Title
AN ORDINANCE ADOPTING THE COMMERCE CITY 2045 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN
Body
Summary & Background
After a four year public process and guidance from the community, a Citizens Advisory Committee, and Planning Commission, the Commerce City 2045 Comprehensive Plan is being presented to City Council for review and adoption at First Reading.
The City’s current Comprehensive Plan was adopted by City Council in 2010. The process of updating the City’s Comprehensive Plan has been an on-going process since 2020. The City engaged Housel Lavigne an urban planning consultant firm to lead the Comprehensive Plan update project. Over the past four and a half years the consultants and City staff have navigated the Covid pandemic, adapted community outreach methods to engage residents and stakeholders, and worked to understand the community’s vision for the future.
With over 36,000 touchpoints with the public to date, including workshops, pop-up events, formal presentations, study sessions, social media posts, surveys, and other community outreach, this plan is intended to be a true reflection of the Commerce City community.
The Commerce City 2045 Comprehensive Plan takes a modern approach to planning the City by utilizing the concept of Character Areas rather than more typical land use categories. The Commerce City 2045 Comprehensive Plan includes the following elements to create a complete guide for the future of Commerce City:
1. Introduction
2. Outreach and Engagement
3. Community Profile
4. Vision, Core Principles, Goals, and Objectives
5. Character Areas
6. Connected Corridors
7. Commerce and Employment
8. Housing and Neighborhoods
9. Arts, Culture, and Tourism
10. Transportation and Mobility
11. Parks, Open Space, and the Environment
12. Public Facilities and Infrastructure
13. Implementation
The public has had adequate time to review and comment on the draft plan. The Planning Commission had numerous conditions to the draft plan during their review at July 17th, 2024 study session and their formal recommendation to City Council for approval on August 6th, 2024 after holding a public hearing. The Planning Commission’s recommended conditions of approval are outlined in Exhibit A to the Ordinance and consist of various recommended language and graphical changes for clarity and document usability. If the conditions are adopted by City Council, staff is working with the consultant to make those changes.
To supplement and build on the Comprehensive Plan, the City is also undertaking a Transportation Master Plan; a Parks, Recreation, and Golf Master Plan; and an Economic Development Strategic Plan. Each of these additional plans will be stand alone documents and dive deeper into their respective disciplines.
Staff Responsible (Interim Department Head): Jeff Brasel, Community Development
Staff Presenting: Jeff Brasel, Interim Community Development Director.
Financial Impact: N/A
Funding Source: N/A
Planning Commission Recommendation: On August 6, 2024, the Commerce City 2045 Comprehensive Plan was presented to the Planning Commission. The Planning Commission voted unanimously to forward the Commerce City 2045 Comprehensive Plan to City Council with a recommendation for approval with conditions. The Commission’s conditions are outlined in Exhibit A to Ordinance 2616.
Action Alternatives:
Approve the Comprehensive Plan (Ordinance 2616) in accordance with the PC recommendation;
Approve the Comprehensive Plan (Ordinance 2616) with additional conditions;
Continue the Comprehensive Plan (Ordinance 2616), or
Deny the Comprehensive Plan (Ordinance 2616)