2026-10-14 - Planning and Zoning Commission

00:02I guess we're ready to go. I've started

00:04the recording now.

00:05>> Perfect. Over to you, Chairman Walls.

00:08Great, thanks Brandon. Good evening

00:09everyone. It is Wednesday the 14th of

00:12October, 2026. I now call this regularly

00:15scheduled virtual meeting of the Aurora

00:17Planning and Zoning Commission to order.

00:19I'll now call the roll of Commissioners.

00:21Commissioner Jachimek.

00:23>> Oops.

00:25Present.

00:26>> Commissioner Bush.

00:29>> Present.

00:31>> Commissioner Bush, I see that you're

00:32joining us via phone. Are you able to

00:35have a packet in front of you and you'll

00:36be able to follow along with the staff

00:38presentation and affirm that you're able

00:40to impartially judge the application

00:41before us this evening.

00:46Commissioner Bush.

00:49>> Yes, I am.

00:50>> Okay. Thank you, Commissioner Becker.

00:54>> Present.

00:55>> Commissioner Banks is excused.

00:57Commissioner Riley.

00:58>> I am present.

01:00>> Commissioner Hogan.

01:02>> Present.

01:03>> Commissioner Walls is also present.

01:05We've established a quorum with six

01:07voting members present this evening. The

01:08Pledge of Allegiance will not be said

01:10tonight as this meeting is virtual.

01:12We'll move on to the minutes from

01:13September the 23rd. Everyone received a

01:15draft of those minutes. Have you all had

01:17an opportunity to review them?

01:19Okay. Are there any amendments or

01:21corrections to the minutes?

01:23Seeing none, the chair moves to approve

01:25the minutes as presented without

01:26objection. Is there a second?

01:28>> Second.

01:29>> Thank you, Commissioner Riley. It's been

01:31moved and seconded to approve the

01:32minutes from the 23rd of September as

01:35presented without objection. Any

01:36discussion on the motion?

01:38Without discussion, is there any

01:39objection?

01:41Without objection, the minutes from the

01:4223rd will be approved. Tonight we have

01:45one item of general business, item 8A.

01:47The chair moves to approve the agenda as

01:49presented without objection. Is there a

01:50second?

01:52Thank you, Commissioner Jachimek.

01:54Moved and seconded to approve the agenda

01:56as presented without objection. Any

01:58discussion on the motion?

02:02Any objection?

02:04Okay, the agenda will be adopted. I'll

02:05now read a summary of our policies and

02:07procedures for this evening's meeting.

02:09Please make sure your home or computer

02:10microphone is on mute unless you're

02:12speaking. The Planning and Zoning

02:14Commission meeting is a quasi-judicial

02:16hearing. There's no swearing in of those

02:17who give testimony, but it is presumed

02:19that all parties are telling the truth.

02:21When addressing the commission as an

02:23applicant or the representative, please

02:25state your first and last name as well

02:26as the organization that you're

02:28representing, and you may additionally

02:30state if you're an Aurora resident. If

02:32you're addressing the commission as a

02:33member of the general public for public

02:35testimony, please state your first and

02:37last name and if you're an Aurora

02:39resident.

02:40For each agenda item, there will be an

02:42initial presentation by city staff.

02:44Afterwards, commissioners may ask

02:45questions of staff. Discussion of the

02:47agenda items by commissioners will only

02:50be conducted following a motion and a

02:51second.

02:52Following the staff presentation, the

02:54applicant or their representative may

02:55choose to make a presentation or answer

02:57questions. The applicant will have 10

02:59minutes for their presentation.

03:01Commissioners may ask questions of the

03:02applicant. Members of the public that

03:04have signed up to speak will each have 3

03:06minutes to speak on the agenda item

03:08during this public comment period. It is

03:10asked that only new information be

03:11presented. The same arguments should not

03:14be repeated. Commissioners may ask

03:16questions of the public following their

03:17comments. After public comments, the

03:19applicant will have 5 minutes to address

03:21any public comments. Commissioners may

03:23ask questions of the applicant. The

03:25chair will ensure all commissioners have

03:27no further questions of the applicant or

03:28staff. The chair will then call for the

03:30question. After a motion has been made

03:32and seconded, the commissioners will

03:33then discuss the case amongst

03:35themselves. After the discussion, the

03:37chair will call the question.

