Planning Commission - Special Meeting

We ready? All right. All right. This is Commissioner Robert Gusi and I'd like to call our planning commission meeting to order at 6:34 p.m. of June 23rd, 1925. Oh, 2020, excuse me. All right. I'm I'm filling in for Andy until he gets here. Uh I am the vice chair. So, with that, we'll start with roll call. Staff first. Uh, town planner Garrett Scott. Tet McVey, town clerk. Assistant town planner Alan Ciff. We have anybody online from staff. Okay. Uh, roll call of commissioners, please. Starting with Katie, Katie Souls, Brian Cenck, Peggy Smith, and Bob Ganesi. and online and online. Hi, Joy. Hi. All right. Um, next item on the agenda is approval of the agenda for this evening. Do I have a motion on that? So moved. I'll second. Seconded. Okay, we got two seconds on that. So, we're almost there to approval. All those in favor say I. I. Any opposed? I she's she's delayed. Oh, I thought we were going to have our first real debate here. All right. Thank you, Joy. All right. And the consent agenda, which will be the minutes from last month's meeting. Uh, are there any comments on that? Did anyone have any

issues or errors they want to bring to our attention? If not, I'll take a motion. I wasn't there. So maybe you I don't think I was there. Motion to approve the consent agenda. Second. Okay, I have a motion and a second. All those in favor say I. I. Any opposed? Okay, here we go. I'm sorry, Joy. I have to wait a little longer for Okay, none opposed. Is there a delay, Bob? Yeah, there's just a slight delay and so all right. So we have uh no uh nays. So the uh consent and agenda passes. Next we'll go to open forum. Are there any issues with open forum? Hearing none, we will go to the discussion and possible action of our proposed draft code amendment on short-term rental regulations for accessory dwelling units. And I'll turn it over to Mr. Garrett to present. Great. Thank you, Bob, and thank you, planning commissioners. So, uh, the item on the agenda this evening is a proposed code amendment to chapter 19, uh, dealing with some proposed regulations around short-term rentals specific for uh, accessory dwelling units or ADUs. So just as a reminder, uh these were the seven uh prioritized strategies from our March 2025 uh workshop related to uh incentivizing and promoting affordable housing in Frraasier. Um as it stands right now, we have uh completed or or nearly completed priorities one and two. The asterisks there are just meant to denote that um our our code amendment related to those items is advancing to

the board next week on July 2nd for final approval. Um but substantially complete with that and what we're talking about today is priority number four. So the intention behind this code amendment, so as as staff has discussed with the planning commission previously, um you know, ADUs are viewed as a tool to provide, you know, flexible and affordable housing options. Um they have the potential to increase housing affordability both for the homeowner or property owner as a source of rental income. Um as well as for the tenant of that ADU given that they're typically smaller and and can have uh more affordable rents. you know, ADUs create a wider range of housing options. Um, can enable things like aging in place and multigenerational households and also just better uses existing infrastructure and established residential neighborhoods. So, um, Frasier has signaled clear support for ADUs uh, earlier this year by permitting them as a use by right in all zone districts. Um, so this is kind of meant to supplement that earlier change. Um, so I I wanted to note that per town code, an accessory dwelling unit cannot be separated uh by ownership from the principal dwelling unit. So renting out the accessory dwelling unit is really quite common. Um, either as a long-term rental or sometimes as a short-term rental. Um, so the intention behind this code amendment is to preserve the ability to earn, you know, potential greater short-term rental income from the ADU while still providing a light regulation to ensure that um, ADUs themselves don't result in a proliferation of short-term rentals in Frraasier. So this is the text of the proposed amendment to um this specific section uh

