Brighton City Council Study Session and Joint Planning Commission Meeting - June 9, 2026
Brighton City Council Study Session and Joint Planning Commission Meeting - June 9, 2026
The Brighton City Council held a study session on June 9, 2026, beginning at 6:00 PM, with a joint session with the Planning Commission for several items. The meeting covered appointments, housing needs, comprehensive plan updates, legislative updates, parks and open space code amendments, a reservoir purchase agreement, and a waste hauler licensing ordinance. Key decisions included moving forward with the housing action plan, the comprehensive plan draft, parks code amendments, and the reservoir agreement, while the waste hauler ordinance will proceed to first reading in July.
Consent Calendar
- Appointments to Parks & Recreation Advisory Board and Downtown Development Authority: The deputy city clerk presented recommendations. No objections were raised. A resolution for the Parks & Rec appointment (Jamie Archaletta) will be prepared for the next City Council meeting, and resolutions for the DDA appointments (Erica Horiuchi, Christina Ziegelbaum, Willie Strohmeyer, Christina Geiger, Michael Cox, and Dearan Naughty) will be prepared for the July 7 City Council meeting.
Discussion Items
Housing Needs Assessment Update and Housing Action Plan
- Consultant Andy Ratchford (Gru and Groon and Associates) and Affordable Housing Coordinator Sean Wyman presented an addendum to the 2023 Housing Needs Assessment, covering accessible/visitable housing (estimated need of 1,800 units, ~10% of stock), supportive housing, and displacement risk (highest in older neighborhoods). The Housing Action Plan (HAP) proposes strategies including leveraging public land, density bonuses, and a new housing incentives program consolidating existing community benefits. Brighton already meets state requirements with existing policies. Councilmember Green questioned the necessity and potential costs, while Councilmember Ledon and others expressed support. Staff noted the plan is required for state funding access. Councilmember Carbajal asked about leveraging public lands. Councilmember Parks inquired about funding sustainability and metro districts. Councilmember Snyder asked about permanent supportive housing and accessibility. Councilmember Collins asked about administrative review for housing. Councilmember Taddeo asked about monitoring. No objections were raised to proceeding with the HAP and housing incentives program.
Comprehensive Plan Future Land Use Map Update
- Staff (Amanda Diaz, Hampton Moore, Summer McCann) presented the first draft of the Future Land Use Map. Key changes include consolidating residential densities into a single "Mixed Use" designation for growth areas and "Neighborhood Residential" for established areas, and merging commercial and industrial designations. Opportunity areas were identified: Downtown, Bridge Street (near a potential bus layover facility for BRT to Boulder), South Brighton (food desert concerns, need for commercial and medical), North Brighton Industrial (expanding industrial land in Weld County to meet economic development needs), and two special study areas (northwest and southeast). Councilmembers expressed general support, with comments from Councilmember Green on diverse housing, Councilmember Taddeo on commercial needs in South Brighton, and Councilmember Green on industrial direction. Councilmember Ledon suggested potential for a CSU partnership near Barr Lake. Staff will continue refining the map.
Legislative Update
- Matt LeCrue (Purple Label Government Solutions) provided a summary of the 2026 state legislative session. Key issues included the budget shortfall ($1.5 billion), housing legislation (H.B. 1001 on faith-based/school district land, H.B. 1202 on homelessness, H.B. 1313 on Prop 123 adjustments), transportation (H.B. 1430 on funding, H.B. 150 on RTD modernization, S.B. 172 on Front Range Passenger Rail District), and public safety (H.B. 1257 on massage facilities, H.B. 35 on traffic penalties, H.B. 1318 on school zones). Failed bills included lot size mandates, lot splitting (H.B. 1308), vacant property taxes, and several public safety bills (ice/immigration, decriminalizing prostitution, license plate reader warrants, street takeovers). Discussion included the upcoming primary and general elections, impacts on local control, and the governor's race (Michael Bennett vs. Phil Weiser). No action required.
Parks & Open Space Land Use and Development Code Amendments
- Sean Wyman and Kyle Sylvester presented proposed amendments to rename "open and civic space" to "parks and open space" and "site-specific open space" to "open lot area." A key policy change is reducing the open space dedication requirement from 15 acres to 9 acres per 1,000 persons to align with neighboring cities (Thornton, Lochbuie, Commerce City: 10–14 acres) while still exceeding NRPA recommendations. This could save $2,000–$3,500 per home, increasing affordability. Councilmember Green expressed support. Councilmember Taddeo questioned retroactivity; staff noted new developments only, but existing PDs could be amended. Councilmember Collins noted the philosophical shift but supported the goal. No objections to moving forward.
Lupton Meadows Reservoir Purchase and Sale Agreement
- Water Resource Manager Austin Cresswell and Director Scott Olson presented the proposed agreement with Plat Land and Water (PLW). The city will provide 825 acre-feet of water bank credits in exchange for 132 shares in the Lupton Meadows Ditch Company, the reservoir property, and $17 million toward construction of improvements (pump station, embankment, etc.). The reservoir has a planned storage volume of 1,300 acre-feet. Construction could begin in early 2027, with storage available by 2028. The agreement includes termination protections and a right of first refusal. Councilmember Green clarified the water credit mechanics. No objections to bringing the resolution for approval at a future regular meeting.
