Summit County School District Update

Representatives from the Summit County School District, Superintendent Byrd, Chief Financial Officer Kara Drake, and Vice President of the Board of Education Lisa Webster, met with Council to discuss the facts, as well as pros and cons, around the proposed 2024 bond initiative. The proposed bond investments will provide funding to:

• Construct rental housing to support teachers and staff to address recruitment and retainment. In 2023, support staff turnover rate was 38%, and teacher turnover rate was 14%. School Districts may only build rental housing, as they are not permitted to build for-sale housing.
• Perform critical building maintenance, including safety/security upgrades, playground maintenance and repairs, athletic facility repairs and maintenance, roof and HVAC repairs, and more.
• Develop a new CTE Innovation Center with additional classroom/labs to support learning environments with hands-on classrooms for career and technical education, in the following career paths: healthcare, business/marketing/entrepreneurship, computer science, advanced manufacturing/engineering, skilled trades, and natural resources/outdoor leadership, and human services and education.
• Build a new Snowy Peaks Middle and High School which has 40+ students on a waitlist and would benefit from a location next to the new CTE Innovation Center.
• Replace the Breckenridge Elementary building in the same location, as this is the oldest elementary building in the district with significant repair needs.

Bond and School District Financial Information

• Bonds may not be used for salaries, only for capital, maintenance, and repair projects.
• Summit School District is one of two school districts in Colorado with the highest bond rating, AAA.
• The State reduces its share of school funding when property taxes increase on the local level. The State’s School Finance Act sets the annual funding amount for each district across Colorado. If local property tax collection increase, the district’s funding stays the same, and the state reduces its share of funding for the district.
• The estimated net tax impact of the proposed bond on residents who own a home is $13 per month on a $1 million home.

Request for Vacation of a Portion of Public Right-of-Way

Staff reviewed a right-of-way vacation application from Andy Richmond and Lauren Echevarria, that would provide up to four workforce housing units in exchange for the 10,500 sq. ft. parcel of South 6th Avenue right-of-way, between 501 Pitkin and 621 Pitkin Streets. This application was before the Town Council on June 28, 2023, and Council directed staff to return with more information and potential code amendments that could make this type of development possible. Due to the length of time that has gone by and the turnover of Council members, staff brought the application forward for an updated discussion and to answer the following questions:

1. Pursuant to §142-1 of the Frisco Town Code, the Town Council finds and declares that the general policy of the Town is to prohibit the vacation or divesting of any right, title or interest of the Town in and to any land, including any roadway or easement. Any application for vacation pursuant to this chapter may be granted only in cases where the Town Council, in the exercise of its sole and exclusive discretion, first finds an overriding public interest favors the vacation. Does the Town Council find that the proposal provides an overriding public interest? Town Council is interested in continuing these discussions because they do appear to support public interest.
2. The application materials do not propose Area Median Income (AMI) limitations capping the resale value of the residential units and allows for residents who have worked in the area and retired to occupy these units. Will the Town Council require the applicant to follow the Planning Commission recommendation to have a portion of the residential units cap the sale price at 160% AMI? Council would like to continue conversations about this and wants to have more conversation about this work/live without AMI option.
3. The application materials include the construction of three residential units but do not propose a guarantee for the construction of a fourth residential unit. Will the Town Council require the applicant to construct each residential unit within a specific timeframe? Town Council would like more conversation about this.
4. The appraisals submitted for the right-of-way and adjacent properties are dated 2021 and showed the right-of-way being valued at $158,000 (reduced value due to its designation as a right-of-way). Does the Town Council want an updated appraisal performed of the right-of-way and the adjacent properties? Town Council does not need an updated appraisal.

If Council supports the proposed public interest, then the Town Attorney would draft a development agreement to bring forward at the first reading of the right-of-way vacation. The development agreement would allow the Town to ensure that construction of units occur within stated timelines.

Town Council would like to have an executive session regarding this negotiation around Town owned land, and then more conversation during a regular meeting, regarding the above questions.