chapter 19-2-470. Uh this is the section of our code that has um our ADU requirements and regulations. There are six different items. This code amendment would add a seventh. And the key thing here is that underline text simply stating that um at no time can the ADU and the principal dwelling unit that it's associated uh with that ADU simultaneously be licensed as short-term rentals. Um so fairly straightforward. You know the ADU can be a short-term rental. The principal dwelling unit can be but not both at the same time. So, I talked about a few of these things in the staff report. Um, but currently there are no properties that would be immediately impacted by this. Um, there are approximately 290 short-term rentals in Frraasier. Uh, there are roughly 12 ADUs, although that's not a fully accurate inventory of them, but based on a comparison of those lists, there is only one ADU that is currently being used as a short-term rental. And on that property, the principal dwelling unit is not a short-term rental. So again, with this code implement, uh with this code amendment, there wouldn't be any impacts to existing properties, any existing uh short STR licenses. Um once this code amendment is uh officially adopted, planning staff will create and m and maintain a comprehensive inventory of ADUs in Frraasier um so that the clerk's office can use that in processing short-term rental license applications um in order to you know uh enforce this regulation. And something else that I wanted to note is that, you know, in Frraasier, short-term rentals are most prevalent in areas of town where ADUs are already

prohibited. Um, so just to speak to that a bit further, in rendevous and Grand Park, ADUs are either prohibited by the FPDPS that approve various, you know, subdivisions and neighborhoods in those uh, plan developments or they're prohibited by HOA regulations kind of on a neighborhood or subdivision basis. Um, none of our existing ADUs are in rendevous and Grand Park. So, I think it's um a pretty fair prediction to say that any new ADUs moving forward would likely be outside those planned developments. Um, and I also wanted to note that areas where ADUs are the most logical um where we're most likely going to see ADUs in the future um are areas where we have the lowest number of licensed short-term rentals. Areas like here in in Oldtown Frasier um west of the railroad tracks. Um so ultimately staff recommends that the planning commission approve this resolution uh 20250601. This would advance the code amendment to the board of trustees um for their approval uh likely uh August 6th and then if approved by the board then the ordinance would take effect in September. So happy to answer any questions or facilitate discussion from the commission commissioners. So Grant Park does allow him in the original filing, but I don't think anybody took advantage of that. Sure, that that's a fair note. I shouldn't paint rendevu in Grand Park with too broad a brush. I mean, there there are some areas where they are allowed, but generally ADUs are not allowed. But yeah, it's a fair point. Can't fit in the original, bro. WS are too small. Sure. [Music]

Yeah. So, I'm on the fence on this one because I feel like ADUs is a good opportunity to get more long-term rentals, and these ADUs are going to be going in Oldtown Frasier mostly. Um, and so it's kind of inviting short-term rentals into like the only real proper neighborhood that Frasier has without a million second homeowners. We already have a few like the duplex at the end of the street or do addition. Well, but it's a duplex. It's just little. Um, I don't have a problem with it because I just don't Some of the lots have room, some do not. And um I like that it the language is really simple. It just says you know what only one can be short-term rental. Mhm. So having that definition um I think is really useful. So Brian, are you thinking that if you just don't have any language and ignore it that they're just going to remain longterm? No. Well, what if they turn the home and the smaller unit into short-term rentals, right? I mean, some language needs to be in there for sure. Yeah. So, this, as I see it, this prevents that from happening, correct? But we could even go a step further if we wanted to and say ADUs can't be used for short-term rentals. I don't I don't I don't know how I feel about that. I'm just saying devil's ad pool, but I think it's a good source of income for for folks, you know, and if they've got like the little place right across the tracks where they just put in that cool little um short-term rental on the corner and remodel the house and

Yeah. with the Yeah, it's a it's a cool combination and an advantage of it too is it's a STR and the it's the permanent homeowner or hopefully the homeowner is right next door. keep an eye on it. That's true. You know, and kind of enforce their their regs and all that. And ADUs are typically smaller anyway. And so you're you're not going to throw a rager. Yeah. You can't fit that many people overnight, right? Yeah. Yeah. I I think it's a perfectly valid point. Maybe a couple other things. Um, in in looking at where in Frraasier outside of Grand Park and rendevous uh there are short-term rental uh units, very few of them are here in the Oldtown area. Um, again, which I would say uh is, you know, west of the railroad. And of the few that are here, they're kind of in slightly more isolated pockets like off of Muse Drive or along Carriage Road. So, not the main um there there's a handful I think like on Frasier or maybe even buyers, but very very few. And I think it's a fair point that are we potentially inviting, you know, in these more kind of traditional single family type residential areas, oh, if you build an ADU, then you can uh also get, you know, use that as a short-term rental. Um, I think maybe that could be better handled by uh tighter short-term rental regulations or or changes around that licensing uh process to say we don't want short-term rentals in these specific zone districts or geographic areas. Um, but it is a fair point. I think really what's being proposed is

