Erie Planning Commission Meeting: Flex Ride Update and Comprehensive Plan Recommendation (September 20, 2024)
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Erie Planning Commission Meeting: Flex Ride Update and Comprehensive Plan Recommendation (September 20, 2024)
[Note: The meeting minutes and transcript indicate the meeting was held on September 18, 2024, but the provided date is September 20, 2024. This summary uses the date as instructed, noting the discrepancy.]
The Planning Commission of the Town of Erie met on September 20, 2024, at 6:31 PM in Council Chambers. The meeting covered an update on the Flex Ride service plan, a public hearing on the 2024 update to the Comprehensive Plan (Elevate Erie), and routine approvals.
Consent Calendar
- Approved the agenda as amended to reorder general business items, moving Flex Ride first. (Unanimous 6-0).
- Approved the minutes of the September 4, 2024 Planning Commission meeting. (Unanimous 6-0).
Public Comments & Testimony
- No public comments were made on non-agenda items.
- During the public hearing on the Comprehensive Plan, John Mortellaro (1732 Southern St., Erie) spoke. He expressed concerns about the process, asking for more time for resident questions, highlighting the increase in housing density ranges (noting that high density could go from 20 units/acre to 37.5 units/acre, and medium density to 22.5 units/acre, with a 25% bonus for affordable housing), and requested that the vote be delayed until after the town council elections. He also asked that the corridor on Arapahoe Road between 287 and County Line Road be designated as an area of special consideration due to infrastructure and traffic concerns.
Discussion Items
24-426 Flex Ride Service Plan Update
- Miguel Aguilar, Senior Transportation Planner, presented an update. The Flex Ride will be a microtransit service using vehicles similar to Uber/Lyft, offering curb-to-curb pickup and drop-off within defined service areas.
- Key details: The service will be free for all users within the zone (including non-residents). Service hours: Monday-Friday, 8 AM to 8 PM. Two vehicles initially, with a performance target of 30-minute response time. Service area includes the Town of Erie, plus businesses along US 287 in Lafayette and Highway 7 in Broomfield. Funding comes from two $600,000 DRCOG grants and a $450,000 health/human services grant, covering four years of service. An RFP for a transit provider is being prepared. The contract with CDOT is needed to release funds. Service is expected to start in Spring 2025.
- Commissioners discussed coordination with other Flex Ride programs, connections to future transit (Bustang, BRT, Lafayette Park & Ride), branding, and the potential to include new developments like Summerfield. The service can be modified based on demand.
24-425 Public Hearing – 2024 Comprehensive Plan Update (Elevate Erie)
- Staff (Josh Campbell, Sarah Nurmela) presented a detailed overview of the two-year process, including 33 engagement events, over 2,500 touchpoints, and community input leading to a vision focused on sustainable growth, housing diversity, and preservation of small-town character.
- The plan includes updated land use designations with increased density ranges (e.g., high density residential up to 37.5 units/acre, medium up to 22.5), Floor Area Ratio (FAR) guidance, and a parcel-based future land use map. The plan also covers chapters on community building blocks, public facilities, natural resources, livability, housing, economic vitality, transportation, and implementation.
- Commissioners praised the thoroughness of the plan and asked about density rationale, infrastructure at the Erie Gateway, and the role of the plan as a visionary document. The plan designates the Arapahoe Road corridor as a "Corridor of Special Consideration."
Key Outcomes
- Resolution P24-14: The Planning Commission voted unanimously (6-0) to recommend that the Town Council approve the 2024 update to the Comprehensive Plan (Elevate Erie). The resolution will go to Town Council on October 8, 2024.
- October 2 Meeting Cancellation: Staff announced the cancellation of the October 2, 2024 Planning Commission meeting due to lack of agenda items. No objections were raised.
- The meeting adjourned at 8:36 PM.
Meeting Transcript
Um six thirty-one. Uh welcome to the September eighteenth, twenty twenty-four meeting of the Planning Commission. Please join me for the Pledge of Allegiance. Pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States of America into the Republic for which stands one nation under God, individual with liberty and justice for all. Okay, well, the Secretary please call roll. Commissioner Booth is absent and excused. Commissioner Hemphill, here. Commissioner Drakman. Here. Commissioner Brodus. Here. Commissioner Baham. Here. Vice Chair Laws. Here. Chair Burns. Here. We have a quorum. Thank you. We have an agenda before us this evening. Does staff have any changes? Um I was going to suggest that we move the flex ride item to the top of general business instead of making Miguel wait until the end if if you all are amenable to that. Okay. Um, do we have a motion for the revised agenda? So moved. Second. We have a motion and a second. Uh secretary, please conduct a roll call vote. Commissioner Hempel. Yes. Uh Commissioner Dreckman. Yes. Commissioner Brodus. Yes. Commissioner Baham. Yes. Vice Chair Laws. Yes. Chair Burns. Yes. Motion passes unanimously. Okay. Thank you. This brings us to approval of the September fourth, 2024 Planning Commission meeting minutes. Do we have any changes or perhaps a motion? Motion to approve. Second. Okay, we have a motion and a second. Will the Secretary please conduct a roll call vote? Commissioner Hemphill.
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