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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES Estes Valley Planning Commission Study Session 2018-06-19 Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado June 19, 2018 Minutes of a Study Session meeting of the PLANNING COMMISSION of the Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado. Meeting held at Town Hall in the Board Room on the 19th day of June, 2018. Commission: Chair Leavitt, Vice Chair White, Commissioners Schneider, Foster, Murphree, Hull, Baker Attending: Leavitt, Schneider, Foster, Baker, Hull, Murphree Also Attending: Town Attorney White, Director Hunt, Senior Planner Woeber, County Liaison Whitley, Town Board Liaison Norris, Code Compliance Officer Hardin and Recording Secretary Swanlund Absent: Commissioner White Chair Leavitt called the meeting to order at 11:00 a.m. Approximately 55 people in attendance, this study session was audio recorded (audio recording did not work) Vacation Homes Code Amendment CCO Hardin reviewed the cap for vacation homes. The 588 cap was met in May. At this point, there doesn’t seem to be a need to revise the cap. 172 registrations in accommodations, 588 residential, for a total of 760. Cultural Institutions Code Amendment Director Hunt reviewed the Code Amendment update being requested, the main point being to allow Cultural Institutions in Residential Districts. A Code Amendment for just one use is not desirable and this would allow it to be applied elsewhere in the future, with MacGregor Ranch, Masonic Lodge, and Sweet Home (YMCA) being other possibilities. Questions raised were if this is a fair and equitable implementation of the process, what is the criteria, and who decides what is interesting. The definition of a Museum was discussed at length. It was suggested that special criteria be put in Chapter 5 for the review process. It was noted that there was a certain element of judgement to this amendment and that Cultural Institution suggests something broader perhaps not limited to the history of a property. Wind River Development Plan Planner Woeber reviewed the Development Plan and the waivers requested, noting that there has been a significant amount of opposition to this project. Questions asked by the Commission were answered: Covenant agreement of 50 years, Housing Authority staff will verify that the dweller works in Estes Park, making sure at least one occupant must meet 30 hr/wk/yr in the Estes Valley School District. Concern was expressed over waivers and exceptions due to hardships with no cap on how many waivers would be allowed for the tenant. Attorney White stated that the Restrictive Covenants were taken verbatim from Summit County and that further restrictions could be added. Other questions and concerns were raised about lot sizes with a lengthy discussion on how the density bonus was calculated and if it was done correctly. There was considerable discussion on traffic impact, right-of-ways, and CDOT’s involvement with this project. Director Hunt noted that Development Review Standards are scattered throughout the Code, and there is more than one standard for analyzing traffic. Other topics raised were open space distribution, center-line radius calculation, and if any meetings with the Neighbors had been held. Planning Commission Study Session June 19, 2018 – Page 2 Lunch break 12:15-12:35 Joint Meeting follow up Ron Norris compiled notes from the joint meeting that was held on June 14 (attached). Review of the process was discussed, starting with the forming of a Pre Committee task group, working with the three presiding bodies (Leavitt-Planning Commission, Jirsa- Town Board, Johnson-Larimer County Commissioner) by July as well as the formation of a Steering Committee. Careful selection of a consultant can be done after a budget is adopted and an RFP has been created. A Grant Committee also needs to be developed. It was suggested that a 1 page Charter be drafted outlining propositions in order to get feedback. An Agenda Action Item to authorize the conceptual level of task list should be submitted for July meetings. Community Development was asked to pull together examples to work from. Adding Conditions to projects Attorney White explained that adding conditions to a project should relate to Development Code regulations that Code doesn’t adequately address stating that there is no legal authority to add conditions that aren’t in the Development Code. The Applicant can agree to conditions via comments but the condition must be properly added. Standard conditions of approval between the Developer and Property owner can take place during the hearing with the Attorney deciding if it is binding and makes it into the final resolution. At some point the process gets agreed to by all parties and becomes part of the legal document. Discussion was had on how Larimer County does it vs how Estes Park does it. The final answer, we are here to make a decision. Commissioner comments and questions CCO Hardin informed the commission that the new Starbucks sign is in compliance. Questions were raised about Mountain Coaster project, wondering how it goes through the process without a review, and how it complies with the current zoning. Hunt answered that this project has 19 parking spaces and 21 parking spaces triggers a review and that this is considered a lower intensity recreational facility due to it being a gravity-driven coaster. It was argued that this type of project should not be allowed based on Zoning District uses. The public can submit input on this and the Staff decision is appealable to the Board of County Commissioners. CCO Hardin addressed the question of “rubber stamping” Large Vacation Home reviews that are under one acre, stating that she carefully reviews all applications prior to recommendation. Commissioner Hull will not be in town for the July or August meetings Commissioner Murphree would like pressure put on CDOT to remove dead trees on the sides of our highways. MLB All-Star game on July 17, let’s make next PC meeting a quick one! Future Study Session Agenda items Mountain Coaster Adjourn 1:20 There being no further business, Chair Leavitt adjourned the meeting at 1:20 p.m. _____________________________________ Bob Leavitt, Chair Karin Swanlund, Recording Secretary Planning Commission Study Session June 19, 2018 – Page 3 Attached: Notes from Joint Study Session on 6/14/18 Notes by Ron Norris from June 14 joint Study Session: • Add action item to July 17 Planning Commission agenda to authorize formation of an initial Steering Team to lead development of the following draft documents, for review and approval by the Planning Commission and elected Boards no later than August 2018: o Proposal(s) for obtaining grant $ to support Comp. Plan work. o RFP for consultant to support this work, including clearly defined expectations of end products/deliverables, and timing. o Communication plan defining how staff, EVPC, and elected boards will work together with one another, with the public, and with the media. o Short list of principles (Do's and Don'ts) we will follow when we consider projects prior to adopting the new C Plan and code. • The previous item can serve as the charter for the Steering Team. Steering Team should be kept small- no more than 6-7 people. Suggested membership: o Planning Commission Chair and/or Vice Chair o Elected or Staff representative from Larimer County o Estes Park Community Development Director o Estes Park Mayor and/or Town Board Liaison o Recording Secretary for staff support • Select consultant in 2018. Major effort to work with stakeholders will be in 2019. But... we do not need to wait on consultant selection to start some tasks, including: o Training on SDIC methodology o Learning what has worked for DOLA, and from Larimer County on their recent work o Identifying stakeholder groups, including HOAs, neighborhood associations, advisory boards, geographic regions of the valley, young working families, retired people, business owners, guests, Hispanic community, etc. o County and Town work together on grant applications o Identify venues for work groups to meet, and for public meetings o Town and County will formally approve the Comp. Plan effort this month. • Town and County will share costs 50/50 for this work. • Overall goal is to have new Plan approved by 2020, or early 2021. • The new Plan is a huge undertaking. To be successful, requires extensive community input and dialogue. Planning Commission Study Session June 19, 2018 – Page 4 • Must identify principles for how we will work together and decide on major land use issues between now and when the new Plan is approved. • Staff will lead effort to develop a "descriptive" RFP for consultant services by Sept. • Staff will provide participants with examples of good C. Plans, RFPs, etc. • Participants must agree on plan for how to stay in touch/communicate/coordinate all this work. • Must agree on best ways to keep media and the public informed and provided with accurate information.