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Jacob's Golden Update discusses adoption of the 8th and 9th Street Neighborhood Plan. A draft Downtown Golden Character Plan has been introduced. City Council examines the economic importance of Golden's cultural organizations and councilor Weaver is accused of ethics code violations.
1. 8th and 9th Street Neighborhood Plan Adopted
2. Draft Downtown Golden Character Plan Introduced
3. The Economic Importance of Golden's Cultural Organizations
4. Councilor Weaver Accused of Ethics Code Violation
5. News From the Campaign Trail
6. City Council Meeting Agenda: Thursday, October 11
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1. 8th and 9th Street Neighborhood Plan Adopted
After many months of work by the planning commission, the city's planning staff, and many residents of the 8th and 9th Street Neighborhood, city council last week adopted an 8th and 9th Street Neighborhood Plan. Some of its provisions include protecting the historic character of the neighborhood, reducing the maximum size of new buildings, better integrating the commercial and residential areas (e.g., 8th Street west of Washington), and improving pedestrian connections.
Some of the plan's provisions will require additional code changes, and the portions that require funding will have to be prioritized along with everything else in the budget, but it does lay out much clearer neighborhood goals that are now part of the city's Comprehensive Plan. For that reason, it will help city council make good decisions about development proposals and other neighborhood character issues. I'm happy to get you a copy if you are interested. The city council voted 4-1 to adopt the plan (Mary Weaver voted against, and two members of council were absent).
I began advocating for neighborhood plans because I believe in empowering neighborhoods to decide on their own vision for themselves, and I had heard from many residents who were frustrated with the changes they were experiencing and wanted more control over those changes. We've just begun a neighborhood planning process for North Golden (where I'm very excited to have just bought a condo) after which the East St. neighborhood is queued up. We've talked about doing one in the Golden Ridge area, and I will energetically support any neighborhood that wants to craft a neighborhood plan for itself.
2. Draft Downtown Golden Character Plan Introduced
For the last 18 months, a committee made up of representatives from the Planning Commission, Golden Urban Renewal Authority, Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, and Historic Preservation Board have been meeting, soliciting public input, and crafting a draft "Downtown Character Plan." This plan would replace the current - and I think outdated - downtown plan. This committee presented their draft to city council last week and outlined their four major proposals:
- Adopt design guidelines to help maintain downtown's scale and historic character.
- Improve downtown's streetscape and its "walkability."
- Pay special attention to land use within the downtown area to make sure we protect the character while still promoting a healthy downtown economy.
- Begin crafting a plan for the entire Clear Creek Corridor that places a high priority on maintaining public ownership of the areas that are currently owned by the city and improving the recreational and park values of those lands.
The plan is fairly lengthy and includes quite a few specific recommendations about each of those four areas (and a host of other items). It includes a pretty detailed proposal for downtown design guidelines. There are also a few that will probably be pretty controversial, such as strengthening the smoking restrictions downtown and requiring a minimum amount of maintenance downtown.
I welcome your thoughts on the proposal or more generally on your vision for downtown. I expect that city council will schedule some public meetings or public hearings, probably early next year, and I'll let everyone know about them so you can weigh in. In the meantime, feel free to download and look through the proposed plan and send me or city council whatever thoughts and comments you might have.
3. The Economic Importance of Golden's Cultural Organizations
The Golden Cultural Alliance, made up of more than 20 Golden-area organizations, recently completed a study of the economic impact those organizations have on our community. They found that more than 1.2 million people visited our museums, our theater and music events, and other Golden cultural institutions. This is more than four times the attendance reported by the Coors Visitor Center in 2006 and sixty times the number of folks that attended home football games at Colorado School of Mines. The study estimated that these organizations funnel well over $10 million per year into the Golden economy. I've always believed that our cultural institutions enrich our community, but this study also underscores how important they are economically as well. Incidentally, I enjoyed visiting our Farmer's Market on Saturday, the last one of the year. Even this late in the season there were good crowds and lots of busy merchants. The Farmer's Market had a great year, with the preliminary reports showing a very large increase in sales over last year.
4. Councilor Weaver Accused of Ethics Code Violation
The city attorney independently filed a formal complaint against Golden city councilor Mary Weaver, alleging that she violated our ethics code by accepting an $8,500 loan from Marian Olson to bring a lawsuit against the rest of city council. The ethics code prohibits city councilors from accepting gifts or loans that are in any way related to our serving on the council, so I think the issue will come down to whether Ms. Olson's loan to Mary had anything to do with Mary being a city councilor.
Our ethics code specifically contemplates a situation where a member of city council is the subject of a complaint like this. It basically requires us to hire an independent special counsel to investigate the complaint and decide whether it has merit. If the special counsel concludes that it does, the issue would probably then go to court where a judge would determine whether or not Councilor Weaver violated the ethics code. This is a good system, since I think it would be very inappropriate for members of city council to judge whether the ethics complaint is valid, especially given that Mary used the money to file suit against the rest of us and that four of us on council (including Mary) are running for office. Two weeks ago we approved the hiring of a special counsel to conduct an independent investigation.
5. News from the Campaign Trail
Four weeks until election day! This election is all-mail ballot, meaning that everyone registered to vote should receive a ballot in the mail. You just fill it out and mail it back (or drop it off at one of several ballot drop-off locations). You'll have until the official election day - November 6 - to turn them in. The ballots should go out within about two weeks. If you aren't registered to vote at your current address, today (Tuesday, October 9) is the last day to do that. You can register to vote at the Jefferson County Building.
Smith for Mayor yard signs have been popping up all over the city. There are still a few left, so let me know if you'd like one and a volunteer will get it to you right away.
If you haven't decided who to support yet, I encourage you to visit my web site or call (303-216-1680) or
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to learn more about my vision for Golden. I also encourage you to call the other two candidates and ask them the same questions. Mary Weaver's phone number is 720-217-5294 and Mayor Baroch's phone number is 303-278-9697. There is also a candidate forum on Wednesday night (October 10) at City Hall starting at 6:30 p.m. It will be broadcast live on Comcast channel 8 as well.
6. City Council Meeting Agenda: Thursday, October 11
The election for Golden's next mayor is in full swing. As one of the candidates I'm having a great time walking door-to-door all over Golden, meeting a bunch of folks, sharing my vision for Golden, and hearing about your issues and concerns. There are three of us running, each with a very different vision for Golden and approach to being mayor, and I encourage you to learn about all three of us when you make your decision about who to support. This election is an all-mail ballot election, meaning that everyone who is registered to vote will get a ballot in the mail. If you aren't registered at your current address you must do so by October 9th. The ballots are scheduled to go out in about three weeks, and you'll have until the official election day - November 6 - to get them in.
I'm excited to report that we'll have our yard signs back from the printer next week. If you support my campaign for mayor and want a yard sign, just send me an email and let me know. If you haven't decided whom to support yet, I encourage you to visit my web site or call or email me to learn more about my vision for Golden. I also encourage you to call the other two candidates and ask them the same questions. Mary Weaver's phone number is 720-217-5294 and Mayor Baroch's phone number is 303-278-9697.
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Jacob Smith
Golden City Council
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(303) 216-1680
smithforgolden.com
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