Golden, Colorado City Council Study Session and Regular Business Meeting – May 12, 2026
Golden City Council Study Session and Regular Business Meeting – May 12, 2026
The Golden City Council met on May 12, 2026, for a 5:00 p.m. study session covering the Noxious Weed Management Plan, FY2027 Thriving Communities Grant guidelines, and a proposed Golden Urban Renewal Authority (GURA) board expansion, followed by a 7:00 p.m. regular business meeting that adjourned at 9:15 p.m. The regular meeting included public comment, three proclamations, consent matters, and votes on the Golden Terrace rezoning/ODP, a pedestrian easement for Colorado School of Mines, and the 2026 Transportation Demand Management Plan.
Study Session: Noxious Weed Management Plan
- Parks and Recreation Director Jeremy Sweat and Deputy Director Kelsey Stansfield briefed Council as the local advisory board under the Colorado Noxious Weed Act. The plan is a 45-page internal management document for city-owned property and open space, emphasizing legal requirements, state weed lists, and integrated pest management.
- Council feedback favored making the document more user-friendly with photos or links, developing a separate public-facing communication strategy, and considering annual rather than only three-year reviews. Staff said the plan formalizes existing operations and could make the city eligible for grant funding.
- Councilor Pfau raised adding flammable-plant education to the plan; staff said that belongs in wildfire mitigation materials rather than the noxious weed plan.
Study Session: Thriving Communities Grants
- Thriving Communities Director Sarah Vaine proposed a tiered FY2027 structure for the $150,000 Thriving Communities pool. Organizations with budgets over $100,000 would be eligible for up to $10,000; smaller organizations for up to $1,500. Equal awards would be made within each tier, subject to available funding.
- Proposed funding priorities include human services/basic needs, veterans and service organizations, youth education/schools, and environment/recreation. Exclusions would cover fundraising support, marketing materials, duplicative programs, and programs not showing direct benefit to underserved or under-resourced residents.
- Council generally supported the tiered model but requested rewording to preserve community-building programs open to all residents and clearer eligibility for schools and PTAs. Staff noted the marijuana tax and arts-and-culture funds address many basic needs and arts programs, and funding levels can be revisited during budget discussions.
Study Session: GURA Expansion
- Community Development Director Rick Muriby, Economic Development Manager Tim Dwyer, and Senior Economic Development Specialist Baxter Richardson outlined two potential new urban renewal plan areas and the required expansion of the Golden Urban Renewal Authority. The Church of the Nazarene site on West 16th Avenue is moving toward an affordable housing redevelopment, and the Junction site condition survey is expected later in 2026.
- House Bill 1348 requires a 13-member board for new plan areas. The board would grow from 7 to 10 Golden residents appointed by Council/Mayor, plus one appointee each from Jefferson County, Jeffco Schools, and a special district, likely Mile High Flood. Staff said an expansion ordinance and the Nazarene plan area could come to Council in June.
- Council asked about appointment timing, quorum rules, and whether the expansion could be conditional. Staff said the condition question would require consultation with outside counsel.
Consent Calendar
- Council approved the consent agenda 7-0 after pulling Resolution 3306 for separate discussion. Approved items included the April 28, 2026 minutes; Resolution 3309 authorizing an IGA with Arvada and Arvada Fire Protection District for Julota record-keeping software cost sharing; Resolution 3318 approving purchase of one Kubota L4060 and two Kubota BX2380 tractors; and Resolution 3320 approving a public utility easement dedication in the Bush and Fisher addition, Replat of Block 13 and portions of Blocks 12 and 14.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Ricardo Buitron, Millstone Condominiums resident, raised concerns about the Peaks to Plains plan, asking for more community input, preservation of the green/riparian buffer, and details on planned railings and sidewalk work.
- Melissa Anderson, Millstone resident and Golden attorney, requested an independent engineer review of the 90 percent plans, asked the city to keep the buffer and replant removed box elders and coyote willows, and sought aesthetically matching concrete and no surprises for residents.
- Scott Anderson, 640 11th St, described safety concerns from cyclists accelerating through a blind/steep area, said widening would increase traffic, and asked for safety measures.
- Councilor Cameron and Councilor Evans responded that the widening is intended as the 'least worst' option, is not meant to attract more visitors, and that speeds should be addressed.
- During the Ordinance 2294 public hearing, Kathy Smith spoke in support on behalf of the Golden United Housing Taskforce, calling Golden Terrace vital naturally occurring affordable housing. Jennifer Cane, a Golden Terrace resident, supported the ordinance and thanked those involved.
- Cole, owner of Rover Retreat dog boarding in Golden Terrace, asked how the rezoning would affect the business and expressed concerns about noise complaint standards. Staff clarified the zoning of the property where sound originates determines the decibel standard, so the commercial standard would continue to apply.
Proclamations
- Golden Graduates Week, May 14-22, 2026, recognized 335 Golden High School graduates and 1,646 Colorado School of Mines graduates, including 58 PhDs, 426 master's degrees, and 1,162 bachelor's degrees.
- National Police Week, May 10-16, 2026, honored the 68-member Golden Police Department and remembered Officer Evan Dunn.
- Memorial Day, May 25, 2026, noted the Golden VFW Post 4171 service and the U.S. Marine Corps Memorial Foundation service.
Council Comments & Announcements
- Councilor Kurzinski reminded residents of a District 1 and 2 gathering at Wrigley's on May 13, 6:00-7:30 p.m.; Councilor Pfau announced office hours at Scully's Cafe on May 18, 9:00-10:00 a.m. and May 27, 6:00-7:00 p.m.
- Mayor Pro Tem Vitry reported on the Community Marketing Board retreat and the more than 900 responses to the marketing survey. Councilor Cameron said GURA's board will likely expand and encouraged residents to apply.
