Title
A resolution adopting the Mill Street Neighborhood Plan, replacing the 2003 Mill Street Preservation Plan and expanding the Plan’s geographic scope.
Presenter:
Catherine Duarte, Senior Analyst, Community Development Division
Body
Summary:
The Mill Street Neighborhood Plan is a new master plan initiated by the City of Colorado Springs Community Development Division (CDD) to replace the 2003 Mill Street Preservation Plan. The neighborhood’s geographic scope as defined by the 2003 plan, from Fountain Blvd to W. Las Vegas Street and Conejos Street to South Tejon Street, would expand to south of downtown from Rio Grande Street and Moreno Avenue to I-25, between Conejos Street and Nevada Avenue.
The plan version for adoption was last revised on December 18 in response to Council members’ concerns.
Previous Council Action:
Council voted to delay action on resolution on 11/27/18 and 12/11/18.
Background:
The request to update the Mill Street Neighborhood Plan was received from the residents in 2015 during community conversations surrounding shelter expansions. The original plan purpose was to mitigate some indirect effects of the shelter expansion in the area. The Community Development Division committed funds and staff time to lead the plan update process.
From 2015 to 2017, city and neighborhood conditions proved to merit a more comprehensive approach to the plan, rather than just addressing safety and mitigation activities. The speed at which adjacent neighborhoods were redeveloping, the lack of central affordable housing, the decision to decommission Drake Power Plant, and the search for a new downtown transit station were just some of the reasons the planning team reassessed the boundaries and scope of the plan in relation to its 2003 conditions.
The community engagement, research, and writing phases of the Mill Street Neighborhood Plan ran parallel with PlanCOS, with robust communication between CDD and Planning staff to ensure alignment of goals and complementary strategies.
This plan is action oriented, creative, inclusive, and an important precedent for neighborhood planning under the PlanCOS framework. CDD is ready to begin implementation immediately with $250,000 of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Public Facilities/Infrastructure funds. The plan will ensure the subsequent funding will be prioritized for other recommendations regarding housing, safety, and economic development. This is the most substantial way in which this neighborhood plan supports the City’s strategic goals - by investing in infrastructure and building community through services and public-private collaboration.
Financial Implications:
Per the Financial Impact Analysis done October 5, 2018:
“Most departments indicated that there were no identifiable marginal costs of providing services to this amended development. However, the Fire Department ($835-$997), Police Department
($13,727-$16,405), Streets Division ($25,214-$30,133), and Parks Department ($51,623-$61,694) identified marginal increases in operation costs annually.
The result of the fiscal impact analysis is a positive cumulative cashflow for the City during the 10-year timeframe. The major positive factor within this fiscal impact analysis is the potential revenue from the encouragement of development of underdeveloped parts of the Mill Street Neighborhood.”
To see the breakdown of expenditures and revenues associated with the plan, please refer to the full impact analysis included in the packet. The CDBG funding for implementation is a current grant received by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Board/Commission Recommendation:
-Endorsement from Downtown Partnership
-Unanimous endorsement from Downtown Review Board (10/2)
-Unanimous approval from City Planning Commission (10/18)
Stakeholder Process:
The Mill Street participatory planning process was very robust, and took place over a year. Community members and other stakeholders have had multiple opportunities to share their visions and concerns about the neighborhood, weigh in on project themes, and help guide the recommendations via meetings, surveys, holiday parties, email, listening sessions, interviews, and open houses.
November 2017
-Community listening sessions were held on 6 different topics: Neighborhood Historic Preservation; Economic Development and Local Business; Affordable Housing; Neighborhood Safety; Parks, Trails and Open Space; and Arts and Culture.
December 2017
-Outreach was conducted at neighborhood holiday party. A Study area/boundary map was introduced to neighborhood. An all ages public input exercise was conducted.
-Community needs public survey was released, featuring 12 key questions shaping the future of the Mill Street Neighborhood. Outreach for the survey included social media, door-to-door outreach and postcards. Nearly all of the business owners received a personal visit from a member of the project team and many residents were visited by Christmas carolers. In total, there were 78 responses to the survey, constituting roughly 10% of the area’s resident population.
January/February 2018
-Individual interviews were conducted. Nine local stakeholders, including residents, major property owners, business owners and developers, were then interviewed one-on-one to better understand the conditions in the neighborhood and any planned changes.
March 2018
-Staff recruited an implementation team, which included City employees, residents, business owners and subject matter experts to assess urgency, cost, and feasibility of action items in plan. The implementation team will continue to meet for the near future to get initial projects off the ground.
-The planning team hosted a public meeting at the Hillside Community Center. Over 70 people attended. The presentation included initial findings and live polling questions to provide further quantitative feedback on themes and draft recommendations. The session ended with an open house where attendees socialized, shared ideas and participated in visual preference surveys.
May 2018
-Release of 90% draft to solicit comments about the plan. The plan was available for approximately five weeks. Physical copies were available for public viewing at various locations in and surrounding the neighborhood and online. Planning staff held two review sessions for the neighborhood.
June 2018
-Comments, questions, and edits were received from dozens of stakeholders. The team incorporated feedback into the draft document.
July 2018
-The C4C stadium and arena were made public and the planning team had to reassess the boundaries and ensure the plan properly addressed impacts from the coming stadium.
September 18
-A revised draft was posted for public review and shared directly with Mill Street residents. As of October, the project website analytics show that the plan draft has been downloaded over 300 times and the project website hosted over 1,100 visitors since March of 2018, the date of the first general plan meeting.
There is support for the Plan from a broad range of stakeholders in the area, including the Mill Street Neighborhood Association. However, there are also a small number of stakeholders that do not support the new plan boundaries for fears that the plan inhibits their ability for future development. Staff has addressed these concerns with the individuals and in front of the Downtown Review Board and Planning Commission, showing the plan is not a prohibitive tool, but rather a guiding tool for context-sensitive growth.
Alternatives:
Not adopting the plan would prevent the neighborhood residents and business owners from accessing key funding, programming, and project alignment tools. Without the organizational and project prioritization assistance the Mill Street Neighborhood Plan provides the loss of affordable housing stock will continue to accelerate and public spaces and facilities will not receive critical safety and rehabilitative improvements in a timely way.
Recommended Action
Proposed Motion:
Approve the resolution to adopt the Mill Street Neighborhood Plan
Summary of Ordinance Language
N/A