Erie Pursuing A Path Of Destruction?

Okay, getting back into it all, my sensational headline is meant to get your attention. Similar to the whole Longmont annexation issue that has a special website for that topic, there's www.neighborsforasaferoute.com all about the turmoil surrounding a proposed (threatened?) implementation of a Safe Routes to School grant the Town received from CDOT which would construct 3,200 feet of 8-foot trail along County Line Road trail from Telleen Avenue north to the railroad crossing and from Cheesman Street north to Erie Village.

This website has a lot of info that is difficult to filter into a quick argument. Without clearly articulating the problem, it is still obvious that some people are incredibly bitter that the town of Erie may force the creation of this path, with the Erie Board of Trustees meeting on Tuesday November 13 set as the next round of, well, something tense, I guess. Check out the text of an August "speech" at the Trustee meeting. Clarification to follow...

What Will They FInd...

Over the last two months scientists have been analyzing selected natural areas on undeveloped lands throughout Erie’s Planning Area to create a "Natural Areas Inventory". On Tuesday, October 23, 4:00 to 7:00PM there will be an open house at the Erie Town Hall to reveal the results.

The town's press release says: "The inventory will help staff implement components of the Erie Comprehensive Master Plan by evaluating development options on lands that have sensitive ecosystems or habitat needs. Staff will have alternatives and preservation recommendations to share with public and private developers to encourage land use that enhances Erie’s natural setting."

Is this the start of a new wave of growth control in Erie? More so, is there likely to be much land of ecological significance? As a member of LOSAC I'm glad to see such a proactive step being made on behalf of Erie's nascent open space program. To the extent this inventory helps prioritize and highlight areas best saved from development is should boost the town's ability to champion the cause for local open space.

I'm wondering if there will be results of dubious value, the proverbial "be careful what you wish for..." What if the inventory demonstrates only a minimum of "quality" habitat?

Screwy Quote For A New Board Member

So the article in the Camera implies the newly appointed Erie Trustee Colin Towner got the nod because of his status as a small business owner and is on board with and knowledgeable of the town's economic development needs.

So why on earth would he say, in response to the time commitment necessary to perform the duties of a trustee, that "As the owner (of my own business), I always have the option of closing the doors."?!

How about - "You dig deep and get it done," or "I accept the challenge" or "I'll find help if necessary" or something along those lines. "I can always close the shop" to deal with trustee duties doesn't sound like a committed business person to me.

I know the Camera cherry picks comments that often raise eyebrows, but this is another Erie-related quote that make me shake my head in wonder.

New Board Member Imminent In Erie

When Erie Trustee Dave Callahan announced this week he was moving to Denver he also resigned from the Board; the Board now gets to appoint his replacement and will likely do so October 23. This technique is far more efficient than Boulder's recent 14-candidates-for-one-three-month-long-Council-seat special election in July, however in the past Erie's appointment process exploded in accusations of impropriety (Although Callahan's appointment to a Board vacancy wasn't).

From the history files, an excerpt of my Yellow Scene column from February 2002:

The “good ol boys” image was highlighted in February, when Trustee Jennifer Engelbrecht resigned unexpectedly at a regular Board meeting. Trustees Haglin and Steve Skapyak were not present. When the remaining three Trustees (Martinez, Bob Stremel and Lynn Morgan) and Mayor Van Lone decided to appoint a replacement from the crowd in attendance, some cried foul. Nancy Jo Wurl, a temporary Trustee from 1998 – 2000 was asked to step in until the April election.

Typically, although not always, vacancies are announced and candidates are interviewed before being appointed. “I’m just not sure the Ruling Party in Erie understands this whole democracy thing”, said Reed Schrichte, whose wife may run for a seat on the Board. Although there was no legal requirement to fill the vacancy, Van Lone explained that for certain decisions to be made at least four Trustees are required. “We’ve been having attendance problems, and Mrs. Wurl had the experience to step in and contribute. It’s our job to keep the government of Erie functioning.” He adds: “I don’t see how she could turn the world upside down in three meetings.” Because of the controversy, two days later Wurl notified the Board she was declining their temporary appointment.