- Mayor Weinberg congratulated Mines graduates and said the city and MTAB are working on e-bike education and communication.
Discussion Items
- Resolution 3306, granting a pedestrian easement to Colorado School of Mines for a recreational trail connecting Illinois Street with the Highway 6 trail, was discussed after being pulled from consent. The trail would be a 6-foot-wide crusher-fines path built and maintained by Mines. Concerns were raised about maintenance and materials, but the resolution carried 5-2, with Councilors Cameron and Evans opposed.
- Ordinance 2294 rezoned the approximately 85.5-acre Golden Terrace property at 17601 W. Colfax Ave from C-1 and PUD to PUD and approved the Golden Terrace Mobile Home Community and RV Official Development Plan. The site has 654 mobile home sites and 86 RV sites, with a maximum of 690 mobile home sites. The proposal included non-displacement provisions, new setback/parking standards, and removal of proposed day-care/convenience uses from the mobile home area after resident feedback. The public hearing opened at 8:16 p.m. and closed at 8:21 p.m. The ordinance passed 7-0.
- Resolution 3321 adopted the 2026 Transportation Demand Management Plan as part of the Golden Transportation Master Plan. Principal Planner Matt Wempe presented the largely voluntary program focused on reducing single-occupancy vehicle trips, initially targeting downtown employees and employers, with performance metrics and a partial FTE/consultant-supported rollout. Council discussed business outreach, accelerating popular strategies, bike storage at transit, and the fact that parking pricing changes would require future council action. The resolution passed 7-0.
Key Outcomes
- Staff received direction to revise the Noxious Weed Management Plan and return for formal approval as the local advisory board.
- Staff received direction to refine the FY2027 Thriving Communities Grant guidelines and revisit funding allocations during the budget process.
- GURA expansion and new plan area documents are expected at Council in June 2026.
- Consent agenda approved 7-0, with Resolution 3306 pulled.
- Resolution 3306 approved 5-2.
- Ordinance 2294 approved 7-0.
- Resolution 3321 approved 7-0.
- The regular business meeting adjourned at 9:15 p.m.
Meeting Transcript
Good thing, Jeremy. Um, so sort of presentation from staff and then questions and prison and um and discussion from council. Um so Kelsey uh we talked a little bit, it sounds like what they're looking for, the guidance they're looking for today. Is there anything missing from the plan after we've all read it? Um is there anything that shouldn't be in there? Anything that we would like to see corrected or added or taken out before um before can we bring you back to uh to adoption? Is that kind of the feedback that you're asking for today? Yeah, do you have anything else to add? Yeah, that and just as a reminder, so the way that Golden's organized, so every every city is required to have a local advisory board, and under Golden City Code, City Council is a local advisory board. So part of what we wanted to remind you tonight was that you'll have the chance to review the review the plan, ask us questions, make any revisions or changes that are needed, and then at some future meeting, once that's done, you would then convene as the local advisory board to actually approve the plan. Okay, all right. We'll take off the short presentation. Well, I wanted to start by saying a few thank yous. First off, thank you for having us here. I want to um also thank the land management team under Kelsey's leadership and David Chavez in particular, who wrote this plan and brought it to us. I'd like to thank the parks and recreation advisory board for their feedback and support. And I'd also like to thank and acknowledge Tom Swish, who provided comments on the plan and who's also a champion in the city of Golden for both research and inventory into native species, and also in the fight against invasive and notous weeds. As I mentioned, you guys are the local advisory board, so there are certain statutory responsibilities under the Colorado Noxious Weed Act. We talked about the approval process. There's also a requirement that you meet at least every three years, but with some frequency to review the plan to make sure it stays accurate. And with that, I'll turn it over to Kelsey. Hi, um, thank you for having us. Um Kelsey Stansfield, I'm our deputy director of land management. Um, I haven't used one of these in a while. There we go. Okay, so what is the purpose of the plan? Um hopefully everyone has had an opportunity to read through it. Um, but if not, um the intention is to be an internal management plan created to define how the city staff manages noxious weeds on city-owned property, um, primarily within our open space. It is legal heavy. Um there are a lot of rules and regulations that surround noxious weed management, specifically herbicide use, so you will see that um pretty heavily represented in the document. Um while herbicides are part of our management strategy, they are not our sole method, and I will further describe our integrated pest management approach in a few minutes. But ultimately, the plan guides what we manage, how we manage it, and why we manage noxious weeds. So we are directed by laws from local to federal level. There is no right way to manage a noxious weed, but many of the laws put parameters around what's acceptable management. This can this includes how herbicides are labeled and controlled. And the Colorado Noxious Weed assignment categories are set at the state level. It's a lot, but they are spelled out in the management plan. The key one I did want to highlight is the Pesticide Pesticide Applicators Act. So this requires applicators of certain pesticides to be handled and applied by those that hold a pesticide applicator's license from the Department of Agriculture. All of our applicators here with the city hold a license from the state. Our applicators, we while we don't use anything that's restricted use, we are typically ordering like a concentrated material that has to be handled with like very specific directions. So looking at the local level specifically, while the plan is an internal guiding document, we did get questions on enforcement. So I did want to highlight what the city already does as far as enforcement goes. Any landowner, same as the city is required to manage noxious weeds as required by state guidelines. This includes private homeowners. We really don't get into code enforcement in this plan because it is an internal document, but our code enforcement is educated in identifying select noxious weeds and really serve as a educational capacity right now, helping homeowners identify and then understand why it's important to treat specific noxious weeds on their property. We also work very closely with the county. They do have a large open space department. You might be familiar with Jeff CO Open Space. Anyone here really knowledgeable about the list noxious weeds?
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