Schools:
This is the LAST DAY OF SCHOOL FOR Jeffco Public Schools!
Businesses:
As part of their 3 year anniversary celebration, Gold Mine Cupcakes is selling 3 cupcakes for $8 today. They’re open from 11AM-6PM.
The Golden Hotel will have the Clear Creek Jazz Quartet playing in the lounge from 6-9 tonight.
New Terrain Brewing is hosting Weatherbee & the Gnarbillies from 6-9 tonight.
City Council
City Council meets at 6:30 this evening in City Council Chambers. Their meeting packet is available online and the meeting will be shown live through the City website. They will consider two requests for “upzoning” (changing to a zone that will permit more height, more housing units, etc.). They will also vote on the much-discussed short term rental policy, and will consider two suggestions to facilitate affordable housing.
Ordinance No. 2076 (Rezoning)
The School of Mines is asking Council to rezone property at 1101 18th Street to allow the construction of a new 416 bedroom dormitory that exceeds the 50 foot height limit. The new building will be 64 feet tall. The Planning Commission voted 7-0 in favor of this change.
Ordinance No. 2077 (Rezoning)
A group of property owners near 6th and Ford are asking to be rezoned from R1 (single household) to R2 (one-to-four-households). The owners say they have no immediate plans to redevelop the property, but this change would give them the fl0exibility to do so. The Planning Commission voted 4-3 to approve this request.
Ordinance No. 2078 (Short term rentals)
This ordinance was introduced because residents are concerned at the proliferation of short term rentals such as AirBnBs and VRBOs in neighborhoods. Owners of such properties argue that there is a need for these rentals and that they do a better job of maintaining the homes than many owners of long-term rental housing do. Homeowners next to the rental properties often prefer to have owner-occupied or long-term renter neighbors. The proposed ordinance allows homeowners to rent rooms in residential zones as long as they are owner-occupied. In addition, homeowners can rent their entire houses for two months of the year. Note–if you live in an R1 or R2-zoned area, this new ordinance means that you and your neighbors would be able to rent out rooms to short term renters for less than 30 days at a time. Full-house short term rentals will still be permitted in Commercial and R3 zones.
Affordable Housing
Finally, Council will discuss some policy changes that would facilitate affordable housing. The Planning Commission has discussed many ways to encourage more affordable housing, including “reviving” unused housing allocations from the past and using them for affordable housing; allowing affordable housing projects in CMU zones to build 100% residential without requiring a special use permit, providing rental assistance, and helping current residents stay in their homes by helping with the cost of repairs.
At this time, the Planning Commission is advising to Council to consider these two options:
- Set up an ongoing funding mechanism for the continuation of both rental assistance and owner repair assistance, as well as an increase in this funding. Staff and Commission can investigate an appropriate amount of funding and make a formal request for the City’s operating budget. Commission and staff can also continue to evaluate the other funding sources and programs discussed above.
- Add flexibility to the 1% residential growth ordinance by offering the “early start” option for qualified affordable units, which is an option currently available for transit oriented residential units. Commission and staff can provide Council with a draft ordinance for consideration, as well as continue to evaluate other potential regulatory adjustments. (This means allowing affordable housing projects to start building before they have enough allocations under the 1% growth limit.)
