Many people asked me for a summary of last night’s meeting about Preserving Golden’s Neighborhoods. In trying to write a brief summary, I got sidetracked into explaining why we’re in this predicament. I was about 15 paragraphs into a dissertation on historic zoning, shifting community values, and property rights when I realized that the topic is too complex for my daily update. Here’s the pared-down version:
Kristen Wrona did a great job of describing our current situation. While there is widespread concern about old homes being scraped and replaced by bigger, taller, multi-family homes, at this time we’re requesting a few small changes to one small area of town. From there, we plan to go on to try to solve bigger problems.
For this first effort, we’re focusing on the area near the old bowling alley/current Natural Grocers. We are requesting that City Council/Planning Commission make certain code changes that would
– Require 100% residential developments to build on no more than 40% of the property
– Prohibit three story buildings north of 24th Street in the East Street neighborhood
– Include some yard/greenery/landscaping between the building and the street.
Want to help? Here’s what you can do:
- Either write your own letter or download and add your name to the letters below. Ask your neighbors to sign on too.
– Protect Setbacks
– Define Small Town Character
– Zoning Change Request - Send or bring the letters to Rick Muriby at City Hall (911 10th Street). Request that Rick provide copies to all members of the planning commission. Copy City Council on your correspondence. If you prefer email, address Rick at rmuriby@cityofgolden.net and City Council at citycouncil@cityofgolden.net.
- Plan to attend the meeting where the Planning Commission will discuss the requested code changes: May 16th at 6:30PM in City Council Chambers, 911 10th Street.
Some interesting questions and comments from the meeting:
Most of our zoning is half a century old, and community values have changed since then.
The zoning in the Natural Grocers area is newer, and it’s time to evaluate how it’s working. (That’s what we’re doing with this change request.)
When we relax requirements for some builders (such as when we grant Special Use Permits) are we setting precedent for other builders to demand the same treatment?
Planning Commission has been very generous with Special Use Permits. It may be time to place a moratorium on SUPs until we tighten up the definition of appropriate usage.
Should Planning Commission members be elected, since they’re deciding the fate of our neighborhoods?
We should change the rules to ensure geographic diversity on the Planning Commission. Require members from each ward and district.
Site plans should include room for deliveries and pickups.
Roof top decks are a new development. How will we regulate noise and light pollution? When we get a heavy snow will the owners want to guard their roofs by pushing the snow down onto the sidewalk? When we get a windstorm, will the patio furniture blow down to the sidewalks below?
Our growth limit may seem small, but it grows exponentially. What is our limit? What is the capacity of Golden? Can we grow every year forever?
Should we have a design review board to determine whether a new development fits in with our “small town look?”
The term “small town look” is too vague. We need to define it and get it in our code. We can’t require it when we haven’t defined it.
Does “denser” housing help with housing affordability? Not necessarily–the new townhouses are more expensive than the single family homes that they’ve displaced.
If you want to start curbing the changes to Golden’s neighborhoods, remember to send a letter or email to the Planning Commission, care of Rick Muriby (rmuriby@cityofgolden.net) and copy City Council (citycouncil@cityofgolden.net).