These “shenanigans” as Schrichte called them, give citizens the sense that the Board is trying to avoid accountability. In a letter to the Erie Review, Bruce Cohen lamented the “blatant attempt by an axis of developers to pack the Board with a sympathetic vote”. To these comments, Van Lone replied: “What does that mean? I don’t know what great conspiracies some people think we have going on here”.

The town is accepting applications for the position, the application deadline is 5 p.m. on October 9. Who shall step forward? My guess is several single issue, pet-peeve-motivated folks. Wouldn't it be coo instead to see someone generally civic-duty minded, wanting to assist the things that are working for Erie? Is that too much to ask?

Erie Gets A Dump

The Erie Board of Trustees has approved on a first reading to annex the Denver Regional Landfill from Weld County. If ultimately approved, the 346-acre dump will become a source of revenue for Erie (a portion of dump fees will go to the town) and the town will have some level of oversight regarding operations. The town has decided the headache of taking on management complaints from wealthy residents who moved in next to a dump is worth the cash. The Landfill managers must be thrilled.

AS I'm going to say going forward, here is one "version" of the story in the Camera.

Erie's Plans Are On The Table, Anyone Else?

Kudos to Erie Mayor Andrew Moore for trying to make more clear the plans and intentions for his town's economic development strategy. This type of outreach just stands out - I can find the main pieces and general statements of support in various communitites, but this is a bit more intentional in its message. Here's the news from Mayor Moore:

As many of you know Erie is working with a Board appointed adhoc committee to ensure our Economic Strategy is sound, thorough, and fits the needs of our community for the long term. Trustee Tina Harris and I are participants along with members from the Chamber of Commerce, Erie Economic Development Council, Planning Commission, development community, business community, and members at large. The group is lead by Upstate Colorado President, Larry Burkhardt.

Through my participation on the economic adhoc committee I came to realize that Erie's current economic strategy was not broadly understood. Although I've written and presented on this topic many times, up until now I had not put the pieces of Erie's economic strategy together in one easily accessible document.

With that in mind I dusted off a paper I started many months ago but never published because of the length, concerns with sharing our competitive plans, and complexity of the message. With input from the Board of Trustees and members of the adhoc group the document was refined for readability and to ensure the message was clear. The document on our strategy can be found here: http://www.mooreinfo.us/EconomicDevelopment.html

You can read more of his message and related comments at http://www.mooreinfo.us/. I'm curious what the readers of this blog think of the scope of the info presented, and its more layman's terms.

Is Erie Worth The Price?

The impact fees in Erie for development have been discussed here before, and further comparative analysis shows Erie is unfortunately skewed to being way more expensive than most of its immediate neighbors. As local Erie businesses start analyzing the cost of expanding within the town, they will find, as attorney Jennifer McCallum did, that staying just doesn't make financial sense. (Thanks, JM for the detail!)

Erie Impact fees:

Office
Boulder $67,349
Broomfield $0
Dacono $0
Erie $71,810
Firestone $0
Frederick $14,809
Lafayette $5,450
Longmont $17,724
Louisville $17,000

Mid Size Retail
Boulder $119,444
Broomfield $0
Dacono $0
Erie $129,132
Firestone $0
Frederick $41,001
Lafayette $9,010
Longmont $67,514
Louisville $86,040

I have a lot more comparative data but creating a table in Blogger is like learning Mandarin Chinese. Suffice to say the single family home and supermarket-based retail, and other categories show Erie as a near last place choice if impact fees were the only factor.

They're not, but what is the critical mass at which the profitable tipping point is reached for development? Is the town hindering its options with such demonstrably higher fees?

The town does have a newer marketing focus on itself as a business development destination, it is "one of the hottest business prospects..." and "..most talked about exurbs in the western US."

