HomeMy WebLinkAboutTB Study Session 2015-08-25
Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado August 25, 2015
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
Rooms 202/203 in said Town of Estes Park on the 25th day of August,
2015.
Board: Mayor Pinkham, Mayor Pro Tem Koenig, Trustees Ericson,
Holcomb, Nelson, Norris and Phipps
Attending: All
Also Attending: Town Administrator Lancaster, Assistant Town Administrator
Machalek, Town Attorney White, Manager Ash, Planner
Kleisler and Town Clerk Williamson
Absent: None
Mayor Pinkham called the meeting to order at 4:30 p.m.
FALL RIVER TRAIL ALIGNMENT AND DESIGN.
Engineering Manager Ash stated the Town received a Paul S. Sarbanes Transit in
Parks Program grant in the amount of $337,000 to fund the design and environmental
assessment work needed to extend the Fall River Trail to Rocky Mountain National
Park. The grant application specified the trail would provide expanded access by
constructing pedestrian and bicycle enhancements adjacent to Hwy 34. Staff has
confirmed FTA would be receptive to alternative routes if supported by the categorical
exclusion environmental evaluation.
Scott Belonger/Loris and Associates reviewed the two alternative trail alignments for the
westerly 1.5 miles of the trail: 1) following south edge of Fall River Road and terminating
at the Fall River Visitor Center; and 2) south side of Fish Hatchery Road and a gravel
service road terminating at the Rocky Mountain National Park boundary near the Aspen
Glen campground. The trail alignments would stay within the current rights-of-way.
Both alternatives have been presented in three public outreach meetings.
The two alignments were assessed using a matrix with six evaluation criteria: safety,
user experience, environmental impact, resident/privacy concerns,
connectivity/efficiency and cost. Trails are built with three types of construction – Type I
– easy to construct and adequate spacing between the trail and the roadway; Type 2-
moderate to construct and reduced spacing between the trail and roadway; and Type 3
– difficult to construction with little to no spacing between the trail and roadway.
The Fall River Road alignment would require a significant portion of the trail to be built
attached to the roadway, Type III, with no separation and walls to deal with the slope, at
a cost of $1,000 a foot or $4.3 million. The Fish Hatchery Road would contain little to
no Type III construction and would be significantly less expensive to construct at
approximately $1.6 million. The Fish Hatchery Road alignment would be a safer
corridor for pedestrians and bicycles providing a better user experience. Public
comment was collected during the public meetings and concern was raised by property
owners along Fish Hatchery Road over privacy and by accommodation owners over the
removal of trees along the trail corridor. Staff stated snowplowing could be an issue for
the Fall River Road alignment.
Town Board comments and questions were heard and have been summarized:
concern was raised regarding the Fish Hatchery alignment as the Town does not know
Town Board Study Session – August 25, 2015 – Page 2
the future for the property south of the hydro plant; questioned if the Park had a
preference on the alignment; and had the Land Trust been contacted to determine their
preference.
Staff stated the Fish Hatchery alignment would not impact the future development of the
Town owned property. The Park would favor a connection to the campground to
improve the visitor experience. The Land Trust had not been contacted. The project
once fully designed would be a shovel ready project that would compete favorably for
GOCO grant funds and Open Land funds, with the 1A sales tax funds to be used for
grant matching.
The Board consensus was to move forward with the final design of the trail along Fish
Hatchery Road.
REVIEW OF DRAFT RECOMMENDATION FOR VACATION RENTALS.
Planner Kleisler provided an update on the project to review the regulations for vacation
home rentals. The Town hosted a public forum in May to hear from the community,
over 90 attended. Staff has worked to refine the public policy options and presented
items for the Board’s review and comment. With Board comments, staff would hold a
second public forum on September 11, 2015 to receive input from the community.
Fee Structure
The Town Clerk’s office conducted a fee structure analysis and recommended a tiered
fee structure, both within Town and the Estes Valley. The analysis included a review of
the CAST report and specific benchmarking against Steamboat Springs and
Breckenridge, who has a high license compliance rate. The base fee of $150 would
include the first bedroom and a $50 fee per each additional bedroom would be
collected. A homeowner renting out a single room such as an AirBnB would have a fee
of $50. The fee would cover administrative costs and code compliance. A Code
Compliance Officer would be hired seasonally to address increased code compliance
issues during the summer season.
Board comments: Questioned if the County Commissioners were on board with the new
fee structure. All costs related to vacation homes need to be reviewed to ensure the
costs are recouped through the licensing process, i.e. Police services.
Occupancy
A common theme in the public forum was to preserve residential neighborhood
character, yet another popular (yet competing) concept was increasing the occupancy
limit in rentals. In an attempt to achieve a balanced approach, staff recommends the
Trustees consider requiring a Conditional Use Permit when the occupancy is above the
current limit of eight (8) people. This concept would allow the Estes Valley Planning
Commission (EVPC) to review and neighbors to comment on some rental operations,
while still allowing potentially rental to larger parties. Staff also reviewed the possibility
of utilizing lot size to allow more occupancy.