03:38Commissioners are finders of fact and

03:40will vote based on their evaluation of

03:42the evidence presented as compo-

03:44compared to code section 146. All

03:47rulings by the Planning and Zoning

03:48Commission are normally final.

03:49Exceptions are zoning map amendments,

03:51zoning code amendments, and

03:53comprehensive plan amendments that need

03:54city council approval.

03:57Decisions by the commission can be

03:58appealed to the city council by

04:00presenting a written appeal to the city

04:01manager within 10 calendar days of the

04:03public hearing. City council also has

04:05the discretion to call up any case,

04:08whether an appeal has been made or not.

04:10Notices for this virtual meeting were

04:11published, posted to the city website,

04:14and the development projects were posted

04:15with signs on the properties. Notices

04:17were also mailed to adjacent landowners

04:19per city requirements. As an additional

04:22note for this virtual meeting, the

04:23commission asks that any applicant or

04:25applicant representative please turn on

04:26their camera if able when speaking or

04:29presenting to the commission.

04:31Without consent, we'll move right in

04:34tonight's first case is agenda item 8A,

04:36which is the Candela Restaurant. First

04:39noting for the minutes, Commissioner

04:40site visits.

04:43Commissioner Riley, Becker, Hogan,

04:45Jachik, Walls, and I believe that

04:47Commissioner Bush stated he visited the

04:50site as well. Is that correct,

04:51Commissioner Bush?

04:53>> Yes.

04:54That is correct.

04:56>> Great, thank you. Agenda item 8A,

04:57Candela Restaurant, which is a

04:59conditional use located in Ward 4. Our

05:01case manager this evening is Stephen

05:03Gaberel. The applicant is Commerce Serve

05:06Hospitality LLC. Stephen, the floor is

05:08yours.

05:09>> Wonderful. Good evening, Chair and

05:10Commissioners. My name is Stephen

05:12Gaberel, and I'll be providing a staff

05:13presentation for agenda item 8A, Candela

05:16Restaurant conditional use.

05:19Before you this evening is a request on

05:21behalf of the applicant, Commerce Serve

05:23Hospitality LLC, represented by Adam

05:25Stepen with Dillon Dill, for approval of

05:28an accessory after hours entertainment

05:29land use for their already existing

05:32restaurant.

05:34Currently on screen is a vicinity map of

05:36the subject property, which is located

05:38south of the intersection of East Evans

05:40Avenue and South Blackhawk Street.

05:43For a little more reference, it's just

05:44east of the southeast corner of the

05:46intersection of East Evans Avenue and

05:48South Abilene Street, and you can see

05:50that I-225 is nearby to the west there

05:53as well.

05:56And here we have a more zoomed-in aerial

05:58image of the site and that was taken

06:00from just August of this year.

06:07On this slide we have a zoning map which

06:09shows the zoning of the subject property

06:10and the surrounding area. This site and

06:13surrounding area are largely zoned MUOI,

06:16mixed-use office institutional, which is

06:18shown in blue on this map. Other nearby

06:21zone districts include the I-1 business

06:23business tech district to the south,

06:26MUC, mixed-use corridor district even

06:28further to the south there, uh and then

06:30there are some instances of R-2

06:33medium-density residential to the

06:35southeast, and uh

06:37to the west across I-225 as well.

06:41The purpose of the MUOI district is to

06:42accommodate office, institutional, and

06:44other low-impact uses near residential

06:46areas. The district is intended to allow

06:49medium-to-low scale development with the

06:51intent to buffer nearby residential from

06:53more intensive commercial activities.

