HomeMy WebLinkAboutPACKET CompPac 2021-09-23CompPAC – TOWN OF ESTES PARK
TO BE HELD VIRTUALLY
Thursday, September 23, 2021
9:00 a.m.
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 September 20, 2021 1
AGENDA
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN ADVISORY COMMITTEE (CompPAC)
TOWN OF ESTES PARK
Thursday, September 23, 2021
9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
1. CALL TO ORDER
2. AGENDA APPROVAL
3. CONSENT AGENDA:
A. Minutes from 8/12/21
B. Minutes from 8/26/21
C. Minutes from 9/9/21
4. PUBLIC COMMENT. (Please state your name and address).
5. GUEST SPEAKER Derek Fortini, EP Museum Director
6. DISCUSSION ITEMS:
a. Visioning Director Hunt
7. ADJOURN
Prepared 9/20/2021
2
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Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado, August 12, 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 August 12 2021.
Committee: Chair Matthew Heiser, Vice-Chair Bob Leavitt, Members
David Bangs, Eric Blackhurst, Chuck Cooper, Kirby Nelson-
Hazelton, John Schnipkoweit, Dave Shirk, Karen Thompson,
Rose Truman, David Wolf, Matt Comstock, Mike Kennedy
Also Attending: Community Development Director Randy Hunt, Larimer
County Community Development Director Lesli Ellis, Trustee
Barbara MacAlpine, Parking and Transit Manager Vanessa
Solesbee, Town Clerk Jackie Williamson, Recording
Secretary Karin Swanlund
Absent: Member Bangs
Chair Heiser called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA:
It was moved and seconded (Leavitt/Nelson-Hazelton) to approve the agenda. The
motion passed with a visual thumbs-up vote.
PUBLIC COMMENT.
None
ACTION ITEM:
Approval of Minutes from July 22, 2021
It was moved and seconded (Blackhurst/Kennedy) to approve the minutes. The
motion passed with a visual thumbs-up vote.
New Community Development Director Jessica Garner was introduced. She and Director
Hunt will be sharing the title until his retirement in October.
DISCUSSION ITEMS: (all comments have been summarized)
1. Parking and Transit Manager Solesbee presented a PowerPoint to the
Committee. She explained that the transit program started in 2006 with a
shopper shuttle, growing to six fixed routes today, and serves 12 town-sponsored
events. Funding comes from the General Fund, sponsorship programs, Federal
stimulus bills and Federal and State grants.
The parking program is mainly funded through the General Fund. A special
revenue fund was set up in 2021 to include citations, permits, and fees to
reinvest the profits to needed projects. There are 25+ Level II and III Electric
Vehicle charging stations around town.
The Future: EV Infrastructure and Readiness Plan; more involvement with
trail planning and bike paths; consideration of who roadways are for, how
can they meet the needs of residents; impact fees; parking codes within
affordable housing projects; connecting housing projects to public
transportation.
The plan is to keep the vision on the big picture and not throw too many changes
to the community in a short amount of time.
2. Town Clerk Williamson discussed the history of Vacation Homes in the Estes
Valley and the steps required to get a Vacation Home or Bed and Breakfast
license. Three items that could affect the Comp Plan are transferability,
residential cap and potential revenue sources. Considerable conversation was
held on these three issues.
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CompPAC – Aug 12, 2021 – Page 2
3. Branding and logo discussion/decision was tabled to a future meeting.
OTHER:
Chair Heiser stated that starting in September, he would like to see the Committee set
priorities and goals for internal discussions relating to the Comp Plan. He welcomes
any thoughts on this.
The August 26 meeting will be a joint meeting on Zoom at the regular 9:00 a.m. time.
Three November and December meetings fall on holidays. Changes to dates will be
discussed at a future meeting.
There being no further business, Chair Heiser adjourned the meeting at 11:15 a.m.
Karin Swanlund, Recording Secretary
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Community Development Planning Building
970-577-3721planning@estes.org building@estes.org
170 MACGREGOR AVE. P.O. BOX 1200, ESTES PARK CO. 80517 WWW.ESTES.ORG
See attached record of the August 26 meeting,
which will serve as meeting Minutes per CompPac
bylaws
Recording Secretary
_______________________
ESTES FORWARD
ESTES FORWARD PLAN 1
MEETING INFORMATION
Meeting: Joint CompPAC and EVPAC Meeting
Date: August 26, 2021
Time: 9:00 – 11:00 AM
Location: (remote) Zoom video will be available on the City Website and YouTube
Channel
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 26
Aug 2021.
