Hi neighbors! In Monday night’s Virtual Town Board Meeting, we heard recommendations from the ACES Committee, interviewed potential new members for several committees, unanimously approved the rezoning of the Century Link property to Open Space Natural, approved a replat of the Resolute property to sell the units as townhomes rather than condos, and opened a public hearing with Boulder Creek Neighborhoods for the potential development of “Wee Cottages” on the Rogers Farm property just west of McCaslin Boulevard; this hearing will be continued to our Board meeting on Monday August 24th. Ready to find out more on what happened? As usual, you may read this post in written form, subscribe to the Laura for Superior podcast, or scroll to the bottom for a video recap.

Disclaimer: While I do my best to represent an honest and accurate portrayal of meetings and events, the following should be considered an editorial that represents one person’s interpretation of the meetings. At the request of my fellow Board members, I am keeping their points anonymous rather than trying to attribute my interpretation to them personally. For the most unbiased and complete information, I would encourage residents to watch the meeting video itself and draw their own conclusions – visit the town website at SuperiorColorado.gov for the official meeting video and meeting minutes. Finally, I’d also encourage you to check out EngagedCitizens.us, which is a fantastic free tool created by one of our own residents. Engaged Citizens includes a repository of agendas, documents, and meeting videos, and allows you to search within a video to jump to critical parts. I hope you find it as helpful as I do!

Item 2D – Board Reports

During Board reports, a member of the Board reminded the public that any feedback on this summer’s COVID-adapted pool operations should be either sent to our Town Manager (mattm@superiorcolorado.gov) or to our Board (townboard@superiorcolorado.gov), and that complaints should not be addressed to the teenagers who are working at the pools.

Item 2E – Public Comment

During public comment, a resident was concerned about what our success criteria are for Downtown Superior – and she believes that what is being built does not comply with the design guidelines. The resident mentioned that she understands we received over 200 emails about the Zaharias property, and is concerned that only a similar outpouring of public support will cause us to take action.

I would like to specifically note that while I always appreciate hearing from residents, I make my decisions based on the logic of the arguments, not by the volume of requests. One of my biggest realizations as a Trustee has been that not everyone who expresses an opinion has all the facts (e.g., most of the emails I got about the Zaharias property urged me to “leave it zoned as Open Space”, where this property has never been Open Space and I did not have any option to rezone it to Open Space). I believe that you elected me to gather the facts and make an informed decision based on those facts and what I think is best for the community, even if it is not the most popular decision. I also consider a key part of my job being to share the facts and arguments that went into my decision, and educate people who are willing to listen – which is why I write this blog 🙂 But I want to reassure everyone that even if you are only one person writing to the Board, I take what you say very seriously and consider your comments based on their merits, not by how many emails I get on the same topic.

Item 2F – Presentation – ACES Recommendation Update

We heard a presentation from Advisory Committee for Environmental Sustainability (ACES) Member Mike Henchen to encourage the Town to pursue emissions-free landscaping options when we issue an RFP this year for our landscaping contract. Doing so would help reduce local pollution / ozone levels, decrease greenhouse gases, and also reduce noise pollution.

Item 3 – Consent Agenda

Next, our Board unanimously passed the entire consent agenda – including meeting minutes, and a proclamation for outgoing Planning Commission and Advisory committee members. Thank you to Jason Reese, Anthony Stewart, Shawn Samuelson, Corey Ocshner, and Ron Sommer for their service to the Town of Superior!

Item 4 – Committee Interviews

The Board conducted interviews with residents Tatiana Daukhanova, Mike Foster, and Dave Pujdak to potentially fill two open positions on the Advisory Committee for Environmental Sustainability (ACES).

We also conducted an interview with resident Jill Giordano to potentially fill one of two open positions on the Cultural Arts & Public Spaces (CAPS) Committee.

Finally, we conducted an interview with Erin Edwards to potentially fill one open position on the Superior Historical Commission (SHC).

We will decide on any potential appointments at our next meeting.

Item 5 – Rezoning of Century Link Property to Open Space Natural

On April 27, our Town Board approved the purchase and sale agreement for the 182-acre property on the southern border of Superior. When we purchased the property, it was zoned as Regional Activity and Employment Center (RAC); on Monday night, we considered rezoning it to Open Space – Natural. Our intention is to keep this in its natural state, with the potential for additional trail connections and access, or other uses allowed under OS-N zoning. This passed unanimously.

Item 6 – Public Hearing for the Final Plat of the Resolute Property

The Resolute property (northeast of the intersection of Coalton Road and South Tyler Drive) was rezoned in 2016 from Regional Activity and Employment Center (RAC) to residential; in 2018, a FP and FPSP plan were approved for Urban Green Development to build 94 condos. Despite receiving approval to develop, Urban Green Development never acquired or pursued developing this property. Now, Superior Shore Townhomes / Koelbel Urban Homes is requesting to subdivide the 7.2 acre property into 94 individual lots to build the 94 dwelling units as townhomes.

We heard a presentation from the applicant and asked a few questions about these plans. For me, this was pretty straightforward – we weren’t changing the density, and were primarily agreeing to change these from condos to townhomes (which results in different parcel plans). The Board unanimously approved this adjustment and final plat.

Item 7 – Public Hearing for Rezone, Final Plat, and Final Development Plan for Rogers Farm

Finally, we considered three applications from Boulder Creek Neighborhoods, concerning the 8.765 acres west of McCaslin Boulevard, east of First Avenue, and south of Coal Creek, commonly known as the “Rogers Farm property”.

First, we considered a rezone of the 8.765 acres from a mix of medium density residential (R-M) and agricultural urban reserve (A-UR) to planned development (PD) According to the Staff memo, “The details of how this proposal deviates from current R-M zoning… include variations in lot size, lot width, and building heights. Additionally, staff did not identify a need to retain any of the A-UR zoned area. The property does not currently have an established agricultural use and 3 future agricultural uses tucked between the proposed residential development and an arterial road are both unlikely and potentially incompatible.”

The second request is for a Final Plat to subdivide the property to create 61 single-family residential lots, three HOA parcels, and one open space tract to be dedicated to the Town, along with easements for utilities, public and pedestrian access, emergency access, and drainage. Finally, the third request is to develop the property with “Wee Cottages” ranging from 896-1540 square feet and with two to three bedrooms each. The Wee Cottages are designed to be low-maintenance, with minimal private yards (lot sizes are 1540-2268 square feet) and an emphasis on common green spaces. Each unit would also include at least two parking spots (either garage or driveway), regardless of whether it is two or three bedrooms.

We heard the initial presentation from the developer and took public comment from residents, then moved to Q&A between the developer and the Board. We decided to continue this hearing to our Board meeting on Monday August 24th.

Wrap Up

Thank you so much for taking the time to read / listen to this recap – I hope it is helpful! Our Board is always open to hearing your comments, questions, and concerns – you may always email your feedback to townboard@superiorcolorado.gov, or to me specifically at lauras@superiorcolorado.gov. As a reminder, any messages sent to a government email are part of the public record and will have your name attached; if you feel the need to write in anonymously, you may always comment at the bottom of my blog post recaps.