Planning Commission Agenda and Packet 2016 03 10

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Planning Commission Meeting Minutes February 11, 2016 Page 7 of 18 process comments were from Jeff Lipton when he was Chairman of the PC regarding the first Safeway proposal. He criticized having SRU as a planning process. When SRU is mentioned, it's maybe we'll do this and maybe we won't at some time in the future. It gives no certainty to the public and it gives no certainty to anyone interested in development. They may withhold development if the promise of something may happen eventually. The main message from the public in this process was about connectivity across South Boulder Road. It may be impossible to do an underpass and I don't know how deeply it has been examined. There is another option that may not be visibly attractive but an overpass is a possibility. I don't think that can be dismissed as technically unfeasible. The #1 priority of the public is connectivity, especially residents who live north of South Boulder Road. Looking at the traffic estimates, they are actually underestimated because time is added to the existing situation. This is a 20 year plan and by 2035, there will be more traffic. When you add traffic, it is not linear. You get more delays when you add traffic. It would be good to get an idea of traffic levels for 2025. Regarding the current Highway 42 plan, there are some goals and principles about traffic. The goal is to move traffic through there as quickly as possible. The Highway 42 plan does not do that. There were trade-offs in terms of how it is constructed with lights and speeds that do not move cars through as quickly as possible. The financial analysis is lacking some detail and documentation so it is hard to look at. I appreciate the comments you brought up because if none of those capital projects are in there and that surplus is long gone. Doing the 20 year projection ignores the time value of money. It is only valid if your expenditures and your revenues match each year. If they don't, you need to have a discount rate which could change significantly. Regarding build -out projections, I am not sure they are consistent with market analysis for a small area plan process. It was a shallow analysis looking at doubling the office space in the next 20 years in that area. I think the best market analysis done was for the Urban Renewal Area and I don't think it projected that kind of demand for offices. I don't know if it is over the next 20 years or the next 10 years, but I don't think it is realistic. I don't know if the retail is realistic. It seems a little on the low side for a 20 year projection. I think we need to tie that back to the information done by market people. When I look at the drawings of the King Soopers area, I see the parking there today when two-thirds of the lot is packed out to the street in front of ARC and Hobby Lobby and King Soopers. If we put streets through there and more and more buildings, I don't think anyone is going to want to invest in a parking structure there. How realistic are these projections? Alexandra Bradley, 1385 Caledonia Circle, Louisville, CO I am really surprised to see the traffic light at Kaylix. I talked to the traffic consultant at the last public meeting and he said the light wasn't feasible. I thought it was a done deal. I have grave concerns about the traffic flow with that additional light. I want to bring up the small entrance change for Cottonwood Park being proposed. My understanding is that it will allow a spur road off Via Appia to get to the parking lot. It is a lovely idea but Cottonwood Park is a treasure park for our children because it is totally safe. It is fenced off and the parking lot is far away in terms of little kids running into it. There are mature trees where the little spur road would go. The road would be right next to the playground so we would lose that safe treasure. It is the best park in town to take kids if they bolt so I want the park to be protected. It doesn't help people coming off South Boulder Road to try to get into the park. It only helps people coming on Via Appia from the Rec Center. It would save 10 seconds since you'd only have to turn the corner. My biggest concern in town is school enrollment, and specifically Louisville Elementary School (LES). Glen Segrue, BVSD Project Manager, sent new 5 year projections today. His newest projections look at 653 students in 2018-2019, which is over capacity. LES is very crowded. What are the odds that we will get the exact number in each classroom? We are looking at portables and not enough space in the classrooms. The last time I checked with Jennifer Rocke, LES Principal, about classrooms, there was one more classroom available for growth. The kids are eating into massive shifts so they can fit into the cafeteria. If the numbers increase past that, or if it is decided that school cannot handle the capacity, we are looking at redrawing boundaries for the entire city. Growth in this corridor will not just impact LES but all the schools. In this plan, if it