A bill for an Ordinance concerning the organization and creation of the RiNo Denver General Improvement District in the City and County of Denver, creating the District Advisory Board and appointing the initial members thereof, and approving the initial Operating Plan therefore. (BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT) Approves the creation of the RiNo Denver General Improvement District, appointing the initial members of the Advisory Board of the RiNo Denver General Improvement District, and approving the initial Operating Plan and preliminary 2016 budget located in Council Districts 8 and 9. The Committee approved filing this bill at its meeting 5-12-15.
Okay. The public hearing for 309 is open. May we have the staff report? I have the opposite problem that Andy does. Mike's here. Okay. Sure. So John Carter, what Department of Finance Council Bill 150309 is for an ordinance to approve the creation of the Regional General Improvement District. The boundaries of the district are roughly I-70 on North 29th Street from the south, the railroad tracks and the on the west and on the east. So this sounds like the same boundaries, but it's actually a smaller subset of the bid boundaries on the west side of the Rhino neighborhood. The the primary focus of the idea will be to fund infrastructure improvements with the district's boundaries. First, the JDA will provide up to $3 million for enhanced streetscape improvements along Brighton Boulevard that will be installed in conjunction with the city's planned reconstruction for the street next year. Districts capital improvements will include trees, landscaping, irrigation plus pedestrian and landmark lighting along Brighton Boulevard. These capital improvements will be funded through a one time charge of roughly $200 per linear foot for properties fronting Brighton Boulevard. The guide will main will maintain to maintain these enhancements by imposing a levy of four mils on all real property within the guide. The Guide. The Guide Mill levy is estimated to raise roughly $200,000 in the first year, similar to the Ryan Obeid business. Personal property will be excluded from the guide's mill levy as the financial capacity of the guide expands. Revenue raised to the mill levy will also go towards funding additional infrastructure projects across the neighborhood. Future projects for the guide are anticipated to include a study and potential improvements to neighborhood lighting rain over riverfront access improvements, enhancements to the forthcoming Rhino Park and or enhanced and or enhancements to additional access roads within the district boundaries. The services facility, facilities and improvements to be provided by the guide are not intended to duplicate or replace the services, facilities and improvements provided by the city and county of Denver within the proposed district boundaries. The guide is being created to provide enhanced and otherwise unavailable services and improvements within those boundaries per state statute. City Council sets is the official board of Directors for the Final Guide. However, the proposed interest and proposed ordinance also creates a district advisory board which is which is delegated many of the day to day operations of the district. The Advisory Board will also recommend a district annual work plan and budget for city council approval each year. The initial advisory boards consist of seven members appointed by the mayor and confirmed by City Council through creation ordinance. Presenting and shall and show consist of at least two artists, creative enterprise, property owners and two residential representatives. The initial members of the board are proposed as follows and. HAYES Tom Gordon, Chris of all time, Jonathan Kaplan, Jason Winkler, Larry Burgess and Tracey Real as part of as part of the creation process, the petitioners, led by the steering committee of property owners, held several outreach events to ensure ample opportunity for property owners within the district to learn about the business plan, creation and operations. This includes informational mailings, newsletters distributed to property owners and numerous public events and small group meetings with property owners and businesses. Additionally, the petitioners held three public information events targeted specifically to residential property owners. Local media outlets also published articles on the guide's organizing efforts and planned infrastructure projects. Approval. Approval of the operating plan does not a not approve any specific development plan or change in zoning. City Council approval of the guide creation allows a proposed district election, including the oppose imposition of a an assessment. Proponents of the district are planning to hold the required election in November as well. Based on the present information, the Department of Finance recommends approval of the creation of the General Improvement District and its initial members of the Advisory Board of Directors. Thank you and happy to answer any questions as well for the jetty. Thank you, Madam Secretary. How many speakers do we have this evening? Eight. We have a. Okay, we have eight speakers, so I will announce our first six and if you can come forward our first five and Elizabeth, Jason Winkler, Jonathan Kaplan, Andy Mountain and Brian six. Yeah. If you can sit in the front row. That would be helpful. Okay. If you can make room for the rest of the speakers. All right, everybody in there. Okay. And Elizabeth. I'm an Elizabeth. Globeville was an extended family and lived in Swansea, all of which