kind of the lightest touch of a regulation certainly and there certainly other tools that the planning commission and board could uh explore down the road. So, oh Joy Joy go ahead. We see your hand up. I don't know if you're muted. Joy, we can't hear you. Joy, are you there? She got disconnected. Can you hear me now? Yes. Yes, there. Thank you so much. Um, I really appreciate the compromise that we came to in our last meeting about this of there being a a local full-time resident and an STR one or the other. Um, I think it uh addresses the housing uh issue that we have and uh I I like it a lot and so I'm glad that it's coming to the planning commission to approve. So that's uh my joy take. Okay. Thank you. Joy Peg, do you have No, I think this seems like a good compromise. I think it's give a little, get a little, everybody's hopefully happy with the end result. Well, you know, it's it's worth pointing out again that literally on the same property, there is going to be a full-time

resident there. Yeah. You know, so it's not just Yeah. That's true. Or could it have a long-term renter and a short-term? Yeah. Yeah. Could be like a caretaker, right? Essentially, the other unit, it could either be someone who lives there full-time and owns a property, a long-term renter, or as Antinet said, could just be a vacant home. Obviously, we wouldn't want to see that, but um ultimately, it it it cannot be a short-term rental, the second unit. Yeah. You know, and another thought too is down the road, let's say it was like a um ADU for a aging parent or something and they died and then now they've got this little space, you know, and at that point maybe they wanted to make some extra income or something to help pay for the dumpsters to empty out the house. You thinking of him? I'm thinking about my house. The Swedish debt cleaning book has a good straight the dumpster in and hire some guys to throw everything. Nobody else is killed. But I do appreciate your thought about keeping Oldtown Frasier since you were just there for that block party. You know, it was awesome. But um anyway, I I like it. I think it's really simple. It's just simple and straightforward. You can have an ADU, but one or the other can be granted as an STR. Yeah. Actually, I think it's a good addition to our code. Um, I have no issues with it, although I do have a question. Um, did you research the HOA documents, the

Rendezvous and Grand Park to see that that you can't have an ADU? because I could qualify for an ADU right now with my property. I have a lot with a detached garage and a little mother-in-law suite above it that has a kitchen, has a bathroom, and has a separate entrance and exit. So, I'm just wondering is is is did we check that out to see that no, I couldn't later come and say I I want to turn my detached garage apartment into an ADU. That was the way it was originally. Yes. Clark sold that. Right. Right. He got that whole plant from Aspen. Yeah. And brought it in and convinced everybody this was going to be a great thing. And no one took him up on it. And he got Well, counting points. I would say that I would say that we have in the past um had a long-term renter in our apartment over the garage. So, we we did use it as a not an ADU short-term rental, but a long-term we had a six-month tenant that was in there uh at one time. So, I mean, it's we it would be capable for someone who has the same model home that I bought in Clark's phase one development to qualify for this as an ADU and turn it into a short-term rental, right? This this opens it up for rendevous and Grand Park just the same uh to have the option to have an ADU and an STR

