Planning Commission Agenda and Packet 2012 03 22

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Planning Commission Staff Report March 22, 2012 Steel Ranch commit the City’s last large vacant parcels for development. Future change in Louisville will come almost exclusively in the form of redevelopment. The current Comprehensive Plan notes this shift in growth patterns, but it does not provide the tools necessary for the community to adequately review, discuss, and implement future infill development requests. The development issues and concerns of an expanding greenfield community are quite different than those of a redeveloping infill community. Louisville’s policies generally align with those of an expanding greenfield community. The policies focus on measuring, accommodating and mitigating the impact of new development on the capacity of the City’s infrastructure, services and quality of life. In a redeveloping infill community the capacity of community infrastructure and services is still a concern. However, efficiency—the ability to achieve economies of scale by using existing infrastructure to serve more customers at a lower unit cost to each customer— also becomes a consideration. Also, because infill development can positively or negatively affect existing land uses, understanding how the design, physical character and other aspects of an infill project affect the adjacent neighbors and the City as a whole is critical to determining whether the project is likely to enhance or undermine the existing quality of life. The current Comprehensive Plan provides little flexibility, or guidance to address redevelopment outside of the Revitalization District and Downtown. We need clearer policies to guide redevelopment as the McCaslin and South Boulder Road corridors age and as infill residential rehabilitation pressures grow in established residential neighborhoods. b.Regional traffic and City transportation policy – As new development continues in surrounding areas, Louisville will likely experience a decreasing share of local traffic on its street network. Future transportation investments in the City will be challenged to accommodate demands for regional traffic mobility and at the same time address livability and economic viability concerns. The City’s current transportation policies and regulations reflect those of a community continuing to expand; they are not consistent with the realities of a community that is landlocked and redeveloping. The City’s current transportation Regulations are aligned with regional mobility concerns and are designed to accommodate vehicular traffic, roadway capacity, and safety features for higher speeds. A redeveloping City’s transportation priorities are typically aligned with multimodal transportation, roadway efficiency, property access, and safety features for slower speed environments. Thus, the Comprehensive Plan Update should translate the Community’s Vision of transportation to effectively guide future investments by recognizing the inherent conflicts between regional mobility needs and local access and quality of life requirements. c. The economy and realities of retail growth – The downturn in the economy since 2008 and the realities of regional retail competition, access/visibility of retail sites, and new retailing practices require more specific guidance than the current Comprehensive Plan provides. The current Plan states, “Not only has revenue generating retail development moved into adjacent communities such as Broomfield and Superior, future growth trends suggest a more dramatic regional shift in retail away from Louisville, particularly toward communities along the I-25 North corridor.” To address this shift of retail away from Louisville, we need to understand (1) how certain locations may facilitate or undermine the success of retail activities, as well as (2) the probability of retail selecting—and succeeding— in a particular 2