are taking care of me as I go into a healthier life that will activate me as an artist, I'm happy to say. And this perfect confusion about me speaking before is that I had signed up for the Geordie thinking I had signed up for the bid because I am in very strong support of it and the guide is very much the completion to me of the picture of how what the folks in Rhino are doing is inspiring and actually strengthening similar efforts of the cluster of neighborhoods surrounding the Rhino District. And one of the most wonderful things we're able to say out in the planning process is we work on the the continuation of the legacy that this council has started by putting neighborhood plan planners in the neighborhoods like Little Village in Swansea is Rhino has done it right and they have established a sequence of events that give city council and our city government the ability to provide the funding mechanisms and the prioritization so that we can support the entrepreneurial spirit of the folks that are really going to create the sustainable economy for us in these neighborhoods, which is ourselves and those that inspire us by invest, investing locally into the neighborhoods and working together with each other. And I can say that we're seeing partnerships between people that are creative people and that are business minded people in Elyria, Swansea and Globeville in particular are starting to know more people in Reno that can partner up in technical areas and in mentoring and business and that kind of a thing. So the relationship between the investors and the communities that is showing up in the in the GEDI and the bid is extremely exciting and very reassuring. One of the in particular I want to thank in Hayes for showing up at our neighborhood planning processes from Westfield. And there's a very important juncture there in Brighton Boulevard. So just as a person out in the mix doing what I can to make my way and meeting the context of creative neighborhoods, folks that transcend economic cycles through entrepreneurial courage and who sustain efforts over long political calendars, many people are very grateful, and I think we're all going to be learning a lot how to move together as diverse neighborhoods, too. And the solution to gentrification is really increase and diversify the income house to house to house to house, generation to generation to generation so people can stay in their neighborhoods and stay in the weave of their their family legacy. And with the advent of the artisan economy, local economy, there is nothing better than what we're seeing happening between the combination of the good, the bad, working with the city planning department and helping us strengthen the economy so we can work very dynamically with the larger projects like the the overview projects in the quarter, like the stock show and the I-70 dilemmas and how do we create the connectivity among. And it's a very wonderful process. So thanks to this council, thanks for staying in there and thanks for the folks that started with just your creativity. And here you are and there's a lot of people they're going to benefit from this. So full support. Thank you, Jason Winkler. Good evening, members of Council. Thanks so much for having us here tonight and thanks for everything you guys do. It's truly an honor and a pleasure to do what we get to do here. I'm Jason Winkler, and I'm a resident of Denver and also a landowner on a handful of parcels in Rhino Hammon Eastside around a West Sider. So none of that none of that really bothers me, whether we're talking about the disparity. But I do on that point think that it's going to be handled very well. The idea, of course, as a west side or west side piece of of Reno and kind of echoing what Councilman Burke spoke about and all the people flooding into Reno and doing great and. Fun and exciting things that it really is there. To provide the infrastructure, maybe the less exciting and the less sexy, you know, piece compared to the bad. But we need some place to walk. We need some place to bike. And from a safety perspective and from an economic driver perspective, the guide is there to sit beside the commitments made by the city and county of Denver , specifically to make the Brighton Boulevard corridor great. And then we as landowners want to come in behind, behind what the city and county are here to do and make kind of the edges of what the city's going to do. Great. And that's being done kind of as a one time thing. And it's really to prevent what we call Brighton Boulevard Frogger, which is you have to go one side and then cross over and then go the other side and not get hit by traffic and cross over. So if we didn't do things by way of a guide like this and all the landowners come together, which we do really uniquely in Reno. You would have a patchwork. Of of of infrastructure improvements in this guide. Most specifically lets us do it all at once in a concerted effort. And it's more. Efficient. It's more effective, has a better end result, and it eliminates Brighton Boulevard Frogger. So and that's that's at least one of my big drivers. So and thank you. And we really appreciate your support. Thank you. Jonathan Kaplan. I want to thank counsel for this opportunity to speak. My name is Jonathan Kaplan and I own some passes on Brighton Boulevard and directly behind with my wife Dorothy are some parcels on wine coop. Also on the Reno board, the UIC board, boards of boards, the bridge over the Platte Working Committee, the gift board. Now. This is a great opportunity for us. And I want to thank all the