I like the confidence. I'm interested to see if a tie between that confidence and self-imposed mechanisms to manifest that vision of that confidence. Does Erie have what it takes?

More Exposure For Erie's Commercial Coveting

No truth to any rumors I'm running for Council - not with more motivated folks and my life filled with a new baby and attendant scheduling issues.

Anyway, I love returning to the wired world and reading in a magazine about "Sustainable Erie Inc." Anyone know the principals? I see this excerpt from ColoradoBiz Magazine:

"It’s certainly not sustainable to be so heavily reliant on construction to pay the bills. That obviously can’t continue forever," says Brendan Ruiz, president of Sustainable Erie Inc., a nonprofit interest group.

Erie’s budget estimates 2007 tap/impact fees will have plunged by half in just two years, to $13.1 million in 2007, from $17.2 million in 2006 and $26 million in 2005. That $26 million represented almost 55 percent of all of Erie’s revenues, while this year’s projected $13.1 million in tap/impact fees would add up to just 26 percent of this year’s $50.4 million in revenue.

The housing market meltdown that's already started will stagnate any future residential growth anyway; if commercial development hasn't seen a critical mass to locate in/next to yet they probably aren't going to be rushing in any time soon. Erie is caught in the inevitable position of relying on impact fees yet said fees make them less attractive to dwindling interest. Doh!

Erie's State Of The Town: Looking Long-Term

Mayor Andrew Moore is hosting a State of the Town meeting tonight in Erie, and earlier this week the Erie Board of Trustees approved not only $114,900 to "identify land with environmental significance according to specific criteria", but they also approved buying into the revenue sharing study. Once they find the land of significance, then what? The Natural Areas Inventory was a stated 2007 goal that will help prioritize land for protection from development, with no significant financial method of protection available. Perhaps the impact fees can be raised. (That's sarcasm. More below on that)

Unfortunately I can't tell you where the State of the Town takes place; my MooreInfo email update didn't say and neither does the town's website. Probably town hall. Maybe the porch at Mina's or in the shadow of the re center's foundation.
6:15 - 6:30 Networking, Pre-meeting Refreshments
Meeting Officially Starts
6:30 - 6:40 Community Leader Intros
6:40 - 6:50 Erie Facts, Pre-submitted HOA Questions
6:50 - 7:00 Traffic Safety, Library, Community Center Updates
7:00 - 7:15 Economic Development Update
7:15 - 7:20 Accomplishments 2004 - Current
7:20 - 7:25 In Progress/Future Projects
7:25 - 7:30 Erie Awards
7:30 - 7:35 CAPP
7:35 - 7:40 Tree Program
7:40 - 8:30 Q&AMeeting Officially Adjourns
8:30-9:00 Additional Individual Q&A as Needed

I notice the longest chunk of time- at 15 minutes - is set aside for Economic Development discussion.

Plus next Tuesday, August 21, the Board will have a study session on the impact of Impact Fees. They have an impact - mostly negative. If they're markedly higher than neighboring communities, and you don't have anything significant to make people think your town is special, impact fees are not helping your cause. It isn't about covering cost of service, that's myopic. It's one of several factors at play when enticing and retaining revenue/job/service providers for your town. Want the means to acquire the "natural lands" the study finds? Don't worry about impact fees and entice sales tax generators to your town. That or pass the hat for straight-up donations.

Hopefully their meeting will last about as long as it took to write this.

Erie Has The Purest Board Of Them All

Okay, I'm willing to accept that the newspapers look for the juiciest quotes but this one is a dig on fellow BoCo communities from Erie Mayor Andrew Moore. Regarding the decision to remain one of two BoCo communities to offer no compensation to their elected Board members, Moore is quoted in the Camera saying:

"They're up there because they want to be up there; they're up there for the right reason," Moore said of his fellow trustees. "They're not up there because they are trying to make a car payment."

Have you ever heard anybody over the years say they wanted the brain damage of a political campaign and subsequent commitment of a Council or Board seat because they need the money? What sort of comment is that?