ATTENDEES
CompPAC
EVPAC
Town Planning Commission
Town Board of Trustees
Board of County Commissioners
County Planning Commission
Town Staff
County Staff
Logan Simpson Consultant Team
Open to the public
• Abbey Pontius
• Ann Closser
• Barbara MacAlpine
• Bob Leavitt
• Charlie Rugaber
• Christy Crosser
• Chuck Cooper
• Cheri Yost
• Dave Converse
• David Bangs
• Donald Threewitt
• Drew
• Drew Webb
• Eric
• Frank Theis
• Howard Hanson
• Jason Damweber
• Jeff Woeber
• Jennifer Waters
• Jeremy Call
• Jessica Garner
• Jody Shadduck
• John Schnipkoweit
• Jordana Barrack
• Rex Poggenpohl
• Karen Thompson
• Karin Swanlund
• Kate Rusch
• Kirby Hazelton
• Kristina Kachur
• Lesli Ellis
• Logan Simpson
• Matthew Heiser
• Mike Kennedy
• Miriam McGilvray
• Olivia Harper
• Randy Hunt
• Rosemary Truman
• Scott Moulton
• Sean Dougherty
• spark
• Travis Machalek
MEETING SUMMARY
1. INTRODUCTIONS (Matt Heiser Chair of CompPAC -- 10 min.)
• Introduction included identifying the different groups attending, goals for the meeting,
logistics, and introductions of the name and organization for all attendees. The group
was invited to use the chat or to use the raise had function to make comments or ask
questions.
Note the image below does not include all attendees from the meeting.
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ESTES FORWARD PLAN 2
2. PROJECT OVERVIEW, SCHEDULE, AND MILESTONES (Miriam McGilvray Meeting
Facilitator Logan Simpson-- 5 min.)
• This is a joint process between the Town of Estes Park and Larimer County to update
the 1996 Estes Valley Comprehensive Plan. This includes a new study area, which
includes the Town Boundary and the area of unincorporated Larimer County within a 3
mile radius.
• This process will coordinate outreach and engagement and data analysis with the intent
of establishing a shared vision and direction for the entire area.
• Overview of groups involved, schedule, and Phase 1 milestones.
• Organization: The new Plan is organized around the 6 resiliency themes established in
the Colorado Resiliency Framework, a foundational document for the DOLA grant that is
supporting this planning initiative.
o Community – focuses on governance and building capacity within the
community. This will also look at annexation/growth policies and the
coordination between County and Town.
o Economy – a resilient economy will look at supporting the workforce, as well as
diversification or strengthening industry sectors
o Health & Social – this theme looks at public health and wellbeing, specifically
addressing services and amenities within the community
o Housing – affordability, supply, seasonality, and vulnerability to hazards
o Infrastructure & Transportation – critical infrastructure and facilities
o Hazards & Natural Resources – how we treat, use, and manage our local
ecosystems
3. STAKEHOLDER INTERVIEWS AND EXISTING CONDITIONS DATA HIGHLIGHTS
(Miriam McGilvray Facilitator)
• Miriam provided a high-level overview of what the consultant team heard during the 30+
one-on-one interviews, 6 listening sessions, and two months of data analysis.
• There was a question about the reason for the lack of recent housing development. This
will be a follow-up with the housing consultant for a more in-depth discussion. One
reason for the slow development being a lack of builders following the 2006-2008
recession. There was a comment that the consultant team has identified ample land
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ESTES FORWARD PLAN 3
suitable for development and if the reason for the slow growth is related to community
desire to stay small.
4. EXERCISE: WHAT DO WE WANT ESTES TO BE? (Jeremy Call Facilitator)
• Jeremy described the breakout room assignments and Menti software format used to
gather group feedback. He encouraged the group to consider thinking big and that this
vision may last for a long time. Menti is a facilitation tool to initiate discussion within the
groups by showing the feedback from each participant collectively in one slide so the
group can see both individual responses and group comments.
• Breakout Zoom meetings rooms were preassigned to ensure members of different
groups were not concentrated in one room but represented in all six breakout rooms.
Discussion Question 1: What are the ingredients of a community vision?
Feedback was presented from each group. Common themes included the desire for balance
with regards to protecting the natural environment and the built environment, balancing the
needs and desires of the visiting community and the permanent community, and balancing
the needs of the workforce and the retirement community. Other comments focused on
housing and density discussions, the need to address climate change, and the need to be
inclusive of all ages and groups who reside and visit Estes Valley. Many felt the new plan
needs to be measurable and accountable as well as adaptive to changing conditions.
Discussion Question 2: What should the format be for the vision?
The group was given examples of three different types of community vision. 1.
Short/Slogan, 2. Long/Narrative, 3. Bullet List. Of the 20 people that participated in the quick
poll, 45% of respondents in the groups chose a short/slogan and 55% chose a bulleted list.