Waste Hauler Licensing Ordinance
- Consultants from EcoCycle and RRS presented the draft ordinance. Key elements: licensing for all haulers (trash, recycling, organics, C&D, junk removal), requirement to provide recycling at no cost to residents (contingent on Colorado's producer responsibility program), minimum bi-weekly recycling collection, annual data reporting, vehicle labeling, operating hours (6 AM–9 PM), and verification of recycling at facilities. Pay-as-you-throw was discussed but not included due to mixed council feedback. Councilmember Green questioned fees, truck traffic increase, and small business impact. Councilmember Taddeo asked about bin ownership and HOA contracts. Councilmember Fiedler raised concerns about local control ending at the driveway. Councilmember Carbajal supported licensing for safety and accountability. Councilmember Green noted the city does not charge business licenses; staff clarified this is a separate license. Council decided to move forward to first reading in July, with staff to address concerns about fees and junk removal in the final draft.
Key Outcomes
- Appointments: No objections; resolutions to be prepared.
- Housing Action Plan: No objections to drafting the HAP with recommended strategies and consolidating community benefits incentives into a housing incentives program.
- Comprehensive Plan: First draft approved for further refinement; staff will incorporate feedback.
- Legislative Update: Received as information.
- Parks & Open Space Code Amendments: No objections to moving forward with the proposed changes.
- Lupton Meadows Reservoir: No objections to bring the purchase and sale agreement to a future regular meeting for approval.
- Waste Hauler Ordinance: Staff directed to prepare for first reading in July, with attention to fee structure and inclusion of junk removal services; pay-as-you-throw not included.
Policy Items
- Councilmember Green requested a study session on safe parking lots regarding the camping ban ordinance before its second reading.
Meeting Transcript
Let's go ahead and get started. It is our study session for June 9th, and I will ask Councilmember Collins to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Okay. First up we have administrative items, uh consideration of appointments to the Parks and Rec Advisory Board and the Downtown Development Authority. Mr. City Manager, who's gonna talk to us? Thank you, Mayor Pro Tem. Our deputy city clerk is here to discuss this item with you. Thank you, City Manager Martinez. Good evening, Mayor Pro Tem and City Council. Uh the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board is recommending the appointment of Jamie Archaletta as a member of their board. If you don't have any objections, a resolution will be prepared for your consideration at the next city council meeting. Any comments or objections? Sounds like you're good. Okay, and then we have uh city staff for the downtown development authority is recommending the appointment of Erica Horiuchi, Christina Ziegelbaum, Willie Strohmeyer, Christina Geiger, Michael Cox, and Dearan Naughty All as members of their board. Aaron Herrera is here to answer any questions if you may have if you have any. Okay, questions for Aaron for our inaugural downtown development authority board. And if there's no objections to that, a resolution will be prepared for your consideration at the July seventh City Council meeting for them. That would be exciting, can't wait. So we will go through all three of the items that engage them in the joint meeting. So welcome tonight to our planning commission. Glad that you're all here tonight. Or glad that many of you are here tonight. So first up, our housing needs assessment update. Uh and I'll mention that the mayor is still in Poland, so that's why you're stuck with me tonight. Housing needs assessment update and the housing action plan, Mr. City Manager. Thank you, Mayor Pro Tem. At this time I will ask our affordable housing coordinator, Sean Wyman to uh introduce our consultant and this next item. Good to see everybody. I am joined by Andy Ratchford with Gru and Groon and Associates. Uh Andy and his team wrote the housing needs assessment in twenty twenty-three, I believe it was. Ladies and gentlemen, I was here to talk about ADUs, and this is kind of a continuation of that work, I think. So first going to quickly walk through this addendum that Sean mentioned, and then transition to a pretty high-level overview of some proposed strategies to include in a state required housing plan. For a little more history, I guess. The first assessment was a couple years ago, before uh recent state legislation passed. So rather than redoing everything, Brighton chose to create an addendum to hopefully get it approved by the state, so you're in compliance. And the three topics that are required to be discussed and evaluated are essentially accessible and visitable housing, supportive housing, and displacement risks. The addendum itself doesn't change anything that was in the prior recommendations or the estimate of needs. This is simply filling a few gaps that are now required. The first one of those topics just mentioned accessible and visitable housing. As communities age, uh housing design becomes increasingly important. So the addendum estimated a need that was roughly equivalent to about 10% of Brighton's housing stock are 1,800 units. What this means, accessible housing per the state laws, basically housing that complies with the Fair Housing Act, as well as meeting universal design standards that can accommodate the needs of pretty much anybody, irrespective of their age or physical abilities. And I'd say one of the key takeaways that's in the addendum is that this isn't necessarily just a new construction issue. Brighton probably has many homes that could better serve residents with mobility needs through either modifications or retrofits. So thinking forward as far as housing policy or planning, um, some of the focus should probably be on both new housing as well as modifications to existing units. Supportive housing essentially combines housing with services that help people remain stably housed once they have a unit. So whether that's behavioral health support, uh case management, child care, etc. The concept is you have affordable housing paired with services to keep people housed once they get housing.
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