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Record of Proceedings

Brighton City Council Study Session Summary – January 28, 2025

City Council — Tuesday, January 28, 2025

BodyBrighton, Colorado

SessionCity Council

DateTuesday, January 28, 2025

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 1:43:28

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

6:37

All right, good evening.

6:38

I like our study session for Tuesday, uh, January twenty-eighth, twenty twenty-five, and I'm gonna ask uh Councilmember Fiddler to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance.

7:12

All right, thank you for leading the pledge.

7:14

Um before we get started, um, I got some sad news.

7:19

We there was a city employee that passed away about a week and a half ago named Andy Burns.

7:25

He was a parks maintenance worker, and he suddenly died.

7:29

And I just wanted to offer a moment of silence for him on behalf.

7:53

Moving into the agenda uh first off we'll talk about the executed contract listing twenty twenty or December of twenty twenty-four.

8:03

City Manager Martinez.

8:05

Thank you, Mayor.

8:06

Our finance director is here to answer any questions, and we also have our department directors to answer any questions you might have on any of the contracts that you see on that contract listing through December twenty twenty-four.

8:20

Does anybody have any questions for our finance director?

8:25

I would like to share that we executed four hundred and seventy-seven contracts and change orders in twenty twenty-four.

8:31

It was a very busy year.

8:32

We got a lot of work done.

8:33

What is that compared to the previous year?

8:35

Uh, we didn't track it that as detailed in previous years.

8:38

Um prior year was probably more like three hundred and fifty.

8:42

Okay.

8:44

Yeah.

8:45

So then next year this time we'll find out what happened in twenty twenty-five if we're going to continue tracking in this manner.

8:50

Yeah, I don't anticipate it'll keep going up, but I think we did get a lot of um services under contract that maybe weren't in the past.

8:56

Um, we also had some major projects that had more change orders than than normal just because it's so much um so many capital projects going on, so it just meant more activity.

9:03

Okay.

9:05

Thanks.

9:06

And part of receiving this as a report as opposed to having reviewed each of these is that we had changed the thresholds for council engagement and council uh approval over the course of the year.

9:17

Do you have an idea how many contracts you were then able to execute uh without having to come to city council for a vote?

9:25

Um, I don't know the exact number when we first came to you with that proposal.

9:28

The estimate we had based on prior year activity was it would be about a hundred to a hundred and twenty fewer would come towards council.

9:34

Um I can say just anecdotally, it feels like we've been preparing a lot fewer slide decks uh related to contracts.

9:40

Okay.

9:40

Excellent.

9:41

I I because I appreciate the visibility, but I also appreciate not being dragged into every administrative uh task out there.

9:48

Thanks for sure.

9:50

Any other questions?

9:52

All right.

9:53

Thank you.

10:03

So we'll first go on to the 2021 building safety code amendment, and then after that we'll move on to the other item.

10:11

City Manager Martinez.

10:13

Thank you, Mayor.

10:13

At this time, I will ask our chief building official, Andy Olmer and our division chief of prevention, Elizabeth Bajarnik, to come up and present this item.

10:33

All right, thank you all.

10:35

Um and thank you everyone who participated in looking at the virtual goggles.

10:39

I really appreciate that.

10:40

And uh, for anyone who didn't get it, I'm gonna have them for a while, so uh it's available.

10:45

Um so I'll just keep this pretty high level right now since it's the first introduction, and I know you uh have a long night.

10:52

There's three main topics that I want to just discuss or really just bring to your attention that from my standpoint when we're talking about um keeping residential sprinklers in the fire code.

11:06

The first thing is that the residential sprinklers were put in the fire code 15 years ago.

11:13

And I for anyone who doesn't understand the code process, it's a about a two-year process of a lot of experts from across the country and all the building and the fire um you know, experts that put this information in there.

11:28

And the reason that this was put in the fire code 15 years ago is because we have a problem in America where about six people die every day in a residential structure fire.

11:38

And so fit since then it has always been striked out here in Brighton that that section of the code's been striked out.

11:45

So I will be asking that this council leaves it in the fire code going forward, and um that we keep that standard of the fire code is the minimum standard that we ask for, and I'm asking you if we just keep that minimum standard for the residents of Brighton.

12:03

Um the second part is about what residential sprinklers do.

