: +1 833-548-0276 (toll free) 2. Enter Meeting ID: 926 7252 4563 followed by # The meeting will also be live-streamed on the Town’s Youtube Channel and recorded and posted to YouTube and www.estes.org/videos within 48 hours. Public Comment When the moderator opens up the public comment period for an agenda item, attendees wishing to speak shall: 1. Click the “Raise Hand” button, if joining online on the Zoom client, or 2. Press *9 and follow the prompts if joining by telephone. 3. If you are watching live on YouTube, please call the number listed above, and mute your computer audio for the duration of your remarks. Once you are announced, please state your name and address for the record. To participate online via Zoom, you must: • Have an internet-enabled smartphone, laptop or computer. • Using earphones with a microphone will significantly improve your audio experience. The Town of Estes Park will make reasonable accommodations for access to Town services, programs, and activities and special communication arrangements for persons with disabilities. Please call (970) 577-4777. TDD available. Prepared January 7, 2022 Page 2 AGENDA COMPREHENSIVE PLAN ADVISORY COMMITTEE (CompPAC) TOWN OF ESTES PARK Thursday, January 13, 2022 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. 1. CALL TO ORDER 2. AGENDA APPROVAL 3. CONSENT AGENDA APPROVAL A. Minutes from December 16, 2022 4. PUBLIC COMMENT (Please state your name and address). 5. Brainstorming Activity A. Key Community Choices (topics and scale of options) Director Garner 6. OTHER A. Upcoming dates to remember: Director Garner 1. January 27th- CompPAC meeting may be canceled, Spanish-speaking community engagement event (Estes Park Community Center, 6-8 pm) 2. February 8th- Logan Simpson update to Town Board 3. February 24th- Joint CompPAC/EVPAC meeting 4. March/April- Community Choices Engagement Series (including Earth Day event) 7. ADJOURN Prepared 01/07/2022 Page 3 Page 4 Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado, December 16, 2021 Minutes of a Regular meeting of the Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee of the Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado. Meeting held via ZOOM in said Town of Estes Park on December 16, 2021. Committee: Also Attending: Chair Matthew Heiser, Vice-Chair Bob Leavitt, Members David Bangs, Eric Blackhurst, Chuck Cooper, Kirby Nelson-Hazelton, John Schnipkoweit, Frank Theis, Karen Thompson, Rose Truman, David Wolf, David Shirk, Matt Comstock Community Development Director Jessica Garner, Larimer County Community Development Director Lesli Ellis, Trustee Barbara MacAlpine, Recording Secretary Karin Swanlund, Logan Simpson staff Miriam McGilvray, Taylor Broyhill, Jeremy Call Absent: Shirk, Blackhurst, Thompson, Comstock Chair Heiser called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. This meeting was jointly held with the Larimer County Planning Advisory Committee. Members attending were: Rex Poggenpohl, Dave Converse, Frank Theis, Drew Webb, Larimer County Commissioner Jody Shadduck-McNally. APPROVAL OF AGENDA: The motion passed with a visual thumbs-up vote. PUBLIC COMMENT. None CONSENT AGENDA: Approval of Minutes from December 2, 2021 The motion passed with a visual thumbs-up vote. VISIONING (for full comments, view the meeting recording) Consultants Logan Simpson reviewed where the plan is in the process, with Phase 1 being complete and firmly into Phase 2, visioning outreach and community choices. Shaping the ideas collected from statements received will help draft the Vision and Guiding Principles of the Comprehensive Plan. There was a lengthy group discussion on forming the Visioning Statement and Guiding Principles. These principles include access to outdoor recreation, land management, responsible growth, affordable housing, infrastructure, and transportation. It was requested that both committees think it over, review notes and share input. Visioning meetings will continue through January. OTHER In 2022, meetings will return to the second and fourth Thursdays, with the next meeting on January 13. There being no further business, Chair Heiser adjourned the meeting at 10:45 a.m. Karin Swanlund, Recording Secretary draftPage 5 ESTES FORWARD DRAFT VISIONING IDEAS Estes Forward Draft Visioning Ideas // Page 1 MEETING INFORMATION Location: (remote) Zoom Meeting: Joint CompPAC and EVPAC Meeting