Regular Council Meeting
January 16, 2007
This report does not cover all items on the agenda – only the items that were most interesting to me. You can read the official minutes on the city’s web site if you are interested.
An ordinance on second reading was passed on a 4 to 2 vote (Clark and Kast dissenting) that approved the application for the “property located at 2589 W Main Street (Main Street Grill) into the Main Street Historic District” (MSHD). What was unusual about this application is that the applicant wanted the approval provided that the ordinance included a provision that would allow for the total demolition of the building currently on the lot. As Doug Clark said they were approving the historic status for the “dirt” under the current building which he found absurd. He was told that the building did not have a lot of historic integrity. He also did not like the idea that the buildings are being made to look alike. He was all for “preservation” but what they are doing is “homogenization.” He would prefer a diversified look in downtown Littleton.
Pat Cronenberger said she would be approving the ordinance with reservation. It was a difficult situation that required a compromise based on a historical district that owners could opt in as opposed to being mandated.
John Ostermiller was concerned about the parking incentive for the members of the MSHD. Was the parking incentive driving historic preservation or is the historic preservation driving the parking? He suggested a study session on downtown parking. It bothers him how historic preservation and parking are related.
Tom Mulvey said he was uncomfortable with the demolition but would trust the staff.
Rebecca Kast said she was afraid of setting a precedent.
Mr. Matthews, member of the team developing that block of downtown, showed a conceptual drawing of the proposed new building. It looks very similar to the others on the block. They prefer the tenants to be a restaurant with a roof-top terrace and office space in the back. If the tenant is not a restaurant there would most likely be retail on the ground floor.
Reports
Jim Woods – Reminded the council of their Feb. 2 workshop at the Littleton Museum. The “city tour” on Saturday may require a chartered bus to accommodate any citizens that might want to go along. It was decided to wait for the tour until the snow melts. It will be difficult to see code violations with the amount of snow that will most likely still be on the ground at that time.
Amy Conklin said she and Kelli Narde met with “guys” to get Channel 8 up and going. We should all stay tuned.
John Ostermiller reported that he has begun talking to West Metro Fire District as requested by council to discuss possible solutions to the TrailMark needs for emergency service.
Conklin wanted to know what the standard response time is for the metro area. (Not sure why this is important – TrailMark citizens were promised services equivalent to those that the rest of Littleton receives – not what the metro area receives.)
Cronenberger asked about the ULI (Urban Land Institute) report that was commissioned last summer – when are they going to talk about it. Woods said they are expecting the report anytime now and if they can get it worked into the workshop they will.
Ostermiller suggested that Xcel give a presentation to council on what they are doing, how legislation is impacting them and their future plans.
He also reported that the Chamber is already planning what to do for the Democratic Convention. We need to get participants in Littleton.
Ostermiller said the Arapahoe County Sherriff’s Office is short on beds and has notified Denver that they will not take their juveniles anymore. They will not longer provide beds for Community Corrections. Littleton may loose 5 of our 11 beds. Sheriff Robinson said he will meet with interested parties before our beds are reduced.
Conklin asked what Littleton would do if we do not have enough beds. Ostermiller said it will cause a lot of problems – if a private contractor, if used, will cost the city money and right now there is no charge from the county. It could amount to $69 per day per bed.
Clark made a motion to reduce the $1.25 a page the city charges a citizen for a copy of a public document. The $1.25 is more than what it costs to make a copy and the city should make it easier for citizens to get information. Mulvey seconded the motion.
Conklin said Clark is right but the cost of tracking down the copy is more than that. Wood said he thought they did factor in the staff costs.
Berkowitz said the custodian for the city sets the policy but that doesn’t mean that council can’t give input.
Woods said it was a 10 year policy – we could provide the council with the policy and the law.
Cronenberger said it was a bigger issue – it was not how much but the availability of the document. What’s on the web site – have we looked comprehensively at what is on the web site. I am not interested in voting tonight, she said. Then she moved to postpone the motion indefinitely and Conklin seconded.
Ostermiller said some documents take some time to find. Berkowitz said you have to understand how many documents we have and there isn’t the budget to digitize them.
Clark said he concurred with Cronenberger that their goal should be to get as much information on the web site as possible. However, the $1.25 per copy was a disincentive for requesting public records. He suggested they try .25 per copy and if it is a problem they can go back and reconsider.
Motion to postpone passed 4 to 2 with Clark and Mulvey dissenting.
Lowe’s opened last week.
Posted March 2, 2007 
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