rhinos for being here. And I want to thank Mayor Hancock, especially for the line item in the budget for Brighton Boulevard. What the gift is, is an extension of a form of a public private partnership. Residents can maintain a degree of control and we can guide how the neighborhood looks, sees and feels. The grid also equalizes a perceived inequity with all the money that's being driven towards Brighton Boulevard. The GID. Now, those of us that live on Brighton Boulevard will tax ourselves additional amount of money so that we can maintain Brighton Boulevard . And the big picture here and it's not about individuals, what what it's really about is building community and, you know, communities. Micky once said Communities grow organically. Well, the GED is a way to help that growth continue. Reno has grown considerably over time, and it's the hard work, the tireless work of all the individuals that have made it happen. It's you know, it's the residents directing. As the community grows, it allows us to implement improvements such as wayfinding signage, bike racks, bike lanes, everything that the city has started. This city's given us a great opportunity here with the money for Brighton Boulevard. So those of us who live on Brighton Boulevard now are going to pay a little more so we can get a lot more because it's a real big picture and the GID will enable connectivity and it equalizes any inequities that may be perceived by the East Siders versus the West Siders. It's all about community and it's really about art. And without the arts district, we wouldn't have the GID, we wouldn't have the bid. And I want to thank Tracey and all the class of rhinos that have come out tonight to support this. And Judy, thank you for your support and counsel. Thank you for your support. Thank you. Our next speaker is Andy Mountain. Good evening, counsel. My name is Andy Mountain. I'm a resident of Denver, and I'm a principal with GBC, a consulting firm based here downtown. I've led communications and engagement efforts for a few handfuls of projects within Reno in the last decade or so. And it's given me a unique perspective on kind of the intersection of private sector interests and public sector plans, and really how that plays a role in shaping this dynamic neighborhood specifically. I wanted to come in tonight just to speak with you about the proposed Rhino Guide and encourage your approval of it. It exemplifies the kind of collaborative spirit and public private partnership that can serve as a model for other infrastructure projects throughout the city. Brighton Boulevard has long been a lightning rod of conflict in Rhino. There have been as many visions for the quarter as there are uses served by it. And when I first began work on Brighton in 2013, the city and local community were at a stalemate conflict primarily focused on detailed cross-sections. And typically we had individuals fighting over feet. How many feet should be dedicated to what nobody was pulling up and seeing the bigger vision that really stood in the way of progress. So what we did was we initiated a visioning effort for Brighton, figuring out a way for it to serve as the main street for Rhino while continuing to serve the diverse array of uses. We've touched on already everything from 18 wheelers and busses down to pedestrians and bicyclists, you name it. The result of that visioning effort was not one silver bullet design. It was a design that was adaptive and dynamic, just like this quarter is. Over the last year, you've heard from the rhino stakeholders that have banded together to define what they want, the future of their neighborhood to be specific to Brighton Boulevard. What this guide does is they've worked hand in glove with city staff sitting across the table from one another, working together to figure out how they can use the city's investment as a springboard from which they can invest their own funds to advance their own neighborhood. With the Rhino Guide, the neighborhood wins. They get an enhanced corridor. They get kind of help in designing it and investing in it. And they also get the structure and ongoing financing that they need to continue making similar improvements. With the Rhino Guide, the city wins. They get an enhanced and more vibrant and artistic, almost industrial artistic gateway into downtown, and they also gain a true neighborhood partner. One of the things that we've seen as the conflict has begun to be replaced by real collaboration and real spirit together. So really, over the last decade, I mean, this transition, you know, the neighborhood's gone from three kind of geographically disparate communities, almost tri sector, if you will, by railroad tracks. We got East Side, West Side. But there's also the river that serves as a barrier in this community. This guide effort has begun to bring folks together. So I encourage your support. This has been a tremendous effort and I'm honored to have been a part of it. Thank you. Thank you. Brian speaks. Members of. Council. Thank you for having us. I have a pretty short script. My name is Brian Sleeps. I'm with Great Divide Brewing Company. I have a pretty short script, so I just want to go off of that script for. Just a second and speak to a comment I heard earlier regarding the possibility of commercially assessed property today being developed into residentially assessed property which would then leave commercial property owners holding the bag. That bag would be the same size as it is today. And and I assume that's correct in that the election question is written such that the mill levy that's