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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTB Study Session 2014-08-12 Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado, August 12, 2014 Minutes of a Regular meeting of the TOWN BOARD STUDY SESSION of the Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado. Meeting held at Town Hall in Rooms 202/203 in said Town of Estes Park on the 12th day of August, 2014. Board: Mayor Pinkham, Mayor Pro Tem Koenig, Trustees Ericson, Holcomb, Nelson, Norris, and Phipps Attending: Mayor Pinkham, Mayor Pro Tem Koenig, Trustees Ericson, Holcomb, Nelson, Norris, and Phipps Also Attending: Town Administrator Lancaster, Director Chilcott, Planner Shirk, Town Attorney White, and Deputy Town Clerk Deats Absent: None Mayor Pinkham called the meeting to order at 4:30 p.m. TRUSTEE COMMENTS & QUESTIONS. None FUTURE STUDY SESSION AGENDA ITEMS. Trustee Holcomb suggested that a meeting be scheduled with representatives of RTD to discuss the possibility of bringing service to the area. The Estes Valley Partners for Commerce as well as the Economic Development Corporation may be interested in joining in this conversation. Attorney White pointed out that a vote of the people would be required in order to approve RTD service to Estes Park. Mayor Pinkham reported that Trustees Ericson and Holcomb will serve on the Transportation Advisory Committee interview team. The official appointment to the interview team will be made at the regular Town Board meeting. DISCUSSION OF COMMERCIALLY-ZONED PROPERTIES WITHIN THE ESTES VALLEY. Director Chilcott said that municipal government plays a supportive and enabling role in a community’s economic prosperity. By providing infrastructure and services, the Town of Estes Park lays the foundation for an attractive, appealing, and prosperous community. These services, as well as amenities such as the Riverwalk, are important factors that attract development to the area. Director Chilcott reported that the Estes Valley currently has seven non-residential zone districts and provided the Board with broad-based information on each district. In addition, staff offered suggestions for further research and/or discussion. A Accommodations/Highway Corridor – Intended for higher intensity accommodations along highway corridors to include multi-story hotels and motels, examples of which are the Appenzell Inn and the Estes Park Resort & Hotel. There are significant redevelopment opportunities in this zone district, as this area is where many older properties are located. However, Director Chilcott noted that the current code contains some barriers to redevelopment due to standards, such as impervious coverage limits and density requirements, which are stricter in the current code than they were when these older properties were developed. In addition, she reported that much of the vacant A Accommodations zoned property is being utilized for multi-family residential development at a much lower density per acre than intended resulting in a substantial decrease in sales tax collection potential and a use that is not the highest and best use of the property. She suggested further discussion related to including flexibility within Town Board Study Session – August 12, 2014 – Page 2 the code for redevelopment projects and consideration of a separate category in the code for redevelopment. Staff will do further research on the topic including practices and processes in other communities. A-1 Accommodations – Intended for low intensity, smaller accommodations and contains a mix of residential, vacation home rentals, and cabin rentals. This district primarily lies outside of the Town limits off of Mary’s Lake Road and Highway 66. Access to public facilities such as sewer and paved roads is limited in this district. CD Commercial Downtown – The CD zone district lies entirely within the Town limits, is 66 acres in size, and intended for intense development of restaurants and retail businesses. Opportunities exist in this district for redevelopment and development of under-developed properties. Cleave Street is an example of an under-developed area where older properties are vacant or partially vacant. Improvements and streetscaping along Cleave Street may encourage businesses located on West Elkhorn Avenue to expand access to their businesses by creating entrances from both Elkhorn Avenue and Cleave Street. Wiest Drive is another example of an area where the back side of properties could be redesigned to allow additional access to businesses as well as take advantage of the Riverwalk area. Director Chilcott said that the current code allows for two story buildings and said that properties within the CD zone district can be developed from lot line to lot line with a floor area to lot ratio (FAR) of 2.0. She said the two story regulation is detrimental to mixed use development and may be an obstacle to redevelopment where two stories of retail space and a third story for residential use may be desired. Staff suggested further discussion related to height regulations in this zone district. O Office – This district provides for limited commercial, low intensity office use in areas close to residential properties. In total, eight acres in the Estes Valley are zoned O Office, with the majority of the zone district being located along Dry Gulch Road and S. St. Vrain Avenue. CH Commercial Heavy – Primarily located along Comanche Street, Dunraven Street, and Avalon Drive. A roadblock to future development in this zone district is the parking requirement. Current code requires that all parking needs be met on site, not allowing for on-street parking to meet any portion of the business’s need, which may result in more land dedicated to parking than may be necessary. I-1 Restricted Industrial – 84 acres mostly located along Elm Road outside of the Town boundaries, with two properties on Fish Creek Road. This district is somewhat under- utilized due to the lack of adequate infrastructure. Developers find that the requirements and costs for development are excessive and prohibitive when faced with extending water and sewer mains, paving roads, adding fire hydrants, landscaping and irrigation systems. CO Outlying Commercial – The largest commercial, non-accommodations district, with just over 850 acres in the Estes Valley. Much of this property is unavailable for development as it is owned by public agencies such as the Bureau of Reclamation or the school district; or it currently has a residential use. Only 20-year deed-restricted employee housing can be developed in this