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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES Town Board Study Session with Larimer County Commissioners and Planning Commission 2008-01-29RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado, January 29, 2008 Minutes of a JOINT STUDY SESSION of the ESTES PARK TOWN BOARD, BOARD OF LARIMER COUNTY COMMISSIONERS, AND ESTES VALLEY PLANNING COMMISSION, Larimer County, Colorado. Meeting held in the Holiday Inn Conference Center in the Town of Estes Park on the 29th day of January, 2008. Committees: Town of Estes Park Mayor Baudek, Mayor ProTem Pinkham, and Trustees Blackhurst, Eisenlauer, Homeier, Levine, and Newsom; Larimer County Commission Chair Gibson, Chair ProTem Eubanks, and Commissioner Rennels; Estes Valley Planning Commission Chair Eisenlauer and Commissioners Amos, Grant, Hull, Kitchen, Klink, and Tucker Attending: Mayor Baudek, Mayor ProTem Pinkham, Trustees Blackhurst, Eisenlauer, Homeier, and Levine; County Chair Gibson, Chair ProTem Eubanks, and Commissioner Rennels; Planning Commission Chair Eisenlauer, Commissioners Amos, Grant, Hull, Kitchen, Klink, and Tucker Also Attending: Town Administrator Halburnt, Deputy Town Administrator Richardson, County Manager Lancaster, County Chief Planner Legg, Town Community Development Director Joseph, Town Planner Chilcott, Recording Secretary Roederer Absent: Town Trustee Newsom County Chair Gibson opened the meeting with introductions at 3:00 p.m. Mayor Baudek provided information on the development and adoption of the Estes Valley Comprehensive Plan and Estes Valley Development Code (EVDC), as well as formation of the Estes Valley Planning Commission and Estes Valley Board of Adjustment. The development code was jointly adopted by the County Commissioners and Town Board; it is a living document and ten block revisions have been approved since the code’s effective date of February 1, 2000. A goal of this meeting is for town planning staff to assimilate comments from Town Board and County Commissioners and report back to the Planning Commission, which can hold public meetings for citizen input on any proposed changes to the development code. Any revisions to the development code must be approved by both the County Commissioners and Town Board. All decisions on zoning or land use issues are based upon the adopted development code, municipal ordinances, and/or state statutes. PLANNING COMMISSION PRESENTATION OF ISSUES Director Joseph stated this study session is being held at the request of the Planning Commission. He thanked the Trustees and Commissioners for providing the Planning Commission the opportunity to share issues and concerns that the public has raised over the last two years. Planning Commission has summarized these issues as  Open Space Protection  Wildlife Protection  Density (In-Fill / Visual Character / Floor Area Ratio (FAR) / Bulk)  Property Rights. Each Planning Commissioner addressed the County Commissioners and Town Board in turn. Commissioner Kitchen: mainly concerned about the property rights issue, which has the most tangible definition thanks to zoning regulations and constitutional law. Other issues such as open space and wildlife impacts are subjective. Density is the ultimate issue. Commissioner Amos: elk are much more abundant in the Estes Valley than they were in the 1980s and have adapted to continuing development in the Estes Valley. Although its input is sought, Division of Wildlife does not provide definitive direction on proposed developments. RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Town Board–County Commissioners–Estes Valley Planning Commission 2 Joint Study Session — January 29, 2008 Density is an issue even though most developments do not max out allowable density. Residents of Estes Park think there are too many condominiums. Planning Commission should make recommendations to Town Board and County Commissioners regarding development code changes to address the wildlife, density, and open space. Commissioner Eisenlauer: expressed concern about rights of property owners to subdivide or otherwise use property as allowed at the time they purchased their property. Commissioner Klink: the Planning Commission would like to convey that people are frustrated. Property owners/developers and neighboring property owners/citizens interpret the EVDC in different ways because areas of the code, such as wildlife and open space, are not well defined. Clarification is needed. There is also need to respond to the changing demographics of the community; there are more full-time residents and more diverse use of accommodations properties than in the past. Property rights must be balanced with the changing outlook of the community. It is important to maintain areas zoned for heavy commercial and industrial use, which are used for support services that are essential to the prosperity of the community. Commissioner Hull: expressed a desire for regular (quarterly) joint meetings. Would like to see open space recommendations found in Estes Valley Comprehensive Plan section 7.2 followed, particularly establishment of an open-space