Date: December 16, 2021 Time 9:00 – 11:00 AM INVITED ATTENDEES  CompPAC  EVPAC  Town Staff  County Staff  Logan Simpson Consultant Team  Open to the public ATTENDEES  Jessica Garner, Community Development Director, Town of Estes Park  Jeff Woeber, Senior Planner, Town of Estes Park  Karin Swanland, Administrative Assistant, Town of Estes Park  Lesli Ellis, Community Development Director, Larimer County  Barbara MacAlpine, Town of Estes Park trustee and liaison to the CompPAC  Jody Shadduck-McNally, Larimer County Commissioner  Logan Simpson Consultant Team  CompPAC Members o David Bangs o Chuck Cooper o Mike Kennedy o Bob Leavitt, Vice-Chair o Matthew Heiser, Chair o Kirby Nelson-Hazelton o John Schnipkoweit o Rosemary Truman o Frank Theis o David Wolf  EVPAC Members Page 6 Estes Forward Draft Visioning Workshop // Page 2 o David Converse o Michael Kennedy o Rex Poggenpohl o Frank Theis o Drew Webb MEETING AGENDA AND NOTES WELCOME & INTRODUCTION (Matthew Heiser, Chair of CompPAC) Meeting called to order at 9:30. Introduction included welcoming all attendees and the EVPac. Each attendee was called on to state their name, role, and organization CompPAC Business  Agenda Approval – no changes or additions. Agenda approved by show of hands.  CompPAC consent agenda with minutes from previous meeting – no changes or additions. Consent Agenda approved by show of hands. CompPAC members were invited to address any business that was not on the agenda. No members raised any new business. PROCESS UPDATE (Miriam McGilvray, Meeting Facilitator – Logan Simpson) Summary of Progress To-Date: Completed Phase I Deliverables:  Engagement Strategy, still a working document  Issue Summary  Comprehensive Plan Audit  Existing Conditions and Trends Analysis Phase 2 Deliverables (In Progress):  Visioning Outreach Summary (Task 6)  Vision Document (Deliverable)  Community Choices Analysis and Outreach (delving into goals, policies, and strategies that are implementable to achieve the vision) Page 7 Estes Forward Draft Visioning Workshop // Page 3 Phase 3 will begin in Spring 2022. Participation Snapshot – includes input collected over the summer.  Plan Audit (31 responses)  33 One-on-One Interviews (more scheduled in January)  7 Listening Sessions  Joint CompPAC/EVPAC workshop  Separate CompPAC and EVPAC meetings  2 Virtual Visioning Workshops in November  4 Visioning Meeting in a Box – includes meetings that Jessica Garner has conducted with community groups  Online Surveys (191 responses) –still open online and will close at the end of December. Please invite anyone who would like to still engage to take the survey. All input collected to date has influenced and informed the development of the draft vision statement and guiding principles. Jessica Garner reminded the group that community participation is elastic and ongoing throughout the process, but efforts to wrap up engagement will conclude in January for the most part. January 12th will be a Spanish-language event for residents in the valley. She expressed thanks to Lesli and Larimer county for translation assistance and collaboration. Jessica is trying to line up a discussion with a tribal council to engage in a conversation about visioning and priorities. She will meet with the board of realtors coming up and Karen Thompson will be meeting with another group in February as well. EVPAC members are encouraged to meet with people over the next month and use the meeting in a box if they have an opportunity to do so. DRAFT VISION & GUIDING PRINCIPALS WORKSHOP (Jeremy Call, Meeting Facilitator – Logan Simpson) Jeremy Call expressed thanks and gratitude for the committee members and is pleased with what has been accomplished with the outreach effort so far and excited about momentum going forward into 2022. Page 8 Estes Forward Draft Visioning Workshop // Page 4 Jeremy described that the purpose of today’s meeting is for the group to verify that the information and ideas presented are on the right track. He requested the ideas and input from the group to take the Vision and Guiding Principles a step forward toward eventually achieving a clean unified draft of the Estes Valley vision. The project is not yet there with identifying specific goals and policies, but today is about making sure we are heading in the right direction. Some strong visions have already been articulated for the valley, including