5:30PM Planning Commission Meeting @ City Hall

Meeting Agenda
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Provide in-person comment during the meeting, at 5:30PM.

The Planning Commission will review a plan to develop the open land at the north end of town. This is a 51.26-acre field that has historically been used for agriculture. The plan is to convert it to commercial and industrial use. Internal roads would be built and water and sewer infrastructure added. The state would need to build a roundabout on Highway 93 and an overhead bridge would be built over the highway for pedestrians and cyclists.

GURA discussed this parcel on Monday night, deciding whether to make it an urban renewal area. This is an option for them because a study declared the property to be "blighted." They reviewed a financial feasibility study that concluded development would cost $59 million. Without GURA, the property would only support $14.2 million in debt. With a tax increment financing deal from GURA, the debt capacity would rise to $35.1 million. That's still $23.9 million short, but GURA staff supported entering into an agreement because the project is projected to create 690 new jobs.

The Planning Commission has a different task. They are not asked to evaluate the financial viability of the project. They are responsible for deciding whether the project supports the City's Comprehensive Plan.

In the meeting packet, staff asserts that it supports economic development goals and is compatible with the Transportation Master Plan, Open Space Master Plan, and Parks and Recreation Master Plan.

Note: The meeting memo does not reference the Housing Needs and Strategies Assessment. That study concluded that ideally people employed in Golden should live in Golden. Based on that principle, the housing study concluded that Golden needed 3100 additional homes, of which 2300 should be Affordable Housing (see p. 21 of the study). It's unclear whether the Planning Commission is asked to consider housing as part of tonight's decision.

To summarize, staff is asking the Planning Commission to "consider whether redevelopment of the property to a higher and better use in general is consistent with the goals" of the City's various plans.