funding and management program. Requested a study to be completed by April to identify and rank properties for acquisition via Estes Park’s share of the Larimer County open-space tax. Recommended a complete re-write of EVDC Section 7. Wildlife is the basis for tourism in Estes Park; sensitive wildlife areas should be identified and rezoned, with restrictions on development. The EVDC should include a specific valley-wide wildlife policy. The Estes Valley Code Enforcement Officer should work directly with Division of Wildlife Officer Spowart. Commission Tucker: expressed concern about development impacts on bighorn sheep herds. Requested that Town Board and County Commissioners direct the Planning Commission to get answers. Expressed concern about nightly rentals in residential areas, which community members have expressed opposition to and that impact/compete with hotel owners. Residential zoning should be enforced. Density of development is also an issue; design guidelines should be adopted to ensure development fits into the mountain atmosphere. Commissioner Grant: there is a need to find an effective balance between property rights, density, and wildlife while protecting the unique beauty and environment of the valley. The Planning Commission needs guidance on wildlife issues from qualified experts. Density and open space are issues. The current codes are good but could be improved; an open, public process is needed to encourage citizen involvement. DISCUSSION OF OPTIONS At Mayor Baudek’s request, Director Joseph outlined options suggested by the Planning Commission. Open Space Protection—a valley-wide inventory and ranking of existing open space could be produced to provide recommendations for open space protection and acquisition (an Open Space Plan). Although the town receives a portion of sales tax collected by Larimer County for open-space programs, the public’s appetite for open space is greater than the available funding. A focused plan would be needed to protect high-priority, high-value, open-space lands. Wildlife Protection—a valley-wide inventory and ranking of existing wildlife habitat could be produced to provide recommendations for habitat protection and acquisition (a Wildlife Plan), which would be incorporated into the open-space acquisition plan. The Planning Commission and town planning staff feel strongly that there is a need to revisit and rewrite the wildlife section of the EVDC. A wildlife study would help inform the adoption of revised land-use regulations regarding development impact on wildlife. Density (In-Fill/Visual Character/Floor Area Ratio (FAR)/Bulk)—Over the past year, the Planning Commission has been faced with growing discontent expressed by neighboring property owners who have seen projects build out at allowable densities under the EVDC. Consideration should be given as to whether the development code is too permissive and whether the regulations should be reconsidered. Property rights must be kept in mind. Five possible options are A) reduce density RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Town Board–County Commissioners–Estes Valley Planning Commission 3 Joint Study Session — January 29, 2008 allocations in EVDC; B) tighten FAR & bulk standards in EVDC; C) rezone environmentally sensitive lands; D) prohibit residential-only use in A- Accommodations district; and/or E) adopt design guidelines. Property Rights—Pursuit of any of the outlined options should be tempered by the recognition that individual property rights will be affected. Any viable new regulation of land use must strike a reasonable balance between individual property rights and wider community values. Discussion between the Boards and staff followed. Comments are summarized below by general topic. Open Space Protection/Acquisition County Commissioner Rennels: Relatively small open-space areas/corridors may be very important to a community and/or neighboring property owners. Open-space sales tax monies are limited. A neighborhood may choose to initiate their own taxing district as a means to acquire important open-space properties. Town Trustee Blackhurst: The town is grateful for the $250,000 it receives annually from Larimer County open-space tax funding. Two years of that funding is being spent to finance the purchase of the Hermit Park property. Funding for open-space acquisition is an issue—local residents are unlikely to support a mil levy increase for open-space purchases. A land inventory should be conducted. The time to purchase open-space land is prior to its acquisition by a developer. Open-space lands should be identified via the land trust or another separate entity, which would then work with the community to acquire the land through means such as a taxing district. The current Code language should be clarified. County Chair Gibson: The County has a 1% taxing limit and is currently at 0.8%. Planning Commissioner Amos: Open space was an important factor considered during development of the EVDC. Developments that propose more than four units must designate a percentage of the property as open space. This percentage could be