06:56The nearest residential uses are located

06:58more than 700 ft uh from the subject

07:00site and that is to the southeast in

07:02that previously indicated R-2 zone

07:04district.

07:08This map shows the Aurora Places

07:09Comprehensive Plan Place Type for the

07:11surrounding area.

07:12The subject property and surrounding

07:14area falls within the Innovation Campus

07:16District Place Type.

07:18There are nearby portions of the

07:19Established Neighborhood Place Type that

07:21coincide with those R-2 areas you saw on

07:23your previous slide,

07:25uh so those are to the southeast and

07:27then to the west across I-225.

07:30The Innovation Campus Place Type is

07:32intended to foster new ideas and

07:33enterprises by bringing together

07:35different people, companies, and

07:37institutions, and is key for increasing

07:39employment within in city. Restaurant is

07:41a listed land use within this place

07:43type.

07:46Moving on now, we have a couple site

07:48photos from the property. These are both

07:51taken from the East Evans Avenue

07:53right-of-way with the image on the left

07:55being taken from near the western

07:57property boundary and the image on the

08:00right taken closer to the eastern

08:02property boundary. So, opposite sides of

08:04that front facade there.

08:09And then on this slide, we have an image

08:10of the public notice sign for this

08:12evening's hearing, which was posted to

08:14the site a minimum of 10 days prior to

08:16tonight's hearing in accordance with the

08:18requirements of city code.

08:22Five adjacent property owners and 32

08:24neighborhood organizations were notified

08:26of the application. No comments were

08:28received during the review period,

08:30therefore no neighborhood meeting was

08:31held.

08:33The public hearing notices were mailed

08:35and posted per UDO requirements and no

08:37comments were received following these

08:39noticing procedures, either.

08:45The major issues discussed during

08:48discussed and resolved during the review

08:49of the conditional use application were

08:52analysis of the operations plan details,

08:55ensuring avoidance of operational

08:56issues, which was a problem for the

08:58previous tenant of the space

09:00and then adherence to the UDO

09:02conditional use approval criteria.

09:07As required for all conditional use

09:09applications, the applicant has provided

09:11the city with a detailed operations

09:12plan, which describes the restaurant's

09:14intended programming and functions. This

09:17plan, included as exhibit C in your

09:19packets tonight, details the expected

09:21operation hours, staff counts, service

09:23standards, security measures, parking

09:25plans, and more.

09:27Listed on screen are some of the most

09:28pertinent considerations for the

09:30business as identified by staff.

09:33The business proposes operating hours of

09:3410:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. 7 days per week.

09:37Operations would be focused on typical

09:39restaurant food and beverage services

09:41from open until the early evening hours.

09:44During the evenings, operations would be

09:46focused on hosting events such as dance

09:49lessons for various experience levels,

09:51social dancing, DJ sets, televised

09:53sporting events, private celebrations,

09:55and the like.

09:57The applicant acknowledges that uh

09:59safety is important for their patrons

10:02and the public in general, and will be

10:03utilizing a video surveillance system to

10:05monitor appropriate service areas. The

10:07premises will also use a commercial

10:09alarm system with door, window, motion,

10:11and intrusion detection.

10:14The business has committed to

10:15maintaining a log of any incidents which

10:16may occur on the site, and that would

10:18include things like refusals of service,

10:20customer removals, altercations,

10:23injuries, property damages, or rendering

10:26of emergency services to the site.

10:29And also particularly critical to

10:31after-hours entertainment operations is

10:33ensuring reasonable and code and

10:35code-compliant noise outputs.

10:37>> [snorts]

10:38>> The operator has stated they fully

10:39intend to comply with all city code

10:41derived noise requirements. The

10:43applicant will take operational measures

10:45to reduce the noise produced exterior to

10:47the building, including directing

10:48speaker equipment away from doors,

10:50windows, and patio areas, monitoring

10:53overall noise and base levels produced

10:55by the activities,

10:56and repositioning equipment and or

10:58closing outdoor service areas if the

11:00need arises.