12:09

They save lives, they save firefighter lives, they prevent firefighter cancers, which is a huge issue that we deal with now in the fire service.

12:19

Uh they save water, they prevent uh houses from going to the landfill if we have a complete loss, and CO2 off-gassing also.

12:30

So there's a lot of different aspects to that.

12:33

Um I know the most important is saving lives and our firefighter lives, and also saving water.

12:40

There's a lot of um case studies from across the country with towns that have adopted them and the amount of water they've saved over the years.

12:47

I know that's something that's probably very interested to some pe the folks in Colorado.

12:52

So that's another one we can talk about if needed.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Public Safety█████████████████████████████████33%

Affordable Housing█████████████████████████████29%

Engineering And Infrastructure████████████████16%

Fire Safety█████5%

Procedural████4%

Fireworks Regulation███3%

Housing Authority███3%

Economic Development███3%

Impact Fees██2%

Summary of Proceedings

Brighton City Council Study Session Summary – January 28, 2025

The Brighton City Council held a study session on January 28, 2025, beginning at 6:00 PM. Mayor Gregory Mills led the meeting, which included a moment of silence for a deceased city employee, a review of executed contracts, a discussion on the 2021 Building Safety Code Amendment (including residential fire sprinklers), and an update on affordable housing initiatives. Councilmembers provided feedback on proposed changes to definitions and fee reductions. No formal votes were taken; the session was informational and directional.

Administrative Items

Executed Contract Listing – December 2024: City Manager Martinez reported that the city executed 477 contracts and change orders in 2024, a significant increase from an estimated 350 in the prior year. The increase was attributed to many capital projects and new service contracts. Council noted that raising the threshold for council approval earlier in the year reduced the number of contracts requiring a vote. No further action was taken.

Study Session: 2021 Building Safety Code Amendment

Presentation: Chief Building Official Andy Olmer and Division Chief Elizabeth Bajarnik presented three topics: (1) retaining residential sprinkler requirements in the fire code, (2) simplifying the municipal code (Chapter 15) to align with national I-codes, and (3) a timeline for adopting the 2024 codes in 2026.
Residential Sprinklers Discussion: Olmer explained that national fire codes have required sprinklers for 15 years to address the six fire-related deaths per day in the U.S. He argued sprinklers save lives, reduce firefighter cancer risks, save water, and limit property damage. Councilmembers raised concerns about cost (~$5,000 per home), accidental discharges, maintenance, and impact on affordability. Mayor Pro Tem Padilla noted that a state bill (HB25-1030) may mandate sprinklers, making local opposition moot. Councilmember Snyder questioned cost-effectiveness for single-family homes, citing low fatality rates (1.7 per 100,000 fires). Olmer countered that sprinklers often prevent total loss and can offset costs by allowing smaller water mains and closer lot spacing. The discussion was a primer; staff will return with cost data and further analysis.
Code Simplification and Adoption: Olmer proposed minor amendments to the 2021 codes (housekeeping, seismic criteria updates, appeals officer changes) and a plan to adopt the 2024 codes in 2026 alongside the state electrical code. Council supported staying current with national standards but questioned the fiscal impact and the need to balance safety with affordability.

Study Session: Affordable Housing Coordinator Updates

Presentation: Affordable Housing Coordinator Sean Wyman (who joined in September 2024) introduced his role and presented early work. He highlighted that median Brighton household income ($93,000) is insufficient for home purchase in the current market; many essential workers (teachers, plumbers, retail employees) cannot afford market-rate rents. The 2023 Housing Needs Assessment (HNA) identified a need for 1,000 additional units at or below 60% Area Median Income (AMI) and 400 units at 80% AMI over the next decade.
Proposed Definition Change: Staff recommended redefining “affordable housing” in city code to align with HUD/CHFA standards: 80% AMI for rental and 100% AMI for owner-occupied housing. This would replace conflicting current definitions.
Fee Reduction Table: Wyman presented a revised fee reduction matrix that increases incentives as AMI decreases, waiving all city impact fees at ≤60% AMI and reducing fees by ~$8,000/unit at 80% AMI and ~$19,000/unit at ≤60% AMI. Fees not listed (e.g., water, wastewater, school land dedication) could be considered case-by-case.
Council Feedback: Mayor Pro Tem Padilla strongly supported the definition change and fee reductions, calling them “tangible” incentives that show city commitment to CHFA tax credit applications. Councilmember Green expressed concern about waiving fees that support public services like fire and schools, questioning the city’s ability to backfill costs. Councilmember Pawlowski urged balance and cautioned against overbuilding affordable housing at the expense of single-family neighborhoods. Staff noted that future proposals could include townhomes and other lower-cost formats.

