Title
FIRST READING OF AN ORDINANCE ENACTING A NEW CHAPTER 13 - METROPOLITAN DISTRICTS OF THE COMMERCE CITY REVISED MUNICIPAL CODE
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Purpose:
Metro districts have been an integral part of recent development in Commerce City, particularly in the North Range. A large portion of Commerce City residents live within Metro Districts. While metro districts provide funding and enable development, they also impose significant costs on homebuyers. There is also the potential for and perception of abuse of metropolitan district structures and limited oversight. Council has expressed a desire and given direction to Staff to enhance regulations on metro districts and provide additional oversight in order to safeguard current and future residents. Staff has developed enhanced regulations consistent with Council’s direction. These regulations are presented to Council for action this evening.
Previous Actions:
Staff has taken action on this issue already based on Council’s direction. At the study session on April 12, 2021, Council directed staff to continue to explore enhanced regulations and to conduct outreach to residents and stakeholders on potential action. Staff conducted a virtual townhall for residents and one for developers over the summer of 2021 and provided an update to Council in July 2021 based on this direction. Additionally, Staff has incorporated Council’s direction on regulations in recent metro district cases (Buckley Crossing and Triangle). The modifications to the model service plan used in these cases is consistent with Council’s direction. Staff had continued discussions with Council, including in October 2021 to present revised regulations, which staff then put out for public comment in December 2021 in virtual townhalls for residents and developers; the feedback from those events was presented to Council.
In February 2022, Staff presented finalized regulations to Council, and in May 2022, Council requested changes to the regulations as well...
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