11:02>> [snorts]

11:05>> Another important element of review for

11:07this proposal was avoidance of

11:09operational errors, which were an issue

11:10for the previous restaurant operator, as

11:12I stated.

11:14Uh Trevor Vaughn, the manager of the

11:15city's licensing department, provided a

11:17memo during first review, which detailed

11:19some of the issues experienced with the

11:21prior tenant.

11:22This memo has been included as exhibit D

11:24in your packets this evening.

11:26The prior tenant extended their hours

11:28past midnight and added a dance floor to

11:30the property in 2019. Uh and this was

11:32all done without any form of conditional

11:34use approval, thus resulting in a number

11:36of noise complaints, as well as issues

11:38with altercations occurring at the

11:40establishment.

11:42Uh, the previous business has since

11:43closed, and the current restaurant

11:45operator is in no way affiliated with

11:47the prior operations.

11:49That being said, licensing has

11:50recommended the following conditions be

11:52applied to mitigate or outright prevent

11:54any negative impacts to the area.

11:56The interior sound system shall not be

11:58audio at the exterior wall of the

12:00adjacent property, uh, hotel property to

12:02the east. The business must operate in

12:05accordance with the approved operations

12:06plan. Only minor changes to the plan

12:08being allowed via an administrative

12:10amendment process. And that after hours

12:13entertainment must remain accessory and

12:15subordinate to the primary restaurant

12:16operations.

12:18>> [snorts]

12:19>> Currently on screen are the conditional

12:21use approval, uh, the conditional use

12:23approval criteria listed within the UDO.

12:31And this slide provides staff analysis

12:33of how the application meets these

12:34criteria. In short, the proposed

12:37conditional use exhibits compliance with

12:38these in that through completing the CUP

12:41process, the applicant has sought the

12:43necessary approvals to comply with UDO

12:45land use, uh, requirements, [snorts]

12:47which list after hours entertainment

12:48within the MUOI zone district as a

12:50conditional use.

12:52The proposal is consistent with the

12:53innovation campus place type and

12:55supports the comprehensive plan goal of

12:57strengthening the employment base in

12:58Aurora. It's compatible with surrounding

13:01restaurant, lodging, and other

13:02commercial uses in the area. It would

13:04not significantly alter the character of

13:06the surrounding area, which again is

13:07highly commercial and service oriented.

13:10The already developed site and abutting

13:11right-of-way contain the improvements

13:13needed to support this use.

13:15>> [snorts]

13:15>> No tenants or occupants are being

13:17removed from the site as part of this

13:19request. And the applica- the

13:21application mitigates any potential

13:22impacts to the area by abiding strictly

13:25to the business operations plan and

13:26through the placement of mitigate of

13:28mitigating conditions on the approval.

13:33Overall, staff finds that agenda item

13:36AA, conditional use for accessory after

13:38hours entertainment in the MUOI zone

13:40district, meets these criteria for

13:42approval. Staff recommends the planning

13:44commission make a motion to approve with

13:46three conditions of approval, the

13:48conditional use for after hours

13:50accessory entertainment in the MUOI

13:52mixed use office institutional zone

13:54district. Because the proposal complies

13:56with the requirements of code section

13:57146-5.4.3.8.3

14:01of the unified development ordinance for

14:03the reasons listed below and stated

14:04within the staff report and within this

14:06presentation.

14:08That approval to be subject to the

14:09following three conditions. The interior

14:12sound system must not be audible at the

14:13exterior wall of the adjacent hotel

14:15property to the east. The business must

14:17operate in accordance with their

14:18approved operations plan with only minor

14:20changes to the plan being allowed

14:22through an administrative approval

14:24process. And three, after hours

14:26entertainment must remain accessory to

14:28the primary restaurant operations.

14:31And with that, I've concluded my

14:32presentation and I'm available for any

14:33questions you may have. The applicant

14:35does not have a presentation following

14:36mine, but is available to answer any

14:38questions you might have of them.

