City Council Minutes 2009 06 02 - Laserfiche WebLink

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City Council Meeting Minutes June 2, 2009 Page 6 of 17 PUBLIC COMMENTS John Leary, 1116 LaFarge Avenue, Louisville, CO voiced his support of the resolution, but requested the word "all" not be removed. He stressed the importance of having an advisory board making recommendations to Council. With respect to the question of divestment of conservation easements, he noted the Charter reflects voter approved taxes can be only be changed by the voters. Seth Sovak, 824 Lee Avenue, Louisville, CO referenced earlier conflicts regarding preservation and asked whether one group wanted to preserve historic downtown Louisville and the other wanted to demolish it and build monolith skyscrapers. Mayor Pro Tem Marsella asked if all recommendations will be made by the HPC whether that precluded a recommendation from any other groups. City Attorney Light confirmed as written only the HPC could make recommendations. Mayor Pro Tem Marsella asked whether the Council would ever see an application not recommended by the HPC. She noted the lack of an appeal process. City Attorney Light stated an applicant might appear before Council in another format. Councilor Muckle suggested the language be changed to reflect all recommendations for "expenditures" are made by the HPC. City Attorney Light suggested recommendations "regarding" expenditures are made by the HPC. Mayor Pro Tem Marsella inquired about the divestiture of easements and asked whether other parts of the code handle it differently. City Attorney Light explained neither the Ballot Issue nor the City Charter requires it. Some utility easements can be divested by City ordinance; others such as open space can only be divested by a vote of the people. Mayor Pro Tem Marsella suggested the residential and commercial allocations should be eliminated from the language altogether. or only allocate the 20% contingency/emergency reserve funds. She suggested no divesture for 25 years. Councilor Muckle stated this issue is much like the preservation of open space. He felt there should be some protection, which required a vote of the people. He favored a time limit and a super majority of the public bodies. Mayor Sisk noted the City Council is the elected body and divesture of any conservation easement should require a majority vote of Council. He agreed there should be a flexible plan and suggested the HPC propose a plan for City Council approval on a regular basis. He noted the plan can be modified. Councilor Dalton agreed.