City Council

City of Littleton Littleton Center 2255 West Berry Avenue Littleton, CO 80120 Meeting Agenda - Final City Council Tuesday, March 11, 2025 6:30 PM Council Chamber Study Session - joint with Planning Commission 1. Study Session Topics a) ID# 25-042 Littleton Engineering Design Standards and Specifications Update Title: Littleton Engineering Design Standards and Specifications Update Body: From:James L. Becklenberg, City Manager Prepared by: Matt Knight, PE, Community Development Director Presentations:Jessica Stemley, Community Development Engineering Manager Brent Thompson, PE, City Engineer PURPOSE: This presentation will provide an overview of the Littleton Engineering Design Standards and Specifications (LEDS). This document outlines city requirements, design criteria, and implementation guidelines to ensure consistency, safety, and proper maintenance of public infrastructure and private construction. LONG-TERM OUTCOME(S) SERVED: Safe Community; Sustainable Community with Natural Beauty; High-Quality Governance DISCUSSION: The City of Littleton is one of the few jurisdictions in the surrounding area without established engineering design standards and specifications. Implementing standardized guidelines that reference federal, state, and local standards will provide clarity, improve efficiency, and ensure consistency, quality, and compliance for all public and private projects. BACKGROUND: Since the adoption of the Unified Land Use Code in 2021, staff has been working to establish a set of formal engineering design standards. The ULUC references the Littleton Engineering Design Standards (LEDS) as approval criteria in relation certain application types. Absent these established criteria, the city has been informally using various federal and state code, criteria, and guidelines such as those from the Federal City of Littleton Page 1 Printed on 7/31/2026 City Council Meeting Agenda - Final March 11, 2025 Highway Administration (FHWA), American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), and the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) to ensure safety, consistency, and compliance. LEDS will officially establish these industry best practices in one comprehensive document. It will serve as a critical resource not only for city staff but also for consultants, contractors, and developers working on projects in Littleton. LEDS will cover essential topics such as construction materials (e.g., asphalt and concrete), water quality requirements, traffic signal design, and contractor responsibilities, to name a few. Once adopted, LEDS will apply to new construction for both City of Littleton and private development, new developments, right-of-way (ROW) permits, and infrastructure maintenance, helping to ensure high-quality, safe, and consistent development throughout the city. It will be updated periodically, as a trailing reference document following higher-level policy projects such as the Transportation Master Plan. Prior Actions or Discussions N/A FISCAL IMPACTS: N/A STAFF RECOMMENDATION: N/A ALTERNATIVES: N/A Scheduled time: 30 minutes b) ID# 25-041 Discussion of topics in upcoming 2025 Unified Land Use Code (ULUC) amendments Title: Discussion of topics in upcoming 2025 Unified Land Use Code (ULUC) amendments Body: From:James L. Becklenberg, City Manager Prepared by: Matt Knight, Director of Community Development Jerad Chipman, Planning Manager Andrea Vaughn, Senior Planner Presentations:Andrea Vaughn, Senior Planner PURPOSE: City of Littleton Page 2 Printed on 7/31/2026 City Council Meeting Agenda - Final March 11, 2025 Staff is seeking to inform city council and planning commission of proposed updates to the ULUC and hear discussion and feedback to help shape forthcoming ordinance proposals. LONG-TERM OUTCOME(S) SERVED: High-Quality Governance; Robust and Resilient Economy; Safe Community DISCUSSION: Staff will provide a presentation focusing on proposed text amendments to the ULUC that are in response to the 2024 State of Colorado Legislative Session and additional text amendments that have been identified as a city priority. BACKGROUND: The 2024 State of Colorado Legislative Session resulted in several pieces of legislation that require municipal compliance by means of ordinance amendment no later than July 1, 2025. Staff has been monitoring these legislative actions and intends to discuss the legislation, staff’s proposed approach to amending the ULUC, and opportunities to further city goals prompted by the requirement to amend the ULUC. The legislative acts that staff intends to discuss are as follows: · Occupancy limits in HB24-1007 - There is one minor update to a definition within the ULUC that is required. · Accessory dwelling units (ADUs) in HB24-1152 - City council and planning commission discussed this topic and the legislative requirement with the 2024 effort to update the ULUC. · Minimum parking in proximity to transit HB24-1304 - Removes