14:40Uh Trevor Vaughn with licensing staff, I

14:41believe is also available if you have

14:43any questions for his department. Thank

14:45you.

14:46>> Okay, thank you so much for the

14:47presentation, Stephen. I'll open the

14:48floor for questions from the commission

14:50of staff or the applicant. Uh

14:52Commissioner Becker.

14:54>> Is it pretty common practice to have uh

14:56to have that information from a previous

14:59use

15:00provided in in a similar packet?

15:04>> Uh yeah, I would certainly say so as cuz

15:07especially considering it was submitted

15:08as part of the review, so basically a

15:11comment during the review from staff. We

15:14would typically include that in the

15:15packet. Um I'm I wouldn't say it's

15:17necessarily common that we do receive

15:19that type of memorandum for conditional

15:21uses, but I think typically we would

15:23include that within our packet.

15:25>> Just to give you a bit of context,

15:27Commissioner Becker, before you were

15:28seated on the commission, we haven't had

15:30tons of these type of uses for

15:32conditional use, but generally we do get

15:34context or Trevor Vaughn from staff is

15:37available for commissioner questions,

15:39and usually questions are fielded about

15:42previous operations, how did that go,

15:45how did the neighborhood feel about it,

15:46things like of that nature. So, um it's

15:49sort of auto included whenever we get

15:51those comments now, that context is

15:52included for our benefit in the packet.

15:55>> Thank you.

15:56>> Uh Commissioner Hogan.

15:59>> I don't know if this is a Trevor

16:02question or a Stephen question, but who

16:04determines if after-hours entertainment

16:08is an accessory it is accessory to the

16:11primary restaurant? I mean, how does

16:14that That sounds

16:16fine, but how is that really

16:19mitigated or enforced?

16:23>> I think from our end it's typically

16:24determined by how much of the sales are

16:29being allotted to

16:31activities

16:33uh that are part of those after-hour

16:35functions versus the typical restaurant

16:37functions.

16:38Um

16:39I I suppose I would let Trevor speak to

16:41that, too, if he feels so inclined.

16:45>> Yeah, yeah, Commissioner Hogan, I the

16:47the way we would uh enforce that would

16:49be first of all that the location

16:51maintain its restaurant liquor license,

16:53which has requirements around food sales

16:55on that. And then there is some language

16:57in the zoning code discussing uh about

17:00uh having primarily food sales for the

17:02location. Um what we generally would see

17:05happen, if I, you know, if you compare a

17:06restaurant to a nightclub, you know,

17:08nightclubs pretty much start pulling all

17:11the tables and chairs out of there, and

17:13the floor gets sticky, and it's not

17:15really something you see, and then their

17:17hours change as well.

17:19Um and the intensity goes up, so you'll

17:21see more people in there. And you don't

17:23really see the food service that you

17:25would expect. Um they really are kind of

17:27two different things uh when you see

17:30them in practice.

17:32>> So, it would be your department that

17:34would be determining this versus

17:36planning, correct?

17:38>> Correct, because it would go to the

17:39enforcement level after this is approved

17:42to monitor that.

17:44>> Okay. Thank you very much.

17:47>> Mr. Walls, we've got you. Um I have a

17:50little bit of a concern with the the

17:52first condition. I understand the

17:54spirit, I think, of why that condition

17:55was placed there. We We certainly don't

17:57want nuisance um with this conditional

17:59use. We don't want nuisance nuisance

18:01noise. Um but I'm concerned it's it's

18:04overly broad, that condition and that

18:06statement. And let's say, for instance,

18:08the doors opening at 10:00 p.m. Um and

18:12just the doors opening causes the music

18:14to be just heard at the adjacent wall.

18:17That's an unnecessarily strict

18:18requirement, I believe. This isn't an

18:21MUOI zone district, so there's some

18:23expectation of noise in this type of

18:26zoning district, but I'm concerned about

18:28that statement.