In the group feedback discussion, most groups preferred the bulleted list.
Report back from breakout rooms
• Jeremy Call’s group- The process needs to be measurable and contain metrics to track
actual change.
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ESTES FORWARD PLAN 4
• Miriam McGillivray’s group- Group discussion focused on the need for generational
diversity and the need for community culture to support adaptability. The group also
focused on housing and policy that supports housing for all. The group felt the vision
should be a list of bullets to allow community members to identify a bullet that they
identify with.
• Lesli Elis’ group- The group preferred bulleted list. The group focused on balance
including childcare, and other services that support workforce living in Estes. This also
needs to be balanced with environmental protection. Measurability would also be
important for this group. This room also discussed the fact that a 25-year plan is very
long and that the plan should be updated more frequently to keep up with changing
conditions.
• Randy Hunt’s group-This group touched on all elements identified in the existing
conditions portion of the presentation. The group focused on the word balanced.
Balance for visitation, visitors, economics, and housing. Specific items that were
discussed were that the visitors are looking for natural elements and that this can be
balanced with the demand for growth. Also paying attention to corridors, Short term
rentals and visitor pressure.
• Jessica Garner’s group-This group also discussed balance with a focus on smart growth
that looks at density, transportation, and livability. They also discussed the need to
manage expectations. As Estes grows development review expectations may need to
shift on things like viewsheds. The group talked a lot about density with varying opinions
but may be necessary. Need for the vision statement to be broad and inclusive to
support what could be with a rapidly changing environment. The vision should also be
translatable to Spanish to be more inclusive. The vision should be short and encompass
the entire community.
• Jeff Woeber’s group- The group discussed climate change and the impacts that it is
having to the natural environment. They also discussed the importance of attainable
workforce housing. The group discussed how the retirement community and the non-
retirement community have different goals and visions that need to be aligned. The
group chose the bullet point vision approach because they liked the succinctness of the
approach and disliked a long narrative vision that might get lost.
5. FINDINGS FROM THE PLAN AUDIT (Miriam McGilvray Facilitator)
• There were 31 respondents to the Plan Audit exercise with representation from Town
and County boards, commissions, advisory committees, and Estes Park Staff.
• The 10 community-wide goals were generally supported. The two that had the most
opposition include Goal 8: “Becoming a model National Park gateway community.” and
Goal 10: “Recognizing the synergy between tourism and the retirement community."
• Topics that plan audit responses identified as missing include:
o Workforce/Affordable
Housing
o Natural Disasters
o Childcare and other Services
o Sustainability
o Communication
o Climate Change
o Infrastructure
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ESTES FORWARD
ESTES FORWARD PLAN 5
• Plan audit participants were asked if the structure for the update should be a joint Town
of Estes Park and Larimer County plan, two separate plans adopted by the Town and the
County, or another hybrid option. The results are illustrated below.
Other write-ins include:
1. Town-specific plan and a
County Sub-area Plan
2. One document with some
sections adopted by both, other
just by the Town or County
3. Hybrid plans, each with
common parts
4. Two plans but must work
together
Discussion Question 3: What is
the ideal format for this update?
• In the conversation, some felt that they would like to see the County have its own plan
because the Town will need to develop land use plans that will not be applicable to the
County. It was suggested that maybe parts would need to be separated and some
elements combined. The group also discussed the fact that the planning area used to
have a combined approach that worked well. Participants indicated the possible need
for a growth management area (GMA) and the restoration of the Intergovernmental
Agreement (IGA). Some group members noted that county discussions have highlighted
that unincorporated community members do not have a vote in Town decision making
and feel excluded in the decision-making process. Many noted that the needs and goals
of unincorporated county and incorporated town are different and need to be considered
separately to ensure one does not enforce its vision on the other.
6. EXERCISE: VISIONING OUTREACH (Jeremy Call Facilitator)
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ESTES FORWARD PLAN 6
Discussion Question 4: Which community events would be most conducive for thoughtful
public engagement from a broad group of people? (check all that apply)
• Discussion focused on opportunities to talk with local groups in a casual environment
rather than a themed event. Some mentioned the need to identify if respondents are
visitors, Town residents, or County residents which is being addressed in the outreach.
The need to reach out to minority communities who might be working or unavailable
outside of event timeframes was also mentioned. All group members identified the need
to go out into the community and not expect community members to come to them. The
chat identified the importance of reaching out to renters and not just home-owners.
Some had different opinions on gathering opinions from visitors vs focusing efforts on
residents. County Commissioner Jody Shadduck-McNally offered that her community
conversation events are open if the groups would like to present. It was noted that
Pumpkins and Pilsners draws mostly local residents.