district, provided the employees are working on site. The proposed construction of the recreation center near the school and fairgrounds may spark some development in this area. Asked about employee housing in the commercial zone district, Director Chilcott said developers can apply for a Planned Unit Development (PUD) on lots of five acres or more which would allow for a mix of accommodations and commercial uses, and said there is no flexibility on use within the district. She said the current code was designed to discourage residential use in commercially-zoned areas. She added that the CD district allows for second-floor dormitories for employees. Town Board Study Session – August 12, 2014 – Page 3 The Board requested that staff research the number of vacant properties within each commercial zone district and to have this information available for further discussions. Staff recommends continued discussion related to the code and how to achieve the Board’s objective of developing a robust economy by further discussing: regulatory impediments to redevelopment; potentially creating a separate category for redevelopment projects; creating an appropriate mix of land uses to balance the tax base for future retail, service and employment needs; how the FLAP grant will impact current and future revenue; and the adequacy of an FAR of 2.0 in the CD zone district. Mayor Pinkham recessed the meeting for a 15-minute dinner break at 5:30 p.m., and resumed the meeting at 5:45 p.m. COMMUNITY HOUSING WHITE PAPER. Planner Shirk provided the Trustees with background information regarding housing in the Estes Valley as they work to define the Town’s role in community housing issues and begin moving toward developing a housing policy that will achieve the Board’s Strategic Plan Key Outcome of having “housing available for all segments in our community.” Factors contributing to housing issues in the Estes Valley include: a shortage of workforce housing; the national market for local housing has increased over the years; the housing stock is being purchased by people who live outside of the Estes Valley; housing costs have increased due to demand for residential properties in the Estes Valley; wages for local workers have not increased accordingly; shortage of housing has made it difficult to fill jobs in our community; the inability to find housing in the Estes Valley results in families moving to the valley and has a community wide impact including a less vibrant local economy and a decrease to the school district enrollment; allowing vacation homes as a primary use has caused the number of homes available for long-term rental to shrink; over the past 10-15 years, the single family homes in the Valley have been designed to meet the needs of retirees rather than families; since the year 2000, condominium developments and townhomes have been developed in multi- family zone districts; the only rental housing built since 2000 was built by the Estes Park Housing Authority; the Estes Valley Development Code (EVDC) adopted in 2000 is a growth management code which reduced the overall density in the Valley restricting the housing supply; and the rental of accessory dwelling units (ADU) is prohibited. In the 1990s, the Town attempted to fund an apartment project, however, the approval of a citizen’s initiative stopped the Town’s involvement in funding the project. The project was taken over and funded by the Loveland Housing Authority which still owns and operates the property. The Estes Park Housing Authority (EPHA) was created and established by the Town Board in the mid-1990s with a mission to “ensure a balanced and sustainable community the Estes Park Housing Authority creates and facilitates housing opportunities and services for persons of low and moderate income.” The Town Board has supported density increases to allow development of workforce housing, examples of which are the Habitat and Neighborhood subdivisions. Staff provided several options for the Board’s consideration and discussion including financial incentives to the EPHA in the form of fee waivers or additional Town funding; the sale of Town-owned property for workforce housing development; and actively building and managing workforce housing. Additionally, regulatory mechanisms such as rezoning to increase density allowances; removing obstacles that hinder redevelopment from the EVDC; consider allowing ADUs to be used as rentals; and consider requiring workforce housing with new developments are also options. The Board’s discussion is summarized: there is a lack of available land for multi-family development; look at zoning that would encourage multi-story apartment buildings; consider an increase to density; redevelop downtown and create incentives for additional housing; examine minimum lot size for multi-family zone district; increase Town Board Study Session – August 12, 2014 – Page 4 residential density downtown; need to use commercially-zoned properties for commercial, not residential, purposes; prevent loss of commercially-zoned properties to residential use; keep housing available for local workers and residents by mechanisms such as deed restrictions; identify the affordable housing target group and define their needs and desires; form a task force and/or a citizens group to provide input; and schedule a meeting with other mountain communities to discuss housing issues. The Board concurred that staff provided good information to begin initial discussions and that policy decisions are premature. Trustee Norris asked staff to provide more detail on the suggested options, pros and cons to each option, and what types of issues might be expected with each option, for continued discussions. Trustee Nelson requested that an urban planner be invited to attend a study session to conduct a visionary discussion and provide the Board with broad ideas and possibilities that will stimulate discussion and the Board’s ability to create a workable plan for Estes Park. Town Administrator Lancaster said that staff will continue to gather the information requested by the Board and will also work on interim recommendations related to density and redevelopment to bring back to the Board. Town Administrator Lancaster will determine the timeframe for this item to more forward based on staff’s responsibilities and workload. BOARD COMMUNICATION. Due to a lack of time to thoroughly discuss this agenda item, it will be moved to the next Town Board Study Session agenda. There being no further business, Mayor Pinkham adjourned the meeting at 6:38 p.m. Cynthia Deats, Deputy Town Clerk