18:30>> Yeah. Um Commissioner Garrett Garrett

18:32Commissioner Walls, yeah, I think that's

18:33a good question that you raised there.

18:35And actually, by making it this

18:37condition the way it did, I actually

18:38think it might be a little bit more

18:40lenient uh than the noise code um from

18:43the standpoint of

18:45uh what you're talking about is the the

18:48sound coming from that sound system

18:50internally. And that is one of the

18:52things you hit on one of the things that

18:53is often times an issue is when that

18:55door opens and closes, particularly, you

18:58know, when we talk about event centers

18:59with like a back door that faces

19:01residential. The issue you have, you

19:04know, is that is a hotel. And so, what

19:06we don't want is we don't want that

19:08thumping bass

19:09or or

19:10permeating those rooms. Now, the noise

19:12standard is I think within uh commercial

19:16district late at night 55 decibels at

19:19the property line. This way we're

19:22saying, which is basically

19:24quieter than

19:26um speaking. Speaking's like 60 to 70

19:28decibels. Um so, this way I'm actually

19:31think we're giving him a little bit of

19:32leeway because we can say, "Okay, well,

19:35just don't have it at that side of the

19:36building where it's potentially

19:38permeating those windows and disturbing

19:40the guests of the

19:42of the, you know, um hotel. The front

19:45entrance of the building actually faces

19:47away from the hotel. And so, really the

19:50the sound should be at a low enough

19:51level that it not be heard. I would say

19:54not even be heard at that level. If you

19:56barely hear it, um

19:58you know, but I think one of the issues

20:00too we also run in with our code is it's

20:02specific to DBA.

20:04And what we're seeing now is that we're

20:06seeing impacts from that heavy bass,

20:08which actually they won't even be

20:09violating that DBA standard, but they,

20:11you know, it'll be at the 80 90 decibel

20:13levels in DBC. Uh so, it'll be

20:15permeating that building. So, that was

20:17just a way to try to do it. I think you

20:19could, if you were concerned about this,

20:20maybe modify it that not exceed, you

20:23know, maybe not exceed

20:26um [snorts]

20:28um what do we call ambient noise?

20:30Um but, just trying to give some some

20:32way for us to give some clarity that

20:35you know, if we are getting noise

20:36complaints, we can address it whether it

20:37be in the DBA or DBC range and also

20:40giving some space where it's just not at

20:42the property line to maybe give a little

20:43bit of leeway.

20:46>> And just so you know, I think it was um

20:48I was uncomfortable with the subjective

20:49nature of just saying it cannot be

20:52audible.

20:53Um it's super subjective. And if you can

20:56hear it like a whisper, it's still

20:57audible. Therefore, they could be in

20:59violation of these conditions.

21:01Um it just depend it leaves it up to the

21:03subjectivity of that enforcement officer

21:07at at the time. And and I'm not sure

21:08that that's fair for the applicant.

21:10>> Would it

21:11like I said, maybe a modification of

21:13that that would be

21:15not more than

21:17ambient noise. So therefore, you can

21:19measure that with a sound meter.

21:21>> I think as long as licensing is okay

21:23with that, we can certainly discuss that

21:25when a motion is presented and to see if

21:28a commissioner moves that way or might

21:30be subject to an amendment of that

21:32condition. So I appreciate that Trevor.

21:34Thank you.

21:35>> Mhm.

21:35>> Further questions from the commission

21:37for staff or the applicant?

21:42Okay, seeing none. Stephanie, do we have

21:44any members of the public signed up to

21:46speak on 8A?

21:48>> No, chair. We do not.

21:50>> Okay, final opportunity for questions

21:53from the commission.

21:55Seeing none, I'll now close this portion

21:56of the public hearing and entertain a

21:58motion on agenda item 8A.

22:08Okay, the chair will rise to a motion

22:11based on the staff recommendation, the

22:12presentation and discussion at this

22:14evening's public hearing with regards to

22:16agenda item 8A, which is the Candela

22:18restaurant conditional use.