minimum parking requirements for multi-family, mixed-use multi-family, and adaptive reuse projects located near transit. · Nonfunctional turf in SB24-005 - Does not allow for turf and artificial turf on nonresidential properties with some exceptions. City priority updates to the ULUC that are nonlegislative that will be discussed are as follows: · An update to the city’s regulations pertaining to platting and the platting process. · Direction regarding whether city staff should be the only entity that is allowed to send out mailings notifying property owners of an upcoming neighborhood meeting. · Direction regarding the creation of a Master Sign Plan process and associated restrictions. · An update to the city’s tree preservation requirements and updating the ULUC so that it does not conflict with the City’s Tree Manual. City of Littleton Page 3 Printed on 7/31/2026 City Council Meeting Agenda - Final March 11, 2025 Prior Actions or Discussions · At the January 23, 2024, city council study session, council gave staff direction to pursue work on future ULUC text amendments. · · At the August 26, 2024, planning commission study session, staff briefed the planning commission on future legislative updates that would be addressed in 2025. FISCAL IMPACTS: N/A STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Staff is seeking clarifying questions and feedback on proposed policy topics to be addressed in forthcoming ordinances. ALTERNATIVES: N/A Scheduled time: 30 minutes c) ID# 25-056 Stormwater Infrastructure Needs Discussion Title: Stormwater Infrastructure Needs Discussion Body: From:James L. Becklenberg, City Manager Prepared by: Brent Soderlin, Director of Public Works & Utilities Sarah White, Water Resources Manager Kevin Orton, Budget Manager Presentations:N/A PURPOSE: Provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of the city’s stormwater infrastructure, including recent challenges, ongoing repairs, and future funding needs. In addition, the memo will highlight the trend within the Storm Drainage Enterprise Fund, in which expenditures have exceeded revenues, and to highlight the high risk of failure impacting more than 18% of our storm sewer assets. LONG-TERM OUTCOME(S) SERVED: Safe Community DISCUSSION: The stormwater management system is vital for protecting our community from flooding and ensuring public safety. Since 2023, there has been exponential growth in the funding needs within the Storm Sewer Enterprise Fund. Emergency repairs have City of Littleton Page 4 Printed on 7/31/2026 City Council Meeting Agenda - Final March 11, 2025 caused expenditures from the Storm Drainage Enterprise Fund to exceed revenues and staff anticipate that this trend will continue into the foreseeable future. Recent emergency conditions, particularly the record rainfall in 2023, have highlighted the vulnerabilities within our aging stormwater infrastructure, leading to the collapse of several corrugated metal pipes (CMP). Public Works staff is currently focused on corrugated metal pipes (CMPs), as most have been in service for 30 to 40 years and have exceeded their design lives. The city owns and maintains 54 miles of storm sewer, of which approximately 6.8% (or roughly 3.6 miles) are CMPs. Revenue vs Expenditures FY 2021 through FY 2023 Category FY 2021 FY 2022 FY 2023 Revenues1 $2,654,188 $2,320,262 $2,855,139 Expenditures $1,329,464 $1,940,994 $5,204,168 Difference$1,324,724 $379,268 ($2,349,029) 1Does not include a $1,100,000 interfund loan from the Sewer Utility Enterprise Fund In 2023, council authorized using a $1,100,000 loan to help cover emergency repairs. The FY 2024 revenues and expenditures are still being finalized but the cost of emergency repairs is anticipated to exceed stormwater charges for services. Staff has identified approximately $11.1 million of emergency repairs needed within the city. Of that amount, $2.4 million has already been reserved, $3.6 million is needed for 2025, $1.2 million is needed for 2026, and the remaining $3.9 million is planned for 2027. These project costs are initial estimates and may be adjusted as design work is completed. Storm Drainage Enterprise Fund FY 2025 Adopted Budget In 2025, the total adopted budget is $3.5 million and includes both capital projects and operations and maintenance. Staff has identified $3.6 million of urgent storm drainage projects that exceed current fund appropriations. The current FY 2025 funding gap is $2.8 million. Category FY 2025 Expenditures Personnel $616,910 Operating Expenses 188,443 Professional Services 196,000 Floodplain Projects or Studies1,086,667 Projects already programed in 2025 703,000 High Priority - Lee Gulch & Broadway2 1,500,000 High Priority - Belleview & Federal 850,000 High Priority - Elati South of Ridge 800,000 High Priority - Ridge and Prince 400,000 Total FY 2025 Funding Need$6,341,020 City of Littleton Page 5 Printed on 7/31/2026 City Council Meeting Agenda - Final March 11, 2025 Available