Discussion Question 5: How do you learn about Town and County initiatives?
• Most popular included Town or County Direct Emails, Newspapers, Town or County
Website, and Neighbors and Friends.
• Responses are listed below:
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
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ESTES FORWARD PLAN 7
Discussion Question 5: What are three ways that you will help get the word out about
upcoming events for this plan?
• Meeting participants indicated that they could share website and digital material
through social media and email; have conversations with neighbors, colleagues, and
customers; speak to HOAs, Rotary Clubs, and other community groups; write a guest
column in newspaper; make announcements at Town Board meetings; and more.
• The planning team can provide talking points and materials for distribution.
7. NEXT STEPS
• Phase 2 will kick off this fall with a series of public engagement opportunities. Details
will be solidified in the coming weeks.
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Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado, September 9, 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 September 09 2021.
Committee: Chair Matthew Heiser, Vice-Chair Bob Leavitt, Members
David Bangs, Eric Blackhurst, Chuck Cooper, Kirby Nelson-
Hazelton, John Schnipkoweit, Dave Shirk, Karen Thompson,
Rose Truman, David Wolf, Matt Comstock, Mike Kennedy
Also Attending: Community Development Director Randy Hunt, Community
Development Director Jessica Garner, Larimer County
Community Development Director Lesli Ellis, Trustee Barbara
MacAlpine, Town Administrator Travis Machlek, Recording
Secretary Karin Swanlund
Absent: Member Bangs, Member Comstock
Chair Heiser called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA:
PUBLIC COMMENT.
None
ACTION ITEM:
Approval of Minutes from August 12, 2021
Approval of Minutes from August 28, 2021
Approval of both sets of Minutes was tabled to the September 23 meeting due to
administrative complications.
DISCUSSION ITEMS: (all comments have been summarized)
1. Four Logo options were presented to the members.
Member Kennedy moved to defer the decision until one plan or two is finalized.
Member Blackhurst recommended choice number one and suggested voting on
this and moving forward.
Member Blackhurst moved to adopt Logo number one, Member Truman
seconded. Logo number one was approved by a majority vote.
OTHER:
1. Town Administrator Machalek shared a PowerPoint focusing on Administration
goals for the Town. Housing, childcare, senior care, quality of life investments
and environmental considerations were discussed. The Comprehensive Plan is
a place to balance the needs of the community and continue ongoing
cooperation between the Town and the other voting districts to gain community
consensus. It can also set the stage for an annexation policy with Larimer
County.
2. Due to holidays, it was proposed to shift the dates to the 4th and 18th of
November and 2nd and 16th of December (the 1st and 3rd Thursdays instead of
the 2nd and 4th). The majority of the commission agreed to this change.
3. Discussion took place on whether to have one, two or a joint Comp Plan. It was
suggested that CompPac should make a recommendation with direction and
clarification coming from the Town Board and the County Commissioners.
Director Ellis shared an outline explaining the difference between the options to
help the decision-making process. Chair Heiser stated that one document is his
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CompPAC – Sep 9, 2021 – Page 2
preference, but he looks at the Valley as a whole and asked for input from the
committee. Most of the members agreed with this preference. Director Hunt
noted that there would be a CompPac discussion at the September 14 Town
Board Study Session, and more guidance may be available after that. Member
Hazelton stated that engaging and collaborating with the County Planning
Advisory Committee should be a given. Vice-Chair Leavitt agreed.
4. Due to time constraints, the Vision Statement discussion will occur at the next
meeting, September 23. Director Hunt gave the commission a homework
assignment to review the visioning examples from other communities, pick their
favorite model, and add keywords to format our own Vision Statement.
There being no further business, Chair Heiser adjourned the meeting at 11:10 a.m.
Karin Swanlund, Recording Secretary
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Issues/Concerns:
plan that community embrases as it's own
embrace change
plan acceptance
housing solutions
sustainable career opportunities
economic development
over-influence from the County
transportation: bike, trails, sidewalks
getting ahead of changing climate
closing the generation gap
sustainability/responsible use in taking care of land
alternative accommodations ie: campgrounds, tiny homes, ADUs
managing growth
balancing development and preservation
lack substance for today's world
affordable housing: short and long term
floodplain in downtown
architectural and aesthetic design downtown
highway 7 blight
adequate housing for all
maintain reputation
childcare
affordable housing
trasnportation-year round & bike lanes
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keywords:
actionable
adaptive
anticipating
community
diversified
economic sustainability
forward-looking
funding
implementation
inclusive
innovative
open-minded
proactive
sustainable
sustainable
sustainable economy
thriving
vibrant
inclusive
diverse
sustainability
inclusion
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