Planning and Zoning Commission - Agendas & Minutes (Packets below)

Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Buena Vista Planning and Zoning Commission January 19, 2022 CALL TO ORDER A regular meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission was called to order at 7:00 pm, Wednesday, January 19, 2022 via Zoom video conferencing by Chair Preston Larimer. Also present were Vice Chair Lynn Schultz-Writsel, Commissioners Blake Bennetts, Thomas Doumas, Tony LaGreca (via Zoom), Thomas Brown and Craig Brown. Staff Present: Planning Director Joseph Teipel, Principal Planner Mark Doering and Planning Technician Doug Tart (via Zoom). PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Chair Larimer led in the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL Doering proceeded with the roll call and declared a quorum. AGENDA ADOPTION Larimer called for approval of the agenda. Commissioner Craig Brown motioned to adopt the agenda as presented, Motion #1 seconded by Commissioner Schultz-Writsel. Motion carried. APPROVAL OF MINUTES The minutes from the December 15, 2021 meeting were not included in the packet. Minutes for the December 15th meeting will be approved at the February 16, 2022 meeting. PUBLIC COMMENT Public comments opened at 7:05 pm. With no comments, public comment was closed at 7:05 pm. NEW BUSINESS Teipel introduced Chris Lieber from NES Consulting Group who remotely presented the Rodeo Grounds and Chicago Ranch Master Plan. NES started the public engagement process with one-on-one meetings with stakeholders, holding a virtual open house in January of 2022, and through a survey on the my-BV.com website. The public engagement process found that a majority of Rodeo Ground use is based off specific events or activities – activities varied dependent on seasons. The majority of respondents expressed wanting to see a balance between natural resource conservation and recreational activities. Existing activities could be expanded or remain intact, and there were several new additions proposed such as a fenced dog park, extended trail network, event parking and camping, infrastructure/facilities, and turf fields. Lieber mentioned that there is an on-site meeting with the Sportsman Club scheduled for early February. Commissioner LaGreca asked about how the transition from irrigated agriculture to native vegetation is being addressed in the plan. Lieber expects there to be specific recommendations from their staff and TriView, and that native grasses already exist at the site, making the transition easier than transitioning from monoculture. Chair Larimer expressed concern over the potential loss of the only true off-leash dog area in Town as proposed in the preliminary plans. Lieber stated that this is being taken in consideration during the public engagement and planning process. Larimer also asked about the relationship with the Sportsman’s Club as a private group operating on public land and the interaction of a gun range surrounded by public uses. Lieber explained that there should be enough room to provide a buffer between conflicting uses. There is also an agreement in place between the Sportsman’s Club and the Town, though details were unknown at the time of the meeting. Commissioner Brown asked about fire mitigation planning, particularly following the Boulder fire. Lieber said that issue had not been addressed in detail outside of the special event camping plans, but that it should be something to be considered moving forward. Larimer agreed, particularly with special event fireworks. Doering asked about having someone at the open house to speak on the revegetation plan. Teipel said there would be elements included in the Master Plan, and there would likely be stringent requirements in the water rights and County process. Commissioner LaGreca asked about grazing to help manage the revegetation process. Lieber stated that this has been considered as a potential option. Commissioner Schultz-Writsel asked about the public response rate – there were 274 responses – which comes out to a less than 10% of the Town’s population. Teipel and Doering stated that both the Chamber and newspaper were used as part of the public outreach process. Social Media, the Recreation Department, and my-BV.com website was used extensively to promote the virtual open house on January 20th, 2022. Teipel then presented a briefing on the Housing Affordability Code Audit. This audit is a result of HB1271, which passed in 2021, that created a series of affordable housing programs in Colorado. One of the programs was a planning grant administered by DOLA. This allows municipalities and jurisdictions to hire consultants and analyze existing code and practices to see if changes can result in new or improved policies for affordable housing. Staff felt that it would be helpful to have consultants review both the Unified Development Code, as well as existing processes, to see if there were any changes that could be made that would incentivize the development of affordable housing. Staff interviewed three consultant groups and selected one. The group selected is a conglomerate made up of three individual consulting groups, led by Capelli Consulting. Commissioners LaGreca, Doumas, and Larimer volunteered to participate in conversations with the consulting group. STAFF / COMMISSION INTERACTION The February 2nd meeting will be cancelled, and the February 16th meeting will be a joint meeting with the Chaffee County Planning Commission to discuss the County IGA. It will start at 6:00 pm. Commissioner Doumas motioned for the Commission to meet in person on February 23rd. Commissioner Schultz-Writsel seconded. Motion #2 was unanimously approved. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Commission, Commissioner Brown motioned to adjourn the meeting at 8:31 p.m. Commissioner Larimer seconded. Motion #3 was unanimously approved. Respectfully submitted: Preston Larimer, Chair Doug Tart, Planning Technician