increased. However, doing so may result in buildings being spaced too close together. Input from a professional wildlife consultant should be used to make the EVDC more adaptable to current public concerns. The Estes Valley Land Trust works with the town and county in procuring conservation easements on important parcels of land. Not all lands proposed for conservation easements meet IRS requirements. Town Trustee Pinkham: Approximately 7,000 acres in the Estes Valley planning area are currently in Estes Valley Land Trust conservation easements. Hermit Park is outside this planning area. To major developers, land in the Estes area is bargain-priced; the time to address land-use issues is now. Wildlife Town Trustee Blackhurst: The Estes Valley has an overabundance of wildlife. Assistance from the DOW is needed to help plan for wildlife management and migration. Habituated elk herds will continue to grow. The DOW has expressed dissatisfaction with their role as currently outlined in the EVDC; they should be included in discussions regarding revision of the code section on wildlife. Town Trustee Levine: Open-space acquisition and wildlife plans are needed. Questioned who would create the plans and at what cost? The 2008 town budget has been allocated. Director Joseph: There is potentially skill in-house to create an open-space program; the wildlife component should be the product of the work of wildlife biologists via contracted consulting work. The Estes Valley was rezoned and substantially stricter land-use regulations were adopted via the EVDC in 2000. In the 1990s, work on the comprehensive plan and rezoning showed that the entire Estes Valley is environmentally sensitive; it is used as winter range for elk and mule deer and to varying degrees as habitat for migratory birds and other species that are valued and need protection. DOW representatives have indicated that the entire valley must be looked at in context rather than trying to rank the wildlife/open space value of individual properties as development is proposed. A wildlife/open-space study would replace emotions with objective, professional input for prioritization of lands for protection. There must be a balance and blending of wildlife habitat with the larger landscape aesthetics in the community. RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Town Board–County Commissioners–Estes Valley Planning Commission 4 Joint Study Session — January 29, 2008 Town Trustee Pinkham: The term wildlife encompasses much more than elk. As deer and elk habituate to developed areas, predators follow them. Feeding of wildlife presents a huge issue for the community. Codes must be strengthened to prohibit feeding wildlife and to require that trash be protected. Town Trustee Homeier: It is important to have an accounting of open-space and wildlife lands so that accurate land-use decisions can be made. Planning Commissioner Grant: Clarification of the EVDC section regarding wildlife is needed for the Planning Commission to do its job. Funds should be spent on a wildlife study. Requested that County Commissioners and Town Trustees assist in partnering with the DOW. Planning Commissioner Tucker: Current regulations regarding bear-resistant containers should be enforced. County Commissioner Rennels: The DOW should be a partner in planning; they have the capacity for studies and grants. The DOW has been very helpful to the County Commissioners in their land-use decisions. Density Town Trustee Blackhurst: Lack of density equates to urban sprawl, which destroys open space and does not allow efficient use of infrastructure. The current population of the valley is within 7,000 of projected build-out population—land values will increase. The question is how to manage this growth. County Commissioner Rennels: It is important to meet the housing needs of the workforce or those in service industries, who often use townhomes, condominiums, and short-term rentals, in order to avoid a future where service workers must be bussed into town to work. An economic study would provide information on housing and transportation needs, and assist with wildlife planning. Mayor Baudek: Affordable housing is essential for a sustainable community; density is a large factor in how affordable housing is. Planning Commissioner Grant: The EP2017 advisory group has stated that affordable housing is one of the top priorities for the community. Director Joseph: The adoption of design guidelines could improve the appearance and fit of developments on the land and mitigate negative impacts to neighbors. A–Accommodations District and Uses / Condominiums Director Joseph: Multi-family (esp. condominium) development is a focus of discontent amongst citizens of the Estes Valley. Strong growth in the residential sector has taken place since adoption of the EVDC, with resulting infill. A large portion of this development has occurred in the A–Accommodations district because multi-family-zoned lands are nearly built out. That market could be regulated through tighter restrictions segregating residential use from commercial use, which currently mix freely in the Accommodations