the 1996 plan. Jeremy described Guiding Principals as a set of shared community values that capture specific elements of the Vision and provide additional direction for the Comprehensive Plan. While some policies may be different between the town and the county, the Guiding Principles remain consistent across the town and county. The following Draft Vision and Guiding Principles were presented for discussion. A second document contains Miriam’s notes from the discussion. DRAFT VISION DRAFT GUIDING PRINCIPLES Our mountain valley community works together toward harmonious co-existence and as responsible stewards of the natural beauty that inspires and attracts residents and visitors of all backgrounds, to sustain our quality of life, sense of community, economic vitality, and mountain lifestyle.  Access to wild spaces, scenic vistas, outdoor recreation, and the Rocky Mountain National Park.  Resilient ecosystems, proactive land management, and preserved wildlife.  Balanced and responsible growth and governance though strong partnerships.  Year-round, diversified downtown economy and services for visitors and residents.  Accessible and affordable housing for the local workforce and young families.  Diverse and engaged community. Page 9 Estes Forward Draft Visioning Workshop // Page 5  Livable community with services for all ages.  Resilient and environmentally responsible infrastructure, utilities, services, and buildings.  A regionally connected multimodal transportation system.   Exercise: Group Discussion of Vision & Guiding Principles Jeremy described today’s exercise: a discussion of the DRAFT plan Vision Statement and Guiding Principles to further refine these overarching organizational elements of the plan. Edits will be made in real-time track-changes as the group members refine and wordsmith the Vision Statement and Guiding Principles. To reiterate: the sources for the draft Vision Statement and Guiding Principles were the various community and stakeholder outreach to date as well as previous Estes Valley planning documents detailed below: Interviews and Listening Sessions CompPAC and EVPAC Workshops Visioning Workshops Online Surveys Access to wild spaces, scenic vistas, outdoor recreation, and the Rocky Mountain National Park.    Resilient ecosystems, proactive land management, and respected wildlife.    Balanced and responsible growth and governance though strong partnerships.    Year-round, diversified economy and services for visitors and residents.    Page 10 Estes Forward Draft Visioning Workshop // Page 6 Accessible and affordable housing for the local workforce and young families.    Diverse and engaged community.  Livable community with services for all ages.    Resilient and environmentally responsible infrastructure, utilities, services, and buildings.    A regionally connected multimodal transportation system.   Jeremy read the draft Vision Statement to the group and asked for their input to improve it. VISION STATEMENT DISCUSSION Does the Vision statement meet your expectations for brevity and in content? Does it feel like a unified vision for both the Town and County areas?  Matthew Heiser invited members to speak up and will moderate if needed  John Schnipkoweit: Suggests including the following words: “welcoming” and “investing in” because the goal is to do more than just sustain quality of life, but to invest in the improvement of that quality of life. John’s re-worded Vision Statement: Our mountain valley community works together toward harmonious coexistence and as responsible stewards of the natural beauty that welcomes residents and visitors of all backgrounds; investing our quality of life, sense of community, and economic vitality to sustain a mountain lifestyle.  Matthew H. – Avoid using the word sustain as previously discussed because it is not active enough. Stewardship resonates better, indicating a constant monitor or guardian.  Mike Kennedy – Agrees on using a different word than sustain.  David Converse – More than 40 words is too much for a Vision Statement. Needs to be succinct. Stop at “works together”. Doesn’t think this is effective because it is too long. Page 11 Estes Forward Draft Visioning Workshop // Page 7  David Bangs – Agree the statement is wordy. Suggest deleting “Mountain Valley Community.” “Harmonious Coexistence” is a lengthy phrase.  