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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES Town Board Study Session 2026-05-26RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Town ofEstes Park, Larimer County, Colorado May 26, 2026 Minutes of a Study Session meeting of the Town Board of the Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado. Meeting held at Town Hall in the Board Room in said Town of Estes Park on the 26th day of May, 2026. Board: Mayor Hall, Mayor Pro Tem Hazelton, Trustees Brown, Eshelman, Igel, Lancaster and Mieras Attending: Mayor Hall, Mayor Pro Tem Hazelton, Trustees Brown, Eshelman, Igel, Lancaster and Mieras Also Attending: Town Administrator Machalek, Deputy Town Administrator Damweber, Attorney Kramer, and Deputy Town Clerk Beers Absent: None Mayor Hall called the meeting to order at 4:30 p.m. CIRSA Liability and Risk as an Elected Official. Sam Light/CIRSA General Counsel provided a presentation on ethics, liability, and best practices for elected officials. He reviewed the fiduciary role of public officials, transparency laws and liability risks, organizational structure and liability, ethics and personal conduct and quasi-judicial decision-making. Development Code Neighborhood Meeting Requirement. At the request of the Board, Community Development Director Careccia provided an overview of the neighborhood and community meeting process as established in the Estes Park Development Code. Highlights of the overview have been summarized: to provide an opportunity for informal communication between a proposed applicant for development, surrounding property owners, and the general public; meetings are required to be held prior to the submittal of any applicable development application, in a location generally accessible to surrounding property owners and residents and must be held after 5:00 p.m., on weekdays or any time on a weekend; the applicant would be responsible for sending notice of the meeting: legal advertisement in a local newspaper, a mailing to surrounding property owners within 500 feet of the subject property and must occur at least 15 days prior to the meeting; the meeting must be moderated by the applicant; attendance by staff was indicated as optional though if attended they would not serve as facilitator nor become involved in negotiations; the applicant must provide staff with a written summary of the meeting, including a list of attendees, issues discussed, and comments heard as part of a formal development application; meeting attendees may submit additional summary items to staff and staff would provide the neighborhood meeting overview in the Estes Park Planning Commission and Town Board staff reports. Staff conducted a small survey of neighborhood meeting processes for Larimer County, Fort Collins, Longmont and Loveland. It was determined, the Town had similar processes to the other jurisdictions. He highlighted similarities and differences and requested Board direction on changes to the current process, allowing the Community Development Director the ability to waive or require additional neighborhood meetings, staff's role and any other recommendations. Board comments and questions have been summarized: Clarifying any discussions taking place at a neighborhood meeting would not require follow up; if items are brought up, determining a method for closure on concerns raised; the value of earlier communication and opportunity for public input on upcoming projects and meeting summaries; whether pre- application meetings can be added to the website; opportunities for the public to submit concerns or potentially subscribe to upcoming application notifications; support was heard for staff attending neighborhood meetings as an observer only; the benefits of an online comment and contractor response log; examples where staff would waive a neighborhood meeting and the importance of striking balance between the neighborhood and property owners. The Board requested an additional discussion on the item at a future study session. RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Town Board Study Session Minutes dated May 26, 2026 - Page 2 Rezoning Criteria. At the August 7, 2025, joint study session with the Estes Park Planning Commission, staff were directed to draft text amendments with a broad range of rezoning criteria and more specifically the meaning and applicability of a "change in conditions". Three criteria were proposed for consistency with the Comprehensive Plan and Future Land Use Plan consistency, compatibility with surrounding area and mitigation of adverse impacts, and adequate services. Board comments have been summarized: It was recommended using the word "change" versus reduction in the event the change creates an increase; the value in flexible language; and interest was heard in input from the Estes Park Planning Commission. Changes to rezoning criteria would be brought forward for Board consideration at a future meeting. Trustee and Administrator Comments and Questions. None. Future Study Session Agenda Items. It was requested and determined to schedule an additional discussion on the Development Code Neighborhood Meeting Requirements and add a discussion on the Parking License Plate Recognition Policy to approved unscheduled, and add a discussion on a Dark Skies ordinance with Visit Estes Park on August 11, 2026. There being no further business, Mayor Hall adjourned the meeting at 6:36 p.m. .-^L.. i'.-f'_^L ''Sunrfy Victoria Beers, Deputy Town Clerk