HomeMy WebLinkAbout922 - Job to Housing Amended & Approved 2/18/03RESOLUTION 922
A RESOLUTION PROVIDING DIRECTION REGARDING THE JOBS/HOUSING
PROJECT
WHEREAS, employment in the City of Boulder has grown faster than housing in recent
years resulting in increased in-commuting, a growing daytime population, increased
traffic congestion, and increased demand for housing; and
WHEREAS, the city and the county jointly adopted policy L 19 of the Boulder Valley
Comprehensive Plan which guides this process and calls for a public process to establish
an appropria~e and acceptable jobs-to-population ratio and identify a combination of
actions that will reduce the amount of commercial growth, create mare affordable
housing, and mitigate the impacts of traffic congestion; and,
WHEREAS, additional city goals for the jobs/housing project include: (1) preservin$ and
strengthening the city's retail areas; (2) creating new mixed use neighborhoods by adding
housing in areas close to where people work; (3) encouraging transit oriented
development in the vicinity of the future transit station; and (4) revising outdated zoning
regulations and streamlining the development process; and,
WHEREAS, in 2001, the ratio of jobs to population in the Boulder Valley was
approximately 0.85:1. There were approximately 104,000 jobs and 121,800 people in
Planning Areas I, II, and III. Under current zoning regulations, the ratio of jobs to
population could reach1.63:1, or approximately 218,700 jobs and 134, 500 people; and,
WHEREAS, a public process was conducted over the past two years that included the
following: (1) a task force appointed by the city manager that met 19 times, including
three joint study sessions with Planning Board and City Council; (2) three Jobs/Housing
101 public meetings held in December 2002; (3} a pamphlet mailed to approximately
1000 property owners, distributed at libraries and recreation centers,
and printed as a full page in the Daily Camera; and (4) three area-specific meetings, an
open house, an economic panel and eight presentations to civic groups held in January
2003; and
WHEREAS, it is the intent of the City Council to establish appropriate direction
concerning the amount and quality of future development that will be beneficial for this
community,
NOW THEREFORE, THE CITY COiJNCIL RESOLVES to direct city staff to develop
plans and proposed regulations for Council review that would reduce the amount of
projected nonresidential development, increase planned housing, reduce projected traffic
congestion, and preserve a desirable quality of life within this community by:
1. Encouraging mixed use development in certain commercial and industrial areas
2. Adding housing through mixed use development and limiting the amount of new
office development in commercial areas
3. Preserving service commercial uses in selected areas
4. Develop appropriate maximum Floor Area Ratios (FARs) in all commercial zones
5. Identifying ways to preserve and strengthen the city's retail areas.
THE CITY COUNCIL expects that additional urban design and other analyses will be
conducted by city staff in order to guide the next phases of this project. In developing
plans and proposed regulations for Council review, city staff shall use the FAR ranges
outlined in Approach 2 in the February 11, 2003 staff memorandum as a guide, for areas
other than the Boulder Valley Regional Center and other than areas near the future transit
center. The FARs will undergo further refinement, and maybe adjusted either up or down
during the implementation phase, where it is expected that city staff will work with
affected property owners, members of the development community, the general public,
and appropriate city citizen boards and commissions.
The following direction is provided for use by staff as it develops proposals and
recommendations:
1. Encourage mixed use that favors retail and residential uses in the Boulder Valley
Regional Center (BVRC) and on the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan (BVCP) sites
designated mixed use. Mixed use would incorporate retail, residential, and a limited
amount of office uses. The appropriate FARs for retail, office, and residential uses in the
BVRC will be developed in consultation with the Boulder Urban Renewal Authority. On
those portions of the BVRC that are within walking distance of the future transit center
determine appropriate FARs to encourage transit oriented development within walking
distance of the transit center.
2. Preserve service commercial uses in the North 28th Street area. Examine strategies that
control uses as well as those based on FAR limits.
3. Encourage mixed use office in the Transitional Business -Developing Zone District
that includes residential and office uses. Consider the potential for higher housing
densities on parcels adjoining the University of Colorado.
4. Encourage mixed use in some commercial business areas at a lower intensity than in
the BVRC.
5. Encourage mixed use industrial development on selected sites along 30th St. West of
the Steelyards.
6. Explore the alternatives of residential, mixed use residential, or mixed use industrial
zoning on selected sites near the transit center. Determine appropriate FARs to
encourage transit oriented development within walking distance of the transit center.
7. Explore the alternatives of service industrial zoning or residential zoning on properties
adjacent to Valmont Park.
8. Pursue opportunities for mixed use industrial or residential development on selected
sites in Gunbarrel.
9. Add housing as a conditional, use review, or by-right use in industrial zones, and
consider this approach for the North 28th Street service commercial area.
10. Examine the potential for additional industrial to residential zoning conversions.
11. Rezone sites as appropriate to reflect the previously approved BVCP land use
designation.
12. Review the uses allowed in the Service Industrial zoning district with the goal of
revising some definitions and adding uses consistent with the intent of the zone district.
13. Evaluate a mechanism to allow transfers of density between properties.
14. Develop density bonuses for prof ects to move beyond the by-right zoning code if pre-
defined community benefits are provided. These could include the provision of additional
permanently affordable housing, additional transportation demand management
measures, green building measures, or other community benefits.
15. Develop a monitoring program whereby various indicators, such as annual population
and employment growth, transportation impacts, fiscal health, water supply, and other
environmental measures, can be tracked in order to evaluate overall community health
and make course corrections as necessary, especially during the Boulder Valley
Comprehensive Plan five-year update.
16. Evaluate residential incentives in the area east of downtown.
17. Uphold the goals of the Transportation Master Plan as maybe amended.
INTRODUCED, READ, AMENDED AND ADOPTED 18~h day of February, 2003.
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Mayor
Attest:
//.Caaac~ IC_/ [i'~l~ ~
City Clerk on behalf of the
Director of Finance and Records