Pick any random town, stay for an entire Council meeting and imagine doing that dozens of times a year for several years. Tell me you would do it for $5000, or even $10,000 a year.

People run for various reasons ranging from pet peeves to civic duty to megalomania. There is no deeper quality brought to the table because Erie doesn't pay Board members.

I bring this up because of the quote Mayor Moore had in the Camera about Erie's higher impact fees: “Quality has a price. We are not trying to be Lafayette.”

The Rise Of The Northeast - Your Two Cents

Erie residents in Weld County may be interested in the survey by Progressive 15, an organization that works on behalf of the economic interests of 15 counties in northeast Colorado. This region's growth will be decades in the making and challenge the "smart" growth and competitive standing of all of east BoCo.

On their site they have a link to a survey on the Northeast Colorado Regional Visioning Project. Weld County readers should chip in with their thoughts. If we think Broomfield is a monster, this is like godzilla. Not just because it is so big, but because it stomps around without a plan - County and municipal cooperation is nonexistent. This group is hoping to steer their godzilla a little bit more.

Them's Fighting Words

In the Daily Times Call Saturday Erie Mayor Andrew Moore defends the higher impact fees in his town with his assertion the revenues collected go to valuable, quality of life improvements that lead to high quality developments. “Quality has a price. We are not trying to be Lafayette,” he says in the article.

Well.

Out of context? Harmless factual reference? Outright dis on a neighbor's development philosophy?

The fact is the fee schedule goes back before Moore's time and he is now having to defend the anti-growth policies of a previous Board. The fact also is that every community is in competition with their neighbor for businesses, and smaller businesses are especially unlikely to have the deep pockets or dramatic projected financial impact necessary to negotiate more favorable deals, or otherwise simply pay the fees as a part of the game. They will go 5 or 15 miles in another direction, out of Erie, and locate elsewhere. (See Jennifer McCallums' situation in this previous post.)

A great anti-commercial growth policy, and in the long run only defensible in a vacuum, which doesn't truly exist in the competitive marketplace of contiguous growing communities. Erie may not be trying to "be" Lafayette, but they also cannot dismiss what Lafayette offers as an alternative to Erie's current and future businesses by way of costs.

From Erie's Growth Management Policy Statement: "It is the intent of this growth management policy that development shall "pay its own way." Stated another way, growth shall be self sufficient, and shall not cost existing Erie residents."

Looks good on paper - and yet is irresponsibly, self-delusionally simplistic.

Thank the 2002 Board for the idea; watch the current Board to see if it will change.

Impact Fees - What Is Their Impact?

Bear with me - a long post, on an interesting regional issue regarding small business development, the true engine of America's economy.

I received an analysis of Erie's Impact fees from a business owner looking to expand in that town who has been distressed at the disincentive the fees are to remaining in her town. Jennifer McCallum is a lawyer who wrote a letter to her fellow Erie Chamber of Commerce members describing the following:

"I plan to add an additional 5,000 sq ft onto my existing building (2500 sq ft on two floors). When I began to investigate the costs of building this expansion, I learned that the fees associated with building in Erie are much higher than in the surrounding communities. The cost per square foot of building in Erie and two of the surrounding communities are below:

Erie: $10.37 per sq ft
Broomfield: $3.35 per sq ft
Lafayette: $4.06 per sq ft

When I began to investigate the reason why the costs of building in Erie were so much higher, I learned that Erie has impact fees that equal$7.33 per sq ft. I then investigated the cost of the fees in the three surrounding communities with and without their respective impact fees. The results are below:

Total Erie Fees: $10.37 per sq ft
Total Erie Impact Fees: $7.33 per sq ft
Total Erie Fees Without Impact Fees: $3.04

Total Broomfield Fees: $3.35 per sq ft

Total Lafayette Fees: $4.86 per sq ft
Total Lafayette Impact Fees: $0.80 per sq ft
Total Lafayette Fees Without Impact Fees: $4.06

"I wanted to share this information with you as I was shocked to see that there is a disincentive to growing your business in Erie. This may affect you if you are also thinking about starting and/or expanding your business here. I had no idea that Erie had impact fees that were different than those in the surrounding communities. I assumed the costs of building a structure in Erie were similar to building in the neighboring communities but, they are drastically different. I will be very sad to have to consider moving my business out of Erie. " She continues: "This is my home and I have enjoyed starting and growing my business here. But, as you will likely agree, I need to at least consider this option as the impact fees in Erie are exorbitant and add significantly to the costs associated with building the addition my business needs to survive."