is my understanding. Is that correct? It's prohibited and they buy the HOA and rendevous you'd never get it through. Yeah. Yeah. Again, I guess to answer Bob's original question, staff hasn't researched every single, you know, planning area within Grand Park and rendevous and each of the, you know, every single, you know, HOA bylaws and restrictive covenants, uh, for every part of those developments. I just know on a case- by case basis, planning staff has received some inquiries from property owners in Grand Park and rendevous. Can I build an ADU on my property? And generally after doing the research the answer is no. I recognize there's some areas um I think it's the Cousins Meadow neighborhood in Grand Park. That was the original first phase of Grand Park. That is one that I yeah believe allows ADUs from my recollection. But and by the way, it it's not necessarily every model that Clark built would qualify for that because many of them aren't detached garages and many of them uh don't have the kitchen. Sure. He did it as an option. We decided to put it in ourselves. So, it was something we did after we bought the home. Gotcha. But the way he built the uh upstairs garage apartments, if you want to say it that way, was he built it with the option that someone could come in and put a kitchen kitchenet in and be able to live up there. Yeah. Nice. I don't think we might be talking about and in the phase two, I don't think any of them would qualify for in his phase two in Kosen's benefit. So, I think we're only talking about phase one and maybe at most two or three houses in there. Sure. So, w with that said, you know, I'm

perfectly happy with this and uh ready to take a motion if we're ready to pass this. Okay. Okay. I move to approve um what do we have a do we have a motion get it up on this we don't have a a resolution 20250601 recommending approval of code dependent to regulate short-term rental licensing on properties with an ADU. Thank you Peggy. Any second? A second. Thank you Joy. We have a motion and a second. All those in favor say I. I I Good. Good going, Joy. You got it in very quick that time. Yeah. Thank you. Any any opposed? Motion passes. All right. Good job, everyone. Let's see. We have uh open forum next. No, I'm sorry. Other business. We have We don't Oh, here we go. On the back. Other business. Do we have any other business to come before the planning commission tonight? Okay, seeing none, I I actually have a little thing, Bob. Please. Um, I've been pondering something since our last PC meeting. Um, I just want to explore for maybe 10 minutes, please. uh some time together chatting further about the idea of having a parking garage if possible where the visitors center parking lot is.

Um, my reasoning for bringing it up, um, folks from Kansas and Texas coming from DIA on a passenger train, including families with little ones, children, they're going to be reluctant to utilize a public transit system if it's 20 below zero, and they need to bring all the supplies they need to carry to and from the ski area and after researching it and uh I still do not have the land imprint measurement needed for that big sort of endeavor. Um it it can have an entrance and exit off of Highway 40. Um just a thought to ponder. uh we don't necessarily need to discuss it. I just uh think the embracing the passenger train to Frasier again. Um that maybe a a ride and share vehicle strategy with a tech app automatic bars for entrance and exit off the second lane off of Highway 40. just want to plant that seed with you all because we already know that parking is an issue. Where would you put this, Joy? um the visitor center parking lot, which I still have not researched out how much of a land imprint that would take for a

multilevel entrance and exit off of a highway 40 off the second lane. Um next to you utilizing the vis visitor center parking lot. What are we talking about? like the HCA building. Uh, come again, please. U Mayor, the H the headers trail alliance building. Yes, we're hoping that there will be a road that will extend from um Safeway on across. So that wouldn't there wouldn't be enough room there. But I believe in our planning for um Clayton's Court there is a area that's been kind of identified for a potential parking structure or at least parking above some commercial may be out of town. But your point about um having something available like you say the cars that are ready and waiting We might be able to contract if nothing else with the hardware store if they don't expand because now they have all that parking space behind there. That might be a spot where um that just a thought. Well, and it's also on the right side of the highway, too. I was as I was thinking through Joyy's proposal, which I like her idea. It's just that that uh visitor center parking lot is on the wrong side of 40 because the way she was describing it, you know, people slept in a lot of, you know, skis and uh boots and uh baggage and everything and they get off the train and there aren't many places for people to park to pick them up, but they're not

going to walk two blocks in 20°ree weather to get to a parking structure on the wrong side of 40. Yeah, there I I think there are ride share options that we've discussed before and um yeah, it's just uh it's cold here um more than people realize and uh um I really love the idea of everyone not driving vehicles and utilizing public transit um just because we're optimizing the opportunities we have from passenger train travel. Um there are some things we can do um forward thinking in planning that may help us not become like Steamboat, which is ridiculous to try and drive and and uh Keystone or just uh you know something smarter that we can um delve from those towns experiences and what's we can predict from today um what might happen but uh a parking structure is important close to the train station um if I can add a few things um I'm working with C dot right now on the um highway 40 expansion through Frasier um we've had our first two calls um And one thing that they are proposing is um dead ending basically um buyers a at 40