assessed on commercial property owners is set at a ceiling. So now I'll go back to my script again. Brian sleeps with great divide. We owned just over five acres of a of commercially assessed property along Brighton Boulevard. And with that said, we fully support the creation of a general improvement district and we would ask council to do the same. I have witnessed firsthand a very organized and collaborative. Public private partnership thus far, and I'm excited to. See the reconstruction of Brighton Boulevard get underway. The the General Improvement District would give us a unique opportunity to work with the city to retain the character of Rhino by funding enhancements to that project. It would also allow for future projects that would continue to make our neighborhood a great place to work, live and play. So again, thank you for your time and hope that you support this general improvement district. Like most of the residents and and business owners and commercial property owners in our in our district. Thank you. Thank you. Justin Cross. Members of council. I'll keep the short since I was up here already. But I just want to talk about the Guild and specifically the fact that we didn't set out to form a guide. We set out to form a bid, and then the investment, which we are very thankful for. And Bright and Boulevard came about and there was this idea of how do we contribute to that and basically turn it into a truly living street because of the concerns about potentially there being funds in an in transparent way, going towards infrastructure on the West Side and more towards soft costs on the east side. There was actually a decision by the bid board to explore creating a separate district specifically to function on to function as the entity to fund infrastructure improvements on the West Side. So I just want to talk a little bit about how that process or say that's how that process went. The idea for the guide. I think that we're so excited about is the funding for Brighton Boulevard is going to go primarily towards concrete, which in a lot of ways is great. We're really excited about having a separated bike lane other than this one right out here. It'll be the first vertically separated bike lane in the city and making Brighton a truly multimodal street and making it a real place. And I think that's what's so exciting to all of us is it's it is it will always be a gateway. It'll always be a thruway. But what makes a great gateway as a true place and really allowing cyclists, pedestrians and people of all modes to be able to walk down Brighton Boulevard and visit. The different things that are happening on that street are so important long term. The the goal of the guide really is to continue to fund other projects in the neighborhood. The big one is the river and we think that the river is probably our greatest asset on the west side of the tracks and it's been abandoned and overused and really treated like a sewer for most of Denver's history, especially in that neighborhood. And how do we as a neighborhood really stand up, really on behalf of the river and say, this is important to us, we want to reclaim this for this community? The GID, after funding the Brighton Boulevard improvements gives us the ability to do that over time and have a separate funding mechanism that really focuses on the area around the river and improvements associated with the river. So I just want to say thank you for your consideration. We are excited about this district, really looking forward to talk about specific projects and actually potentially looking and encouraging the East Side to actually sign up for it as well in the future because of the significant infrastructure needs related to drainage and one way streets on that site. Thank you. Thank you, Jason. Rick Krohn. Evening, Rick. Crown Attorney Spencer Fein here representing the proponents. And here just to answer questions, I. Think they've covered it very well. Don't really need. To add anything. Thank you. Thank you. And Jamie Lythgoe. And Jamie go Centro again, consultant on the guide creation process. So just here to answer questions, anything related to the process or the operating plan? Thank you. Members of council. That includes our speakers. Are there questions from my colleagues? Councilman Ortega, I would like to ask Jamie if you would come to the microphone. So this stretches all the way to I-70, correct? Yes. So how have large businesses like Pepsi been involved in the conversation and are they on board? Straight answers, yes. Pretty much every all those major landowners all up and down Brighton Boulevard did sign the petition of support. Our engagement for the process was nothing short of a labor intensive process, and this group has talked about the collaboration of how that came about. A lot of it driven by design and a lot of it driven by the big question of how are we going to make this work structurally from an organizational funding point of view, how does how do we make it all work? So beginning, I think sometime in mid-November and leading really through February, March time frame, when we actually went to petition, there was a group of property owners, including, as you said, Pepsi and others who were meeting literally every other week on a monday morning for 2 hours, sitting down, working through design, working through assessment methods, working through how we make this financially work for everybody without it being too much of a burden. So the guide was extremely labor intensive and collaborative process in that regard, and the demonstration of support