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Record of Proceedings

Aurora City Council Meeting: Planning & Zoning Interviews - January 26, 2026

City Council — Tuesday, January 27, 2026

BodyAurora, Colorado

SessionCity Council

DateTuesday, January 27, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 48:13

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0:03

Well the Aurora City Council for Monday.

0:07

January 26th, 2026 is called the order.

0:10

Will the clerk please call the roll?

0:14

Mayor Kaufman?

0:15

Here.

0:16

Councilmember Andrews.

0:17

Here.

0:18

Councilmember Bergen.

0:21

Mayor Pro Tim Coombs.

0:24

Councilmember Gardner.

0:27

Councilmember Hancock.

0:29

Councilmember Horton.

0:32

Councilmember Jackson.

0:33

Councilmember Lawson.

0:35

Councilmember Medina.

0:37

Councilmember Wiles.

0:41

Is there any objection?

0:42

Oh, first of all, um, okay.

0:44

Is there any objection to to moving 4A and 6A in front of the uh planning and zoning commission interviews?

0:52

Uh without objection, that's how we will proceed.

0:55

Item number 4A.

1:01

Hi everyone.

1:04

Um last Thursday, the 22nd, advisor committee took a position on one bill.

1:07

House Bill 26, 1039, and we did an amended position.

1:11

Are there any questions I can answer?

1:13

What was the subject matter of that?

1:15

Uh it was the bill from recorder concerning requirements for municipal jails.

1:18

Gotcha, I thought so.

1:19

Okay, nice.

1:21

Uh questions of staff.

1:24

Uh seeing none.

1:26

Uh then um item number six A.

1:29

Arapo County uh committee corrections board appointments.

1:33

Uh this is just a follow-up to the outside appointments from last week.

1:36

Uh there was a couple council members that were interested in terms of um potentially serving on this.

1:41

We did confirm with uh Arapahoe County this does not require um law enforcement to do this.

1:47

Uh I did spoke uh speak with those folks that had been doing this.

1:50

It is a somewhat significant time commitment, so we did try and provide this information to those um two council members that were interested uh and want to bring this back to see if uh it's their pleasure to um serve or whether they want to have staff continue to provide that function.

2:05

Uh comments um I think I was one of the council person that expressed interest and I appreciate the um time commitment and I just don't have that in my uh ability at the moment.

2:18

For other questions or comments and if either of you would like to at any point just to kind of go shadow them.

2:24

I did and if you never want to, that they'd be happy to kind of just share it with you.

2:28

Um so let me know and I'll get you in contact with the appropriate staff person.

2:32

So it's uh it'll be Captain Terry Brown, uh is our current uh representative, it sounds like and so he'll uh he'll continue to serve in that function.

2:39

Yeah, well, without objection, then that's how we'll move forward.

2:43

Thank you.

2:45

Um the interviews of Katie's gonna go.

2:51

Do you need a couple minutes to transition over, Kate?

2:53

Yeah, I'll wrap them right now.

2:54

They're out in the lobby.

2:55

Um in the consent calendar with that?

2:57

Yes.

2:57

Oh, you want to do it just do the consent calendar while you do that, or right?

3:00

Yeah.

3:01

There's no mayor's update, or are there any issue with updates?

3:04

Is there any objection to moving the consent calendar forward item number three to three B.

3:10

Seeing none?

3:11

Um, then we are on interviews.

3:17

Oh wow.

3:19

What's the format for the what do we give you?

3:22

For the interviews, I think typically you all have about 25 minutes for each candidate.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Community Engagement█████████████████████████████████████████████50%

Zoning And Land Use████████████████████████████████35%

Affordable Housing████████9%

Procedural█████6%

Summary of Proceedings

Aurora City Council Meeting - January 26, 2026

The Aurora City Council convened on Monday, January 26, 2026, to handle routine items and conduct interviews for the Planning and Zoning Commission. The council moved two agenda items forward, received an update on a state bill, and interviewed three candidates for the commission. No votes were taken on the appointments.

Consent Calendar

Moved item 3 (consent calendar) to 3B forward to before the interviews, without objection.
No other consent items are detailed in the transcript.