and actually having the continuation of Clayton Avenue go across 40 so that it's a four-way there um to connect to Doc Susie. I love accessibility wise. It's a it's a huge benefit accessibility wise for sure. But then I see that, you know, next to Gorson station, we've got whatever five parking spaces there, but it would probably allow for parallel parking on that road as well if you're, you know, if if it's just a dead end for parking essentially. Then the other thing that C do proposed was the lot um that we use for snow storage just south of Clayton Avenue on on the west side of 40. um turning that into a a decent sized parking lot. H uh what would that do to the runoff for snow? Um we'd have to sort it out. It might be that we're using it for parking instead of snow storage now and we have to find another spot for snow storage. Um but um another part of that proposal was actually doing an underpass for pedestrians and bikes. um right um kind of where that bend is to go back to 40 where the parking lot is right there. Um so it would run they would probably kind of raise the road a little bit. Um, but then Elk Creek goes through there and then you could have um a walking and and biking path next to the creek that would take you right over to the visitor center hta and connect to the trails back there. And that be wonderful. On that call, Michael actually mentioned that they've been debating about putting a trail in that kind of follows Elk Creek um to the west um and connects to that Elk Elk Creek Drive and maybe on from there to keep pedestrians and and bikes off of

Kenny Road 72. So, um yeah, a lot of really cool plans that could could happen. I'm not going to guarantee anything by by any stretch. None of us none of us can. What was that? Where's the snow storage in the lot that they want to turn into parking? Um, it's just this. Yeah, right there. It's next to the bank. By the bank. Yeah, the south of the bank. H. And then Clayton's own some of those that house. There's the grandmother's house. Old place like Yeah. Um, but the way the lot lines draw up, there's there's space along the creek that's I don't know if it's town owned or public use. Where's our train station again now? It's a hotel. Can you see that, Chris? Yeah. Uhhuh. It's right by Fishers. Not very close to that. Well, George lot. Another thought too was in the future with um St. Le crossing with whichever building that is that's parallel closest to 40. There's going to be a large surface lot, but that would have the potential of being a multi-story parking lot possibly with a drive in drive out on the 40 and that would be fairly close to the platform because um yeah, it would be a lot East there's a access to the platform there and they're moving everything to the north on the railroad by 100 100 feet or 100 yards. Not sure. They're supposed to move the platform because it's too close to the crossing. Oh, okay. Yeah. So, they're supposed to be that would that would make it even closer then. Yeah. Right.

Yeah. So, that's for the future. Thank you all. Just Yeah, just I really appreciate you just um of thinking about that possibility because we do know that parking is an issue and I do think that if we have parking our businesses will thrive more. um people who are from Texas and Kansas. I'm not singling them out or anything, but I mean it's cold and uh we want families and it to be accessible for everyone. And so um a ride share multilevel parking garage may be a good solution. Well, I I think it's a good idea that you brought up and should we put that on an agenda as an agenda item for a future meeting to give staff maybe a little time to noodle around on the idea, come back to us with some thoughts on them. So proposed whiteboard hopefully after because the comp plan gets finalized this summer and with that that should include those that options or or those areas. Yeah. So I think say after the comp plan. Yeah. And I think the conversation was great kind of identifying there there are definitely a few different potential locations that a structured parking garage could be built. And I think some of what the comp plan will also speak to is okay, how could we actually go and build it? What funding, financing mechanisms are out there? Um, some of the ones that are just top of mind uh in in my head are um the DDA, the downtown development authority, the