we received and the petitions of support demonstrate that from all the major property owners, not only on Brighton but within the broader GEDI area as well. So my next question is about the fact that historically the city has looked at non-profits a little bit differently. I know that along this corridor we have the 40 museum. I think they're a nonprofit, are they not? They so. They are actually they have. A. Majority of them, a majority exemption, but they are do have a partial commercial exemption for part of their business. And they also did sign a petition of support for both the Biden. Okay. It all the questions. Thank you. Thank you, Councilwoman. Councilwoman Sheppard. Thank you. Forgive me if I missed this, but how many mills is this? Levy? I thought I heard eight for the first four. Okay. All right. Thank you. Thank you. Are there other questions? No. The public hearing is closed. I made my comments earlier. The thing that I would just like to hammer home is that allowing for this general improvement district to pass complements the Business Improvement District. And after hearing what Justin Crawford talked about how the board had decided that this really was the way to go, I 100% support it. And I'm so excited again to see I mean, Rhino is just changed so quickly and even a year from now, I'm so excited to see what happens. So I will be supporting this and I encourage my colleagues to do the same. Our next speaker, our next councilperson is Councilman Brooks, followed by Councilwoman Kennish. Thank you, Madam President. And I'll make this short, because I feel like I'm back in church a little bit with the heat, and I've said all of my comments, but I wanted to show my support and I did a fashion faux pas today and I wore my shorts. Some of us can see that. Councilman Brooks, can you stand up to the rest of us can see that. General, you get in this. Like Superman. I thought it was going to be chest hair. No, not chest hair or. Any other comments. Okay, Councilman Kennish. Thank you, Madam President. I know regret chiming out so that Councilman Brooks could go first, because I've got nothing to follow that. But so, you know, in regards to probably both issues, but for this one in particular, I just wanted to say, you know, I often get asked what it's like to govern. And particularly when I talk to folks from other areas, I talk a lot about Colorado and Denver and the Taxpayer Bill of Rights and how limited it seems like we are and how one of the things we end up doing is having these special districts that carry a lot of the infrastructure needs for our communities. And in in in many cases, you know, that's borne of a difficulty or it's borne of a challenge. But the one thing that I think that is a positive that comes out of it is it is actually creating a citizen led government in a way. What you are creating in this in this these actions is really taking ownership of your community, investing your dollars in having a direct say in how they're spent. And so I do think there's a beauty a little bit to that democratic way of of building your community. And so I want to just, you know, congratulate you. You've taken on a big responsibility, as we seem to be headed in the direction of passing this one as well from the comments so far. And, you know, to say that, you know, the values that you've shared in addition, I mean, we're talking about infrastructure here. But what I believe in is that the way that you build a community is is the way that you are treating and serving the people who will live, visit, spend time there. And so that I think if you think about the form following the function, you know, that's the responsibility you're taking on. And I think that the interest in, you know, touring truly keeping that to be an inclusive space. And so, you know, bikes is a really important piece. But how how do poor people interact with the community and continue to feel comfortable there? And and how do all of those pieces continue to come together? So I think that that flavor of rhino that you have is is, is, is about the people and how you make sure that that infrastructure matches the people is clearly a value that this group has. So with that, I want to lend my support once again to this measure and to say that I look forward to seeing the fruits of your labor as they come online. So thank. You. Thank you, Councilwoman Kennish. See no other comments. Madam Secretary, roll call on Council Bill 309 40. I. Can each. I layman I. Never. I. Ortega I Rob I Sheppard I Susman i brooks. I. Madam President. I. Madam Secretary, close the voting and announce the results. Ten Eyes. Ten Eyes. Counsel Bill 309 has passed. Kelso MacInnis, will you please put Council Bill two of seven on the floor? Thank you, Madam President. I move that council bill 212 be placed upon final consideration and do pass. I'm went ahead. Take that back. Council President. I move that council bill two seven be placed upon final consideration and do pass. It's been moved and seconded. Council bills 207 and 212 approve zoning map amendments. The Council is required by law to conduct hearings on zoning map amendments, and council's actions are subject to court review in order to provide a record for court review. Testimony is recorded and any items presented to the Council are marked as exhibits and become a part of the record. Speakers should begin their remarks by telling the council their names and cities of residence and if they feel comfortable doing so, their home address is. The public hearing for Council Bill 207 is open. May we have the staff report?