Matthew H. – Repetitive statements are: “harmonious coexistence” and overuse of the word “community”. What does Mountain lifestyle mean?  Jeremy C.--- How can we capture the lifestyle of the Estes Valley that is so distinct and special?  Rex Poggenpohl– Concentrate on sense of place rather than lifestyle.  Mike K. – “Harmonious coexistence” is very important and expresses what needs to be done to bring rural and urban areas together.  Jody Shadduck-McNally in chat: What does “mountain lifestyle” mean?  Drew Webb –Sustainability is meaningful because it implies action today and for future generations and applies to how we approach development and growth.  Rosemary Truman – Agrees with using the words “Investing in” instead of “sustain”. Sustaining works for natural resources, but does not acknowledge social and economic needs of people who are struggling. “Mountain lifestyle” is a vague term.  Barbara MacAlpine – Appreciates brevity; cut down the language. Agrees with other comments.  Jessica G. –Additional group engagement is ongoing. Give it this statement some thought and share with us. This is not the first and last time you will see this statement for discussion.  Chuck Cooper – Agree with Rosemary. The second to the last sentence needs to address improving economic vitality and “sustain” doesn’t apply to this. GUIDING PRINCIPLES DISCUSSION  Rex P. – Guiding Principles fall into two categories with tension between them: o Sustain/preserve natural sense of place o Improve social outcomes, economic viability, responsible growth Page 12 Estes Forward Draft Visioning Workshop // Page 8  John S. – Guiding Principle #1 needs to address “responsible” access. Include more specific language to protect the environment and responsible about access to wild places. How can the community assist with RMNP being overwhelmed? Need walkability and density in the right areas of town. Focus more on walkability. Minimize impact on climate change as a community.  David C. –To be sustainable as a community requires a strong economic center.  Bob Leavitt– Preserve and protect: our history needs to be preserved, both knowledge and our structures. This should be included in the Guiding Principles.  Jessica G.– Celebrate the history  Jody - posted NoCoPlaces 2050 vision statement in the chat. Appreciates that it address the fact that growth brings new visitors and we have to address land management issues related to that. Amazing people and special preserved areas around the town must be protected. This is linked with goal of inclusive and vibrant community. Glad to hear about Spanish-speaking community being included. The word “inclusive” is very important. “Mountain lifestyle” doesn’t mean the same thing to everyone.  Frank Theis – Consider the extremes…will these statements still apply in decades if Estes Park is a town with no cars with only mass transit like some European mountain communities? These statements must remain relevant and enduring.  Miriam McGilvray–Carbon-neutrality came up frequently in the engagement process and those ideas would likely resonate with community members.  Frank T. – Conflicts between locals and visitors, especially in the summer at RMNP and on the road.  Matthew H. – “mountain lifestyle” vs. “sense of place;” addressing tension…It all come down to SHARING. Our town and our natural resources.  Jessica Garner – Estes Park has an Environment And Sustainable Task Force that is tasked with presenting recommendations to the town board in Jan. or Feb. Their recommendations will be germane to the comp plan and should be included. Would like to make productive use of their work to plug it in to the comp plan. There will be an event on Earth Day.  Jeremy C. – Great timing to align the efforts of this task force as we develop goals and policies in the spring. Page 13 Estes Forward Draft Visioning Workshop // Page 9  Frank T. – Estes Valley Watershed Coalition is the only broad environmental group in the valley focused on watershed, forest, and wildlife conservation. They should be included as a group for outreach.  Rosemary Truman – Housing is critical as a guiding principle….”service for all ages,” specifically emphasize childcare because it is such an issue.  Drew Webb–Protect natural resources and balance the demands of the public workforce, retirement community with differing goals and visions.  Barbara M.