Board comments: The Board consensus was to not move forward with the lot size to
determine occupancy; questioned the criteria to be used by the EVPC in determining
the approval or denial of a Conditional Use Permit; the permit would be a good option
as long as clear criteria can be developed; Trustee Holcomb would support 2 people per
bedroom, plus 2 with no limit (Trustee Nelson and Mayor Pro Tem Koenig agreed); a
level playing field has been the objective while protecting the neighborhoods and
addressing items such as the fire code; a clear definition of residential versus
commercial use should be developed; there are homes that can accommodate larger
family reunions that are not being utilized due to the limit and the parties must utilize the
YMCA or not come to Estes Park; the family character of Estes Park should be
considered; requested staff provide information on what qualifies as a small hotel and
what triggers a Fire Marshal review of a use; and the Board discussed what should the
upper limit be and when should a Special Review be initiated.
Town Board Study Session – August 25, 2015 – Page 3
Staff questioned having no limit on occupancy and questioned when a home becomes a
hotel in a residential neighborhood. The Board could set a cap on the number of
people.
Residential Character
Concerns were expressed during the public forum about the need to ensure vacation
rentals do not erode residential neighborhood character. Some communities have
limited the number of rentals in a given area. In Durango only one vacation rental may
be permitted on a street segment, and additional homes that wish to operate on that
street must obtain a Conditional Use Permit. Staff recommended establishing a limit on
the number of vacation rentals per street segment or within a given radius, with
additional rentals within that area requiring a Conditional Use Permit. Conditional Use
Permits have similar review standards to that of a Special Review.
Attorney White stated any new regulations on the number of vacation homes would
affect new licenses. Currently licensed homes would be grandfathered.
AirBnB Option
The website www.AirBnb.com has risen in popularity over the years in part by
facilitating the rental of single rooms on a short-term basis while the owner remains in
the house. The current regulations prohibit this use, which has created a small
underground market. Staff recommended the use be permitted in smaller homes, in
essence creating a “mini-bed and breakfast” use. There would be less concern with
these rentals as the owner would be onsite.
Board comments: no concerns with a single room in a dwelling; questioned how
allowing these units would affect the accessory dwelling unit discussion; and should be
regulated to be fair to the B&Bs in town.
Notices
Another popular theme during the public forum was better communication with
neighboring properties. Staff recommended establishing some level of communication
through mailings and a Town-maintained webmap. Concern has been raised by the
property owners and the Police department that the use of a webmap may advertise the
possibility of a vacant home. The notification would be a 5 home radius around the
vacation rental delivered by the property owner, local contact or property manager.
Additional information would be posted within the home such as the business license.
The Board commented the use of property manager as a term continues to be
confusing and would suggest the use of local contact.
AUDIT COMMITTEE STRUCTURE.
The Audit Committee was formed by the adoption of Policy Directive 01-03 which
provided the Mayor the authority to appoint two representatives from the Town Board,
Finance Officer, Assistant Town Administrator and Town Administrator to the
committee. The Town’s auditors and the Audit Committee agreed the committee
structure should be updated to remove staff from the committee, as the audit process is
to audit staff for compliance with established regulations and procedures. Staff would
recommend the removal of staff as voting members on the committee, add a third Board
member, change the committee to a Standing Committee, and clarify terms for
members as two-years. Meetings would be held in the Board Room as needed,
recorded and official minutes posted on the Town’s website. The Board requested the
item be brought forward for consideration at an upcoming Town Board meeting.
TRUSTEE & ADMINISTRATOR COMMENTS & QUESTIONS.
The Board requested staff bring forward a review of Town Board salaries to the budget
meetings in October. Any potential increase would need to be approved prior to the
April Municipal Election and would only apply to newly elected Board members.
Town Board Study Session – August 25, 2015 – Page 4
Administrator Lancaster stated staff has been working with Visit Estes Park on a service
level agreement. Through the review it was determined the Intergovernmental
Agreement between the Town and Visit Estes Park should be reviewed. Administrator
Lancaster, Trustee Liaison Norris and Mayor Pro Tem Koenig would meet with Visit
Estes Park staff and Board members to discuss the agreement.
Administrator Lancaster commented the Town would move ahead with the Housing
Authority to review options for the Fish Hatchery property located on the eastern portion
of the property. The concept would include a development with a private developer to
place workforce housing on the property consisting of single-family deed restricted
homes. The Town would request three houses be reserved for Town employees.
Staff discussions with CDOT regarding the replacement of the banner at highway 34/36
intersection with a variable sign have been positive. The cost of a new sign could be
paid for with the proceeds from the selling the property located on Old Ranger Road.
Mayor Pinkham commented the Town continues to have difficulty in attracting
applicants for the Park Advisory Board. In the past qualified individuals were not
appointed, and therefore, individuals are not applying for the position. Mayor Pinkham
stated there is a procedure for interviews and all candidates should be treated equal.
FUTURE STUDY SESSION AGENDA ITEMS.
The Board requested the final review of 2016 Strategic Plan for September 8, 2015.
Trustee Ericson requested an update on the status of the Event Center financing at the
September 8, 2015 meeting. The Board approved the process for interviewing for
Boards and Commissions be added to the list of items to be scheduled.
There being no further business, Mayor Pinkham adjourned the meeting at 6:40 p.m.
Jackie Williamson, Town Clerk