FY 2025 Budget $3,517,853 Funding Gap ($2,823,167) 2Total project cost is $4.0 million. The city has already contributed $1.2 million and Mile High Flood District has contributed $1.2 million. Projects Planned for 2026 & 2027 Staff has identified seven high priority projects for 2026 and 2027: High Priority ProjectEstimated Cost High Priority - Sterne Parkway 600,000 High Priority - Broadway at Weaver 600,000 Total FY 2026 Funding Needed $1,200,000 Oakbrook Subdivision2,000,000 Rafferty Gardens 750,000 Huron at Progress Park 500,000 Latonka at Powell 350,000 Arapahoe at Broadway 250,000 Total FY 2027 Funding Needed $3,850,000 Storm Drainage Fund Availability The Storm Drainage Fund does not have available fund balance to address the identified high priority projects. The estimated FY 2025 through FY 2028 fund available is shown in the table below. Storm Drainage Fund with Emergency Projects Included ($ in millions) Category FY 2025 FY 2026 FY 2027 FY 2028 Beginning Balance $0.5 ($1.6) ($1.6) ($3.2) Revenues $4.2 $3.3 $4.0 $3.7 Expenditures $6.3 $3.3 $5.6 $1.8 Ending Balance ($1.6) ($1.6) ($3.2) ($1.3) Debt Funding Options vs Interfund Loan To address long term funding needs staff plans to begin a rate study later in the summer of 2025. To address the “high” and “very high”-risk projects over the next 2-3 years, debt financing will be necessary, as current stormwater utility rates are not sufficient to fund the projects with the timeliness required. Presumably, the rate study will yield user rate recommendations that will fund needed capital project and operations over the next 5-10 years and repay any loans taken in 2025 to pay for emergency repairs. The most common municipal debt financing tool for these types of improvements is the Colorado State Revolving Loan Fund, administered by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE). Staff has researched the availability of City of Littleton Page 6 Printed on 7/31/2026 City Council Meeting Agenda - Final March 11, 2025 the program for these improvements, and while these improvements would likely qualify for the program, it takes 8-12 months to work through the process. For this reason, the CDPHE program is not available to finance the 2025 projects. This leaves the options of a bank loan, with interest rates estimated to be 4.40% to over 6.00%, or a loan from another City of Littleton fund that would be paid back to the lending fund at a rate equivalent to the average return on the City’s investment portfolio, which is approximately 2.5% annually. The most appropriate fund for such a loan in this case is the Sewer Fund for projects identified in 2025. The sewer fund is structured to accumulate fund balance over a 10-year period in anticipation of very large wastewater treatment plant capital projects planned for the mid- 2030s. Sewer Fund Model with Interfund Loan & Repayment An approximate interfund loan from the sewer fund would be calculated with the following terms · Total Loan Amount: $2.8 million o Includes projects identified in 2025. Upon project completion, any remaining funds will be returned to the sewer fund. · Interest Rate: 2.5 % · Payment Terms: 7 years (beginning in 2027) · Approximate increase to Stormwater Rates for single family residents would be $16 per year. A finalized number will be calculated as part of the 2025 Stormwater rate study. Sewer Fund with Forecast with Interfund Loan & Payment ($ in millions) Category FY 2025 FY 2026 FY 2027 FY 2028 Beginning Balance $14.0 $5.7 $4.7 $5.0 Revenues $22.7 $27.4 $24.2 $25.8 Repayment from Storm $0.4 $0.4 Expenditures $28.2 $28.4 $24.3 $23.7 Ending Balance $8.5 $4.7 $5.0 $7.5 Loan to Storm ($2.8) Adjusted Ending Balance$5.7 BACKGROUND: In 2023, the city completed a Storm Drainage Master Plan that included managing the risks associated with structural failures of our assets. Additionally, we experienced significant flooding that resulted in several large-scale failures of our storm sewer system. The master plan identified that 17.6% of our storm pipes are at high or very high risk of failure. Our staff has determined that the corrugated metal pipes within the city are at the greatest risk. We are currently prioritizing projects for either lining or replacement. City of Littleton Page 7 Printed on 7/31/2026 City Council Meeting Agenda - Final March 11, 2025 Scheduled time: 30 minutes 2. Updates a) Council Members b) Mayor c) City Manager d) City Attorney 3. Adjournment The public is invited to attend all regular meetings or study sessions of the city council or any city board, commission, or committee. Please call 303-795-3780 at least 48 hours prior to the meeting if you believe you will need special assistance or any reasonable accommodation in order to attend, or participate in, any such meeting. For any additional information concerning city meetings, please call the city clerk’s office at the above referenced number. City of Littleton Page 8 Printed on 7/31/2026