– Guiding Principles cover the most important things. Would like to spend time reviewing them, but was impressed with the comprehensive nature of the principles.  David C.– Guiding Principles will be difficult to execute as two groups. Big differences between rural and urban. “Governance” should be its own point because it covers multiple issues. Governance applies to more than just responsible growth. It applies to everything.  Jessica G.– “Governance” includes more agencies than just the town and county.  Rex P.– Governance in this context should be focused on land use. Which is only regulated by the county and town.  David Wolf – To accomplish this vision will require a commitment from the community and everyone, not just government agencies. This should be stated. Our vision is dependent on coming together to achieve the goals.  David Bangs – Supports the broader approach to “governance” being not just town and county. Two biggest land holders here are national park and forest. The third Guiding Principle should be split into two. Balance & growth addressed in one, and strong partnerships addressed in the other.  Chuck C.–What does “resilient ecosystems” and “proactive land management” mean?  Frank T. – Have been an advocate for governance as prominent component of the comp plan. Would like to see it included in the plan. A unified government for the Estes valley. The fire district, hospital, school districts are already unified.  Kirby Nelson-Hazelton –Be more specific with language of Guiding Principles. for example: what kind of engaged community? Acknowledge history and diversity of these lands prior settlement as a town. Page 14 Estes Forward Draft Visioning Workshop // Page 10  John S. – Acknowledge shared responsibility among different governing bodies. Align and activate resources of the different groups that are involved. Challenge them not just to have a strategic plan, but to identify specific actions that make an impact. Specific and focused actions.  Matthew H. – Avoid a vision that is too broad and aspirational that it cannot be achieved. Be intentional about how we use words, example: what do we expect diversity to look like and how will we achieve it?  David B. – Agree with Matt and Kirby. Last bullet point: regionally connected transportation…does this imply the whole Front Range? Would prefer focusing on improvements at the community rather than regional level. Need to develop local system before putting effort into the region.  Jessica G. – Consider reliance and dependence on transit and transportation system that brings people from the metro are. Improvements are needed at that regional level to continue bringing people here in a sustainable way. Need to do both – focus on deficiencies at the local level AND focus on how to bring people into the Estes Valley that is mindful of the environmental issues that stem from individual cars driving here.  Drew W. – Most Guiding Principles are focused on our community and year- round residents. Remember tourism and visitors. Important to our history and economy. Residents of Taos are developing a tourist education program on how the community would like the tourist to treat Taos – open spaces, wildlife, the locals.  Frank T. – Discourage people from moving here just to retire here. Need to embrace a more diverse community. Transportation – embrace the tourists and have a free system of scooters.  Barbara M. – Be careful not to group all retirees into the same category  Mike K. – Agree with Drew. Merchants should take advantage of retirees to stimulate economy. Would be a more stable source of funding for merchants than tourism.  Jessica G. – Different demographics and age groups have different purchasing power and consumer preferences. As people move through life they become poor consumers because of fixed income, not buying new things. Consider how to diversify consumer base. Page 15 Estes Forward Draft Visioning Workshop // Page 11  Bob L. – Enhance our ability to act as a gateway to RMNP through transportation and responsible tourism to mitigate impact and negative externalities. With restricted access to the park, more people are spending time in the town.  John S. - Housing: multigenerational housing. Increasing density and encouraging mixed use where it makes sense. Leveraging community amenities for added density such as schools. Appealing to folks like young families.  