Mayor Moore has responded to the assertions in part through his newsletter:
"We all share the desire for transitioning Erie into a high quality, commercially robust community. To achieve that vision the BOT has spent the last three years committed to distinguishing Erie from nearby cities by focusing on quality growth and upscale community amenities. A commitment to quality has a price. Town impact fees, on new construction and development help pay for roads, bridges, flood control, parks and other public infrastructure improvements desired by Town residents. The improvements help market the Town for quality commercial projects. State law requires impact fee charges be based on public project costs. The impact fees that help pay for and enable the construction of these public improvements are an alternative to higher property taxes for all of our residents.

"Some have implied our fees are too high. Because state law requires a nexus between fees and costs any subsidies would have to be made up through other means. With that in mind, the BOT has commissioned an independent consultant to review of Erie's impact fees by analyzing our current situation. I anticipate the results coming to the BOT in August. This information coupled with the Ad Hoc Economic Development Committee plan, due in September, should give the BOT information needed to consider and make appropriate policy changes. I look forward to getting the study data so I can form my own view." Read his full commentary on impact fees as part of his Moore Info Newsletter.

Some impact fee context from a 2003 article in the High Country News about Erie: "During [Barbara] Connors’ first months in office, she turned the town’s pro-development establishment on its head. The outspoken Manhattan transplant fired the town’s administrator because "he was one of their boys." She raised impact fees on building permits and placed a moratorium on new permits until the town ironed out questions about the capacity of its sewage treatment plant. "

I bring this up as some history to Connors' tenure as she may be a name you see re: the County Commissioner seat mentioned below.

Erie Neighborhood Votes Against Its Own HOA's Empowerment

Last week there was a vote in the Northridge neighborhood in Erie regarding the potential creation of a Board of Directors. Those in opposition were a slight majority (a 78 to 75 vote victory) - a surprise to the folks there who want to see a laundry list of issues addressed in the more formal way.

The unattributed Northridge HOA blog has this comment:

I'm going to be very interested in how the majority will handle the first real
crisis that comes upon us all as a community. I figure that since
they have rejected the one solution that has been proposed, it
will fall to them to find the solution and provide the
leadership necessary.

Problems contemplated include:

Will some group of neighbors get so vexed by the condition of some
other neighbor's property that they will band together and sue that neighbor
under the legal and binding provisions of the contract know as the covenants?

Reading between the lines I'm guessing there are a few homeowners letting their landscape fade, piling subjectively ugly amounts of random items in their yards , or maybe there are a few Darfur-related yards signs like the ones causing an HOA showdown in Boulder. And, they're in the majority and want to keep the meddling of a stereotypical HOA out. Pity, as the legal liability issues are compelling.

The background to the vote is the "failure" of the developer of Northridge and the town to formally create an empowered HOA; there is now a legal limbo of an entity to handle enforcement and liability questions. In light of such limbo, the town is holding onto a couple hundred thousand dollars meant for Northridge neighborhood improvements.

This is a mess. Check out the PowerPoints from the meetings and the vote results on the Northridge website.

Lowe's: The Battle Continues - Plus More Road Studies!

Tonight the Lafayette Planning Comission will review the sketch plan for Lowe's at a public hearing. There may not be many fireworks; it may be too soon for opposition to comment in any detail other than re-hashing the general sentiment of inappropriateness heard during the February election. An April 9 neighborhood meeting and subsequent public notices of this meeting have not elicited any comments so far.