Comprehensive Plan Joint Work Session with Planning Commission

In the State of Colorado, a comprehensive plan is necessary to guide growth and development. A well-crafted comprehensive plan should reflect the community’s vision and goals for the future and address various elements such as land use, transportation, recreation, economics, water, and the natural environment. The comprehensive plan can be used as a long-range tool to guide policy decisions throughout the Town. Updating the comprehensive plan is intended to support decision making and enable amendments to the Town’s Unified Development Code (Code) in line with the community’s vision.

The purpose of the joint work session with Town Council and Planning Commission was to provide a brief update on the Comprehensive Plan and receive feedback to ensure that the plan is meeting the vision of the community. Design Workshop discussed scenario planning and the Future Land Use Map (FLUM) for Frisco. These scenarios are informed by current trends and explore the potential impacts of different land use decisions using qualitative metrics, such as housing units and job impacts. The FLUM is a crucial tool for guiding long-term development and establishing land use classifications such as residential and commercial, which inform future zoning and policy decisions. In-person feedback leaned towards more support for scenario B, and online feedback favored scenario A. Staff requested feedback from Town Council and Planning Commission on the three scenarios and to provide direction on which scenario to move forward with into a single FLUM. Town Council and the Planning Commission were interested in looking at a combination of scenarios B and C, which includes supporting housing affordability, preserving community character, focusing on infrastructure and capacity, and supporting local commerce. Further discussions included the importance of the Highway 9 and Main Street intersection, focusing on sustainability and resiliency, allowing and potentially encouraging affordable housing over Summit Boulevard area businesses, moving forward with the Complete Streets Plan after CDOT completes exit 203, preserving light industrial uses in the Summit Boulevard area, keeping business uses on West Main Street, and generally supporting commercial viability.

Additionally, the consultant team presented the drafted goals and strategies of the Comprehensive Plan and sought feedback on whether additional goals and strategies should be included. Those drafted strategies and goals include:

• A Beautiful Community: Ensure equity, diversity, and inclusion for residents of all ages and stages of life and maintain the sense of community and historic heritage of the Town of Frisco.
  • Goals: Historic character, community identity, and governmental transparency
• Housing Affordability: Create a greater diversity of housing by type and increase affordability.
  • Goals (highlighted in the Housing Assessment): Diverse and equitable housing, balance growth, infrastructure improvements, and preserve and utilize existing housing.
• A Resilient Environment: Consider the implications of future development to current resource capacity, including water and sewer infrastructure, roadway congestion, and access to community services.
  • Goals: Wildfire/hazard mitigation, stormwater management and water quality, and manage water and sewer capacity.
• Connectivity for All: Invest in public infrastructure improvements that minimize environmental impact while accommodating growth, such as bike lanes, trails, pathways, public transit, and sidewalks.
  • Goals: Bike infrastructure, safety for all modes of transportation, and increasing transit options.
• A Diverse and Thriving Economy: Diversify the economy to support a year-round, local workforce, with particular emphasis on growing and developing non-tourism-related industries.
  • Goals: Supportive local business environment, local industries and services, and tourism.
• Connect to Nature: Sustain and strengthen access to the outdoors, connection to nature, and environmentally sustainable growth.
  • Goals: Access to recreation, programs and events for all ages and stages of life, trails management/regional partnerships, and preservation/restoration of natural areas.

Frisco Housing Strategic Plan

An important community priority identified in the 2023 Frisco Strategic Plan was the study of services needed to support existing and additional workforce housing development, and to offer a variety of housing types to support year-round residents. To responsibly invest future community resources, the Town recognized the need for a Frisco focused Strategic Housing Plan.