Matthew H. –Agreement on infrastructure and housing with the groups. Need to ensure we have the infrastructure to sustain and last. Need more housing for ALL.  David C. – Infrastructure: not the same between county and town. In county electric is provided, but residents have to provide their own sewer and well. The valley has no way to provide water/sewer if they cant get wells and septic.  Frank T. – It’s becoming more difficult to get permit for well or septic. Agree with Matthew about housing: reinforce the idea that affordable housing can mean many things and can include private developers building smaller and alternate housing types.  Jessica G.– Wells/septic annexation conversation may change over time as wells/septic are discouraged. CLOSING COMMENTS & NEXT STEPS Next Meetings  January 12 – Visioning & Choices Meeting at Community Center (held in Spanish)  January 13 – CompPAC Meeting  January 20 – EVPAC Meeting  January27– CompPAC Meeting  February 8 – Estes Board of Trustees  February 9 – County PC/BOCC Joint Worksession  February 15 – Estes Planning Commission  TBD Tribal Council Listening Session  TBD March-April – Community Choices Event Series Page 16 Estes Forward Draft Visioning Workshop // Page 12 Before next meeting, review notes that will be provided. Please send those to Jessica and Lesli before next meeting. Jeremy – We will keep the conversation going by continuing to talk one-on-one listening sessions with community members who requested it. Jessica – Haven’t heard from young adults and kids. Please let me know if you have contacts. Rosemary T. – Youth in Action is a high school group Barbara M.– HS environmental club Matthew H.– Thank you for participating, everyone. COMPAC business: Meetings for the next three months. 2nd and fourth Thursdays. Next meeting Jan 14th Any other business? Hearing none, thank you. Meeting adjourned at 10:40am Page 17 12/16/2021 1 Joint CompPAC/EVPAC Meeting December 16, 2021 @ 9AM Process UpdateProcess Update Phase 1 Deliverables (Completed): Engagement Strategy Issue Summary Comprehensive Plan Audit Existing Conditions and Trends Analysis Phase 2 Deliverables (Ongoing): Visioning Outreach Summary Vision Document Community Choices Analysis and Outreach 1 2 Page 18 12/16/2021 2 Visioning Outreach ParticipationVisioning Outreach Participation Plan Audit (31 responses) 33 One-on-One Interviews (more scheduled in January) 7 Listening Sessions Joint CompPAC/EVPAC workshop Separate CompPAC and EVPAC meetings 2 Virtual Visioning Workshops 4 Visioning Meeting in a Box Online Surveys (191 responses) Common Values Online Surveys One-on- one Interviews Listening Sessions Plan Audit CompPAC/ EVPAC Workshop Separate CompPAC and EVPAC meetings Virtual Visioning Workshops Visioning Meeting in a Box Activity What are we doing today?What are we doing today? Reviewing draft components of a Vision and set of Guiding Principles This draft represents core values that have emerged from the public participation process so far Your ideas will input into a clean, unified draft vision for the Town and surrounding County Vision/ Guiding Principles Goals Policies Strategies and Tools 3 4 Page 19 12/16/2021 3 Draft Vision and Guiding PrinciplesDraft Vision and Guiding Principles What is a Vision? An aspirational statement for the future of the community that articulates core values, priorities, and assets. What are Guiding Principles? Set of shared community values that capture specific elements of the Vision that provide additional direction for the Comprehensive Plan. Discussion QuestionsDiscussion Questions 1.Does the Vision statement meet your expectations for brevity and in content? Does it feel like a unified vision for both the Town and County areas? 2.What’s missing? Are there other values that should be elevated to the Vision or Guiding Principles? 3.Should the Guiding Principles be organized by the six resiliency themes? If so, should there be a single statement for each? 5 6 Page 20 Community Development Department Planning Building 970-577-3721planning@estes.org building@estes.org 170 MACGREGOR AVE. P.O. BOX 1200, ESTES PARK CO. 80517 WWW.ESTES.ORG UPCOMING CompPAC MEETING DATES: Once the new year starts, we will go back to our original meeting dates on the SECOND and FOURTH Thursday of the month Thursday, January 13 Thursday, January 27 Thursday, February 10 Thursday, February 24 Thursday, March 10 Thursday, March 24 Page 21