district. Town Trustee Eisenlauer: Condominium development is not unique to tourist towns; it is common to many towns and cities. There is a demand for the lifestyle that condominium ownership provides. Mayor Baudek: There is need to address the conversion of A–Accommodations-zoned property into residential property. Commercial property should be maintained for commercial use. As the Estes Valley grows, there is greater need for commercial properties. County Commissioner Eubanks: Expressed agreement with concerns regarding nightly rentals, commercial development, and the need for affordable housing. The county is seeing a rise in health-and-human-services needs in the Estes Valley (tourist industry workers). Property Rights Mayor Baudek: Property rights are constitutionally guaranteed. In the past, local voters adopted property restrictions that violated state law. The town was sued and lost, which was costly to tax payers. Director Joseph: Historic zoning of properties weighs in to land use; property owners have expectations based on the zoning of their property at the time of purchase. County Commissioner Eubanks: It is reasonable to expect that if you purchase property in many tourist areas of the country, certain restrictions may apply. RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Town Board–County Commissioners–Estes Valley Planning Commission 5 Joint Study Session — January 29, 2008 Other Issues: Nightly Rentals Planning Commissioner Tucker: Nightly rentals in residential neighborhoods compete with his business, hurt zoning. Residential areas should be for residential uses only. Hotel owners pay substantially higher fees. Mayor Baudek: This is a contentious issue. There is historical use of residential properties for short-term rentals; many homeowners pay for their property via this practice. Few complaints from neighbors are received. Town Trustee Blackhurst: Reiterated that property owners have used residential properties to house overnight guests since Estes Park has been a community. Restrictive covenants can be adopted in single-family neighborhoods or condominium developments to regulate or prohibit short-term rentals. Residential property owners are required to obtain a business license, pay commercial rates for utilities, and collect sales tax. General Remarks Mayor Baudek: If there are sections of the EVDC that are not clear, the Planning Commission should begin the work to clarify them. Town Trustee Blackhurst: There is additional need for affordable housing and workforce housing. The codes should be evaluated to ensure that any development that has a commercial component includes provision for workforce housing. There is not enough commercially zoned land nor enough affordable land to able to build workforce housing without subsidies. County Commissioner Eubanks: Only two to three people were in attendance at the recent county budget hearings. The number of people in attendance at today’s meeting shows the importance of these issues to the community. County Chair Gibson: Expressed appreciation for the advice and input of the Planning Commission. Final land-use decisions are made by elected officials. Planning for future generations is needed; it is important to get public input from the beginning of this process. Zero growth is not an option. Planning for wildlife and open-space areas is needed; property rights must also be considered. County Commissioner Rennels: Meetings to gather public input should be held. The EVDC is eight years old and should be revisited. Planning Commissioner Hull: As a county resident, she doesn’t always follow Town Board actions. It is very valuable to receive input from the Town Board. Requested regular joint meetings. Planning Commissioner Amos: Requested County Commissioners and Town Trustees authorize planning staff to develop recommendations regarding issues discussed today. Funding to gather input from experts in these areas is important. Mayor Baudek: Agreed that planning staff should develop recommendations regarding issues discussed today. Staff should present their recommendations to the Planning Commission, who can forward these recommendations to the County Commissioners and Town Trustees. Expressed a desire for public input. County Commissioner Rennels: A timeline should be developed for public open houses to allow planning staff and DOW representatives to attend. Many property owners are not year-round residents and should be notified as to when public forums are planned. A plan must be presented for the public to provide comment on. An open process is important to public perception. Thanked those who had provided written comments for today’s meeting. County Chair Gibson: Stated he will work with Mayor Baudek to set times for public comment and will strive to hold joint study sessions with the Town Board and Planning Commission more often. County Commissioner Eugbanks: Stated options should not be foregone due to lack of local funding; the Commissioners should be approached for assistance. The study session adjourned at 4:55 p.m. ___________________________________ Julie Roederer, Recording Secretary