The goals of the Strategic Housing Plan for the Town of Frisco are:

• To build off the 2023 Summit County Housing Needs Assessment by specifically pulling data from this report as it applies to Frisco. Utilizing this data and gaining further insight specific to Frisco to identify housing needs and gaps within the Town, identifying needed product types for new construction or conversions, and propose strategies for addressing the identified needs.
• To evaluate the goal of having 50% of the housing units in Frisco occupied by year-round residents. This goal of 50% may need to be adjusted based on the findings of this study.
• To evaluate the impacts of housing production on Frisco’s economy.
• To provide a blueprint for the creation of effective policy and programs to support housing, maintain a healthy economy, provide effective community services, and maintain a high quality of life for our residents. To answer the question: “How do we plan and manage for residential growth in Frisco?” Through scenario planning, financial analysis, and an interactive buildout model supplied by the Strategic Housing Plan, the Town will have a focused road map on how to advance housing solutions based on current and future needs.

Staff presented the proposed Strategic Housing Plan, Resolution 24-34, which encompasses a year-long, comprehensive, community-driven process to will create the first community-wide strategic plan focused on housing. The plan identified the need for an additional 329 workforce units (151 ownership and 178 rental) over the next 10 years. These 329 units are in addition to the workforce units already in the pipeline for or in construction. The plan identifies 18 priority sites to meet these goals, which would require partnerships and public and private efforts for an approximate investment of $188 million in the next 10 years; these 18 sites may be identified in the plan as potential locations but there is no definitive plan to purchase or develop these sites at this time.

Council approved Resolution 24-34.

Refuse Management Screening Requirements

Town of Frisco Community Development Director, Katie Kent, presented proposed amendments to the code of ordinances regarding universal recycling. Ordinance 22-04 requires all commercial customers, including Homeowner Associations (HOAs), to have recycling containers onsite on or before June 1, 2025. Per Frisco Town Code, Chapter §180-6.17, these recycling containers must be kept in an enclosure that contains four walls and a roof.

Concerns were raised by residents of existing developments (primarily HOAs) regarding the requirement to add screening for these recycling facilities. The addition of recycling is not a concern, but the cost of designing and constructing the required enclosure, that includes four walls and a roof, is the concern. Some developments have also voiced apprehensions over the added space they need to find for the required recycling and screening facilities. The current code allows a development to convert up to three parking spaces for refuse/recycling facilities, and developments have stated that it is not feasible to give up parking spaces due to all spaces being assigned and necessary for residential unit parking and/or commercial unit customer parking.

The proposed modifications to Town Code will allow multifamily residential, mixed-use, and non-residential developments, which have been constructed and received certificate of occupancies before or on March 22, 2022, to be exempt from screening requirements. These developments would still need to meet certain requirements that respect the concerns of neighbors and for wildlife:

1. Recycling facilities would need to be wildlife resistant
2. Adequate space should exist for the recycling collection facility to be accessed by service vehicles
3. If partial screen is proposed (ex: four walls, but no roof), the proposed structure must meet all building and safety codes.
4. Screening from public areas, including right-of-ways, public lands, etc… and adjacent properties, would need to be provided
5. Screening could be achieved in various forms, including but not limited to walls, fences, mature landscaping, or other methods proposed by the applicant and deemed acceptable by the Community Development Director

Council approved Ordinance 24-13 on the first reading. The second reading will be held on November 12, 2024.

Code Changes to Summons and Complaints Concerning Animals

Chapter 17-8 of the Town Code concerns the issuance of a summons and complaint into the Town’s Municipal Court for an animal code violation by a person who resides outside of Summit County. Staff recommends repealing Chapter 17-8 as it requires an unused, unnecessary, and undesirable process for the payment of fines and the posting of bail bonds in connection with animal code charges against individuals who reside outside of Summit County. Also, there are better, alternative means of enforcement that exist in current State and local law concerning the quarantine of animals after a bite, and for the posting of a bail bond.

Council approved Ordinance 24-18 on the first reading. The second reading will be held on November 12, 2024.