A related story to this is the recent outline of the study to re-route Hwy 7 to the north, such that the traffic heading west on that road from Broomfield and Erie could be re-routed north on a new section of road up to Arapahoe near Hwy 287. This would deflect a lot of traffic away from the north end of Lafayette's old town, decreasing the traffic on Baseline Rd.

In theory.

Some details from Lafayette.

Voting Against Your Own Ethics Investigation

It's from last week, but it's interesting anyway: Erie Trustee Tom Van Lone is being accused of voting for unjustifiably restrictive land use regulations on a parcel owned by a friend with whom he's had a falling out. The dubious claim is that the restrictions are vindictive, not simply regular ol' growth management.

What's interesting is the Board of Trustees voted last week to spend up to $900 for a private investigator to look into the matter. There's nothing in the town's ethics ordinance saying such expenditures are required , so Van Lone voted against it. The stipend passed 6 - 1.

As opposed to abstaining, voting against further investigation of ethics complaints against yourself just adds more fuel to the fire. It's unfortunate that the Board couldn't just look at the issue at face value and determine if Van Lone crossed a line or not. Given the vagueness of ethics ordinances, he is not likely to be found in violation of anything.

The long background of the issue is in the Camera.

Whoop It Up Erie-Style

The Erie Town Fair is tomorrow and I encourage you all to drop by the offices of the Yellow Scene on Briggs Street and put faces to the names you've been reading. At least pick up a free copy. Read all the details, starting with the 6:00 AM balloon launch at Vista Ridge.

One Step For Capitalism, One Giant Leap For Erie

From Erie Mayor Andrew Moore: The First Commercial Development on Hwy 7 Approved

I'm pleased to let you know 13.6 acres of commercial property on Highway 7 was approved by the the Board of Trustees on Tuesday evening. This site in Vista Ridge is located at the northwest comer of State Highway 7 and Mountain View Boulevard and consists of 6 commercial lots, and one tract for private road access.

The developer told the Board the first businesses have signed leases for the anticipated November 2007 opening. According to the developers Walgreens has also entered into an agreement build on an adjoining lot.

I also can confirm the major grocer interested in building a store at Bonanza and Highway 7 is continuing discussions with the developer who owns the land at this intersection. Both projects will help meet our adopted town economic goals while providing needed services to Erie and Broomfield residents.

Benefit Walk in Erie to Honor Ruth Schrichte

I had the chance over the years of writing about Erie's growth issues to speak with Ruth Schrichte, a person passionate about the community and a member of the Board of Trustees

Erie Mayor Andrew Moore sends along this detail to an event that may be of interest to some of you in Erie - Benefit Walk for the Ruth Anne Schrichte Scholarship Fund:

As many of you know Erie recently lost a community leader, mother, teacher, and former Town Trustee to cancer. Ruth Schrichte touched many in our town and left behind a legacy which includes our ethics ordinance, open space/trails, and strategic annexations on Highway 52.

On June 2nd, students from Erie High School have organized a memory walk and benefit for the Ruth Anne Schrichte Scholarship Fund. The memory walk will take place at the Erie High School track from 9am-9pm. More information can be found here or call Bonnie Portillio at 303.847.2022

New Group to Address Erie's Economy

The Erie Board of Trustees has formed the Economic Development Ad Hoc Committee. This committee will assist the town’s consultant from Upstate Colorado Economic Development in preparing an Economic Development plan for Erie . The Board of Trustees will made appointments during their April 10th meeting; the group includes:
• Mayor Andrew Moore
• Trustee Tina Harris
• Don Huntress
• Phil Irwin
• Dr. Sally Towner
• Mark Gruber
• Brian Hognes Lewis
• Colin Towner

The committee appointment term is from late April 2007 until late fall of 2007.

I loved the application for the committee: "Why are you interested?" and that's really it. I'm not certain the background of the members but just having a discussion group focused on the topic means the AirPark residents will have someone else to yell at besides the Board of Trustees.