Discussion Items

Item 4A: The advisory committee took an amended position on House Bill 26-1039, which concerns requirements for municipal jails. Councilmember asked for the subject matter; no further questions.
Item 6A: Arapahoe County Corrections Board appointments. Staff confirmed that law enforcement is not required. One council member expressed interest but declined due to time commitment. Captain Terry Brown will continue as the city's representative. Council moved forward without objection.

Interviews for Planning and Zoning Commission

The council interviewed three candidates for the Planning and Zoning Commission. Each candidate gave an opening statement, answered questions from council members, and gave a closing statement. Council members asked each candidate the same set of questions, including experience, community input vs. code, equity vs. implementation, Aurora's biggest land use challenge, ADUs and manufactured housing, and a unique skill.

Robin Becker: Senior planner with 12 years of experience, Aurora resident. She emphasized housing as the biggest challenge, supported ADUs if infrastructure and parking are adequate, and highlighted her listening skills and question-asking approach.
Stephen Elkins: Over 10 years in the public sector, led a planning and building department in rural Indiana, now works with municipalities on data center entitlements. He stressed following criteria while hearing public input, highlighted development/redevelopment of large sites (e.g., Lowry campus, Colfax) as key challenges, and supported ADUs and manufactured housing.
Alison Spink: Accountant, 14-year Aurora resident. She focused on systems thinking and community building, expressed concerns about balancing large apartment complexes with family needs, and noted she would not want an ADU herself but saw both sides. She emphasized future-oriented thinking and unintended consequences.

Key Outcomes

Council moved items 4A and 6A ahead of the interviews without objection.
Council noted the amended position on House Bill 26-1039.
Council confirmed Captain Terry Brown will continue as the representative to the Arapahoe County Corrections Board.
Council conducted interviews but did not make appointments; decisions will be made at a future meeting.

Meeting Transcript

Well the Aurora City Council for Monday. January 26th, 2026 is called the order. Will the clerk please call the roll? Mayor Kaufman? Here. Councilmember Andrews. Here. Councilmember Bergen. Mayor Pro Tim Coombs. Councilmember Gardner. Councilmember Hancock. Councilmember Horton. Councilmember Jackson. Councilmember Lawson. Councilmember Medina. Councilmember Wiles. Is there any objection? Oh, first of all, um, okay. Is there any objection to to moving 4A and 6A in front of the uh planning and zoning commission interviews? Uh without objection, that's how we will proceed. Item number 4A. Hi everyone. Um last Thursday, the 22nd, advisor committee took a position on one bill. House Bill 26, 1039, and we did an amended position. Are there any questions I can answer? What was the subject matter of that? Uh it was the bill from recorder concerning requirements for municipal jails. Gotcha, I thought so. Okay, nice. Uh questions of staff. Uh seeing none. Uh then um item number six A. Arapo County uh committee corrections board appointments. Uh this is just a follow-up to the outside appointments from last week. Uh there was a couple council members that were interested in terms of um potentially serving on this. We did confirm with uh Arapahoe County this does not require um law enforcement to do this. Uh I did spoke uh speak with those folks that had been doing this. It is a somewhat significant time commitment, so we did try and provide this information to those um two council members that were interested uh and want to bring this back to see if uh it's their pleasure to um serve or whether they want to have staff continue to provide that function. Uh comments um I think I was one of the council person that expressed interest and I appreciate the um time commitment and I just don't have that in my uh ability at the moment. For other questions or comments and if either of you would like to at any point just to kind of go shadow them. I did and if you never want to, that they'd be happy to kind of just share it with you. Um so let me know and I'll get you in contact with the appropriate staff person. So it's uh it'll be Captain Terry Brown, uh is our current uh representative, it sounds like and so he'll uh he'll continue to serve in that function. Yeah, well, without objection, then that's how we'll move forward. Thank you. Um the interviews of Katie's gonna go. Do you need a couple minutes to transition over, Kate? Yeah, I'll wrap them right now. They're out in the lobby. Um in the consent calendar with that?

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