tax increment or tiff uh money that comes in from property tax uh increases within the district that could be utilized uh to issue bonds that then build a parking garage and they get paid down by property taxes over time. that could be a strategy for those DDA revenues, but there's certainly plenty of other things, plenty of other improvements that uh that funding could go towards. Um I know another thing that staff has discussed again just at a very high level without much, you know, data or numbers to back it up is a uh fee in lie of parking structure. um where as development occurs on Clayton Court um some sites could opt to not build parking spaces on site and instead pay a fee for every space. That money then goes towards building the parking garage. Um and certainly there are likely other implementation mechanisms out there. Um but again those would be discussed in the comprehensive plan and and certainly explored in greater detail. Uh but staff can uh do some further research and bring this back, you know, later this year. Kind of a parking garage implementation discussion. Uh if the planning commission would like it would definitely like need to be a pay for youth um endeavor and it's huge and there are grant monies out there for like I realize how uh out there this project would be expense wise um there are you know and It's time consuming to get those grantimmonies, but um just finding a solution for the parking issue that we know already

exists is uh thank you for talking about it. Okay. Yeah, of course. Of course. And thank you for bringing the idea to us. Um any other discussion on that? If not, I think we're now looking at future agenda items. Do we have any that we want to put on our next few agendas or we know of we want to talk about? Um we will likely have a discussion around some comprehensive plan items in July. So this is kind of a timely um item to talk about. Um, and outside of that, potentially other code amendment items, staff is uh aware of a uh a state law around um nonfunctional grass turf and prohibiting that in new developments. Um, and staff's understanding is that we have to implement that before the end of this calendar year. So, hey Joy, can you mute yourself? There's some weird background. Oh, sorry about that. Um, yeah, that's okay. It's my w Thank you. I was uh I was writing um uh what will you elaborate on that please, Garrett, and I'll mute myself now. Sure. Grass turf. Thank you, Joy. Yeah, my understanding is nonfunctional turf essentially essentially just means grass turfs, uh grass lawns. Okay. Um, and there is a state law that prohibits that in in new development. Staff has only done some preliminary research into this um that that may be brought forward in in July, but it's something that we will need to bring um this calendar year. I'm sorry. I wasn't listening close enough, I guess. Are we are we saying that we're not allowing natural grass turf anymore

in nonfunctioning areas? Yeah. There it doesn't serve a purpose. It doesn't around a home like somebody's front yard or um but if it's just a big old expanse I'm guessing or you know maybe at the a grocery store or something that's just for luck. What has brought this to your periphery? So this was a a law passed by the state legislature uh in 2024 um and it has a deadline for municipalities to enact this. I do believe it exempts single family residential and existing properties. I staff will do further research uh but it is something that we need to bring forward. I there are certainly questions around uh again not to get too into it right now but um uh Grand Park and rendevous has have certain um irrigation water rights related to grass lawns essentially. Um, so there's questions about how this interplays with this, but again, it's something that's going to come to the planning commission uh and the board this year because it it would affect our uh landscaping regulations in our land development code. Right. So interesting. So rendevuous does not permit Kentucky bluegrass anywhere and if you have irrigation, it's a drip system and there's no cut grass. It's all wild meadow mix. Yeah. Not an issue for the rendevous. It's a water resource issue is absolutely what I'm gathering. Okay. But it wouldn't it wouldn't stop a single family homeowner outside of an HOA from having Oh, it could because I think this is statewide because I think they're trying to get But it says

nonfunctional space. What's functional? That's what we'll find out. Yeah. I I I have just the summary of the bill pulled up and it says that it applies to commercial institutional industrial property or common interest community property. So like an apartment or multif family residential property, a golf course or a park or something that people could use, not just you have it at your front yard, not residential. It appears to not apply to single family residential. Um, but again, staff will do further research on this. Yeah. Awesome. Thank you for keeping your hand on the pulse of that. It's important. Yeah. Okay. Any other future agenda items to discuss? Hearing none, I move to journ. Second. Second. All right. Hold on a minute. You guys are ready to get out of here. Okay. Uh, we have a motion and a second to adjourn. But before I call for a vote, I'd like to remind everyone that Wednesday, July 23rd of this year is our next planning commission meeting. And with that, I'll call the meeting adjourned at 7:15. 7:15 p.m. Thank you. Early. Thank you all.