2025 Budget and Mill Levy Adoption

Staff presented Ordinance 24-15 and Resolution 24-32, to adopt the 2025 budget and Capital Improvement Program for 2025-2029. This ordinance adopts expenditures totaling $54,304,126. Estimated revenues and reserves of $90,584,598 are adequate to meet those expenditures, leaving a total estimated ending fund balance of $36,280,473 at the end of 2025. Details of this ordinance by fund are available in attachment 1, as well as a breakdown of the budget at the department level in attachment 2. Additionally, as part of the budgeting process Resolution 24-32 must be approved to adopt the formal budgeting documents, including the five-year Capital Improvement Plan.

As part of the regular budget process each year, staff is required to present Ordinance 24-16, which continues a mill levy in the amount of 0.798 based on the Town of Frisco property tax assessed in 2024, to be collected in 2025. FYI- the mill levy can only be increased through approval in a public election, and this ordinance did not impose or increase the mill levy. In Frisco, property tax collections are utilized to defray the expenses in the general fund, and Frisco property tax revenue is forecasted to result in revenues of $299,092 in 2025.

Council approved Ordinances 24-15 and 24-16 on the second reading and Resolution 24-32, which formally adopts the 2025 budget.

Natural Medicine Code Amendments

In the coming months, the State of Colorado will adopt the Natural Medicine Health Act of 2022, which includes the licensure and operation of healing centers; an entity licensed by the department that is organized and operated as a permitted organization, where individuals may receive natural medicine services. These services include the guided administration of various types of natural medicine including administering psilocybin, also known as magic mushrooms.

Under the Act, municipalities are granted authority to regulate the time, place, and manner of the operation of healing centers, but may not prohibit their operation entirely, nor prohibit the provision of natural medicine services if a facility or individual has been approved by the state. The intent and effect of the Act is to decriminalize the use and possession (but not the sale) of certain natural medicine (defined at section 12- 170-103(h) of the Act), and to adopt a medical model for those substances that recognizes both the emerging science on the effectiveness of the medical use of these substances when combined with therapy.

Staff proposed amendments to Frisco’s Town Code that include:

1. Modifying the definition of “office, medical”: A building or portion of buildings that contains establishments dispensing health services, and/or that provides support to the medical profession and patients. Examples include, but are not limited to, a healing center under the Colorado Natural Medicine Health Act of 2022, as amended and as codified at C.R.S section 12-170-104, et. seq., medical and dental laboratories, blood banks, oxygen providers, integrative medicine and holistic or homeopathic therapies, and other miscellaneous types of medical services.

FYI- A medical office use is permitted within the following zone districts in Frisco:

• Medical Office, Conditional Use: Gateway District
• Medical Office, Permitted by Right: Commercial Oriented, Light Industrial, Central Core, Mixed-Use

The Town Zoning Districts Map can be found here: Frisco Zoning Map

• Add section 180-5.2.15 Healing Centers to the existing code: A healing center is a medical office that: (i) engages in the activities and provides the services of a “healing center” as defined in the Colorado Natural Medicine Health Act of 2022, as amended (the “Act”); and (ii) that has been licensed by the state of Colorado pursuant to the Act. In addition to the zone districts that allow for medical office use, “natural medicine services,” as defined in the Act, are permitted to be provided at any private residential location at which such service is allowed to be provided under state regulations promulgated under section 12-170-104(6)(c)(XI), C.R.S., as amended.

Town Council approved Ordinance 24-12 on the second reading.

Frisco Town Council Meetings: Ways to Participate

Frisco Town Council meetings are available to view via Zoom and YouTube, and are also held in person to make Town Council meetings easier to access for everyone.

The public can provide comment during meetings via Zoom or in person (not YouTube), and a public comment period will be available at 7:00pm; during the consideration of ordinances; and at the discretion of Town Council during work session items, which are discussions that don’t require a formal vote by Town Council and do not require public comment. Again, this hybrid approach is intended to make Town Council meetings more accessible, and meeting recordings will typically also be made available the day after a meeting in the meeting archive with agenda topics bookmarked to the discussions in the video.