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Planning Commission <br />Meeting Minutes <br />April 9, 2015 <br />Page 25 of 27 <br />know the latest thinking and this is the reason to bring everyone back together with the BRAD <br />committee to have the same conversation. <br />Pritchard says that in some of the discussions with BRAD and various others, the commercial <br />retail and age of the big box is gone. They do not see it coming back. The example is to look at <br />Broomfield and how many square feet have been torn down at Flatirons. That may be just the <br />beginning. To get a retailer to come into these 130,000 square foot buildings will be difficult. <br />Retailers are looking at half that footprint. In dealing with retail "rings", it is 5 miles. Wal-Mart is <br />about every 5 miles. <br />Closed Public Hearing and discussion by Commission: <br />Pritchard says he thinks there is a Constraint that is overlooked. It is same Constraint that was <br />in the South Boulder Road Small Area Plan. Our own citizens are a Constraint. We have people <br />talking open space when we have no control over it because it is privately owned. There is a <br />misconception that because it has been under-utilized for over 20 years, that in de facto, <br />citizens feel it is open space. Pritchard sees this comment made frequently and he believes it is <br />inaccurate. There is a lack of continuity among our citizens as to what is the best use and the <br />best direction for McCaslin Blvd. and the valley itself. <br />Pritchard asks, beginning with opportunities, does the PC think they are accurate? <br />Moline says that schools are an Opportunity. When the school district passes a large bond <br />issue, he is confident they will find a way to accommodate growth. He does not see it as a <br />Constraint. <br />Russ says that this corridor is served by Coal Creek, Fireside, and Monarch K-8. Monarch K-8 <br />has similar constraints to LES (Louisville Elementary School), but Fireside and Coal Creek are <br />significantly under capacity. LES is above capacity. In every referral we receive, they give us all <br />four school capacities. Russ clarifies that current Louisville population is just over 19,000. <br />Russell says the adjacency of housing to this corridor is an Opportunity. It is not an impactful as <br />some other areas, but there is a substantial amount of residential population that is within <br />walking distance of portions of the corridor. <br />Brauneis says the McCaslin corridor is under -performing from a commercial property owner <br />perspective and because it hasn't been built on is an Opportunity. We are not dealing with <br />many abandoned buildings as seen in rust -belt areas. It is an Opportunity unto itself. <br />Robinson says they tried to address that in both Opportunities and Constraints. Several areas <br />ready for investment. <br />Pritchard states any unused building is a problem. An example is Chili's which will be <br />unoccupied for two years because they have a lease and are getting paid. This is the type of <br />issue we are dealing with. We have an issue with Sam's Club. There is more than enough land <br />and it is currently zoned. Pritchard says housing can be an Opportunity and a Constraint. We <br />have some housing now but we may not have as much as we need to support businesses. <br />Russell speaks about making the corridor more pedestrian friendly and it is irrelevant if you <br />have no pedestrians. You have pedestrians if you have housing. The social infrastructure is <br />present to support continued growth and development. <br />O'Connell wants to add another potential Opportunity. This corridor has the proximity as the <br />only area for visitors to stay at hotels. Because the hotels are zoned with all of them "clumped" <br />together, there is no incentive for anyone to walk farther than a block away from them. Is there <br />