Glenwood Springs City Council meets at 6:15 p.m. Thursday at City Hall. Here’s a peek at what’s on the agenda.
Updates on transportation planning
There is no action to be taken for the discussion; just a transportation study update.
City Engineer Terri Partch will bring council up to speed on the transportation data she and city staff have collected to date.
Partch is also working to present the findings to the Garfield County commissioners.
Points to be covered in the council presentation include accident data, the transit expansion analysis, Garfield County travel patterns, Garfield County growth projections and the Glenwood Springs traffic volumes that were previously reported on.
There will also be an update for the next LoVa Trail section to be constructed in West Glenwood this spring.
South Bridge right of way update
There will be an update on the South Bridge right of way process. No council action is expected.
“The right of way portion of the project is funded through Roaring Fork Transportation Authority Destination 2040 funds,” engineering staff states in the council packet. “$4 million has been allocated to right of way purchases and appraisals.”
The packet states that the project will be complete by August 2025, after a projected 12 to 18 months for construction.
A complete council update is planned for May to include an evacuation plan, upcoming grant opportunities and the final design amendment for the project, so it can be put out for bids.
Second reading for inclusionary zoning code changes
The proposed code change would increase the inclusionary housing (deed restrictions) requirement from 10% to 20% for new developments, and change it to apply to developments of five or more units instead of the current 10 or more units, according to staff’s recommendation.
Council approved the staff recommended code change on first reading last month, and this will be the second reading.
Staff has updated findings for development in the 18 months since inclusionary zoning was reintroduced to the code on April 1, 2021.
Staff is still recommending the same amendment, while council is mostly on board. Staff and Mayor Jonathan Godes say the code change will help create more affordable housing in Glenwood Springs, while Councilor Ingrid Wussow has expressed concerns that it will drive out developers and workforce housing.
She plans to present some data to back up her concerns at the meeting on Thursday.
Urban camping ban amendment
The city also proposes to amend a downtown camping ban to include the underpasses near the main Interstate 70 interchange.
The prohibition is being amended to include Highway 82/North River Drive at Exit 116, which is the underpass area that leads to the roundabout on Sixth Street.
“This location is particularly unsafe for camping due to the high volume of traffic coming on and off of I-70 at Exit 116,” city legal staff states in the council packet. “This location is also a pedestrian and bicyclist connection to the city’s trail system connecting from the Hot Springs Pools to Two Rivers Park.”
It adds, “when camping blocks the sidewalk in this location, trail users are forced to transit on the vehicular way to access the trail system. This ordinance does not change the status of camping in any locations in the city other than the I-70 underpass.”
North Landing timeline update
After completing one open house to let residents weigh in on how the North Landing area on Sixth Street could look, the city was able to take the information back to the drawing board to create a timeline and design concept.
On Feb. 16, there will be a joint City Council and Downtown Development Authority worksession.
From February through April, staff will work on a schematic design. That will include another stakeholder open house or meeting on March 13, along with a DDA meeting and worksession.
The city plans to get to task three in April with 60% of the drawings, and task four with 90% of the drawings by May or June. Task five is planned to be between June and July with 100% of the construction drawings complete and a bid set.
An idea of the North Landing Visions Look Book is attached in this week’s council packet starting on page 140.
Some of the concept art is not necessarily what the city will be capable of doing, like the building concept for the commercial space to the west of the North Landing parcel, Bryana Starbuck, public information officer for Glenwood, said.
