- Meeting Agenda
- Watch the meeting streaming live starting at 5:30PM
- Attend the meeting @ City Hall Council Chambers - 911 10th Street - (map)
- Provide in-person comment during the meeting, at 5:30PM.
- Send email comments to gura@cityofgolden.net.
The meeting will be recorded and available to watch at your convenience on the Agendas and Meetings page on the City of Golden website. The Economic Development Manager is no longer with the City, so they are advertising for a replacement. In the meantime, Rick Muriby, the Community Development Director, is filling in.
8th to 10th Street Connectors
The project manager will provide a status report on the planned sidewalk/ramp/stairs that will connect 8th and 10th Streets on either end of the Community Center.
Affordable Housing on 16th Avenue
They will discuss a proposed affordable housing project on the site of Church of the Nazarene (map). The developers hope to have the area declared "blighted" so it can become an Urban Renewal Area. This would open the possibility of GURA-provided TIF (Tax Increment Financing) agreements, which would help finance the development. To start this process, a blight study will be conducted.
Editorial
Although the 2.405 acre parcel owned by the church appears to be a nice, tidy piece of land, "blight" seems to be an easy thing to prove. When the Central Neighborhood was studied, an intern took pictures of cracks in the sidewalks and declared the area to be blighted, and in need of redevelopment. Since then, several small houses, a one-story apartment building, and many large trees have been replaced by a 3-story affordable housing project. Another single-story apartment building in the neighborhood is due to meet the same fate. I suppose it's in the eye of the beholder, but I preferred big trees and small houses to small trees and a big apartment complex.
GURA Bus Tour
Last month, the GURA commissioners and staff took a bus tour to visit parcels that they could take on as additional Urban Renewal Areas. The first stop was the aforementioned Church of the Nazarene.
They also looked at a piece of vacant property between Petco and the Table Mountain Townhomes (17200 West Colfax Ave - map). This would also be intended for affordable housing.
The final stop was to view an undeveloped parcel of ranch land directly north of the city limits, 5079 Hwy 93 (map). This is a complicated project, dependent on agreements with many branches of government. The Colorado Department of Transportation would have to agree to changes to Hwy 93. The developers hope for a roundabout, to make it easier for pedestrians and cyclists to cross the highway at that point. Jeffco Open Space favors this project, because it would allow people to get from North Table Mountain Park to Mt. Galbraith Park. If the developers can secure appropriate financing and government agreements, the City of Golden will annex this parcel into the city limits. A blight study would then be conducted to determine GURA's involvement. This area would be intended for light industrial and some commercial development.
Grant Requests
The group will consider two grant requests from businesses in the West Colfax Urban Renewal Area. Lil Ricci's Pizza and Pasta is requesting $2932 to pay half the cost of a new AC compressor. Launch Espresso is requesting $2595 to pay half the cost of new interior and exterior sound equipment.
Location:
City Hall Council Chambers
911 10th Street (Map)