Policy Items

Holiday Lighting Policy: City Manager Martinez noted that a new policy requiring lights to be taken down after the stock show (rather than earlier) will be brought to council on February 11, 2025, to resolve confusion.

Key Outcomes

Building Codes: Council directed staff to return with detailed cost-benefit data on residential sprinklers and to proceed with code simplification and 2024 adoption planning. No vote was taken.
Affordable Housing: Council gave preliminary direction to adopt the proposed affordable housing definition (using HUD/CHFA AMI thresholds) and the fee reduction table, with a request for plain-language outreach. Councilmember Green’s concerns about fee impacts will be addressed in future presentations. Staff will continue developing an expedited review process and additional incentives.
Next Steps: The next regular meeting is scheduled for February 4, 2025; the holiday lighting policy will appear on February 11.

Meeting Transcript

All right, good evening. I like our study session for Tuesday, uh, January twenty-eighth, twenty twenty-five, and I'm gonna ask uh Councilmember Fiddler to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance. All right, thank you for leading the pledge. Um before we get started, um, I got some sad news. We there was a city employee that passed away about a week and a half ago named Andy Burns. He was a parks maintenance worker, and he suddenly died. And I just wanted to offer a moment of silence for him on behalf. Moving into the agenda uh first off we'll talk about the executed contract listing twenty twenty or December of twenty twenty-four. City Manager Martinez. Thank you, Mayor. Our finance director is here to answer any questions, and we also have our department directors to answer any questions you might have on any of the contracts that you see on that contract listing through December twenty twenty-four. Does anybody have any questions for our finance director? I would like to share that we executed four hundred and seventy-seven contracts and change orders in twenty twenty-four. It was a very busy year. We got a lot of work done. What is that compared to the previous year? Uh, we didn't track it that as detailed in previous years. Um prior year was probably more like three hundred and fifty. Okay. Yeah. So then next year this time we'll find out what happened in twenty twenty-five if we're going to continue tracking in this manner. Yeah, I don't anticipate it'll keep going up, but I think we did get a lot of um services under contract that maybe weren't in the past. Um, we also had some major projects that had more change orders than than normal just because it's so much um so many capital projects going on, so it just meant more activity. Okay. Thanks. And part of receiving this as a report as opposed to having reviewed each of these is that we had changed the thresholds for council engagement and council uh approval over the course of the year. Do you have an idea how many contracts you were then able to execute uh without having to come to city council for a vote? Um, I don't know the exact number when we first came to you with that proposal. The estimate we had based on prior year activity was it would be about a hundred to a hundred and twenty fewer would come towards council. Um I can say just anecdotally, it feels like we've been preparing a lot fewer slide decks uh related to contracts. Okay. Excellent. I I because I appreciate the visibility, but I also appreciate not being dragged into every administrative uh task out there. Thanks for sure. Any other questions? All right. Thank you. So we'll first go on to the 2021 building safety code amendment, and then after that we'll move on to the other item. City Manager Martinez. Thank you, Mayor. At this time, I will ask our chief building official, Andy Olmer and our division chief of prevention, Elizabeth Bajarnik, to come up and present this item. All right, thank you all. Um and thank you everyone who participated in looking at the virtual goggles. I really appreciate that. And uh, for anyone who didn't get it, I'm gonna have them for a while, so uh it's available. Um so I'll just keep this pretty high level right now since it's the first introduction, and I know you uh have a long night. There's three main topics that I want to just discuss or really just bring to your attention that from my standpoint when we're talking about um keeping residential sprinklers in the fire code. The first thing is that the residential sprinklers were put in the fire code 15 years ago. And I for anyone who doesn't understand the code process, it's a about a two-year process of a lot of experts from across the country and all the building and the fire um you know, experts that put this information in there. And the reason that this was put in the fire code 15 years ago is because we have a problem in America where about six people die every day in a residential structure fire.

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