New Development Code Aimed at Keeping Downtown Retail Vibrant for Public Engagement

The City of Glenwood Springs is considering changes to its development code to keep the main downtown area vibrant and vibrant.

The concept is still in the conception stage, and at this week’s city council meeting, staff will seek direction to initiate public engagement to discuss modifications to the Downtown Design Standard overlay.

“How can we maintain a vibrant downtown core, especially the ground floor area where people walk around shopping, dining, etc., and how can we tie it to the code?” City spokesperson , Bryana Starbuck, commented on the intent of the code fix:

The proposal is to create a Downtown Commercial Overlay District where new developments in the downtown core are required to have 75% of the ground floor used to generate lodging or sales tax revenue, and that is newly built. Applies only to buildings that have been demolished or completely demolished and rebuilt.

Emery Ellingson, community development planner at Glenwood, said: “So it’s a very specific type of development.”

This area should cover Grand Avenue from 7th to 10th Street, Cooper Street from 7th to 8th Street, and the small section where 7th Street meets Blake Avenue (where the Hotel Denver and the Glenwood Canyon Brewpub are located) is suggested. It also includes a small section of his Sixth Avenue business space between the footbridge and the Grand Avenue Bridge.

The zoning is intended to bring more pedestrian-friendly downtown businesses, and specifies that this zoning code applies only to new developments on open lots, or demolition of existing properties by new developments. .

“I think the public input process allows us to get business owners who might have ideas about the future and see how this applies to them,” says Ellinson.

The overlay amendment also proposes to locate 100% of the off-street surface parking behind the building under construction. Any proposed parking structure within the overlay zone shall be exempt from these criteria and subject to the Special Use Authorization process, Packet Information said.

“During public outreach, we receive information and pass it back to the city council for consideration of the actual ordinance,” Ellison said.

Now that the city has identified ideas that it believes will work, staff would like to assess the availability of the city council to begin the civic engagement process.

“It’s also something that will be asked fairly directly at Thursday’s meeting: What are the council’s vacancies?” said Daniel Campbell, the city’s economic development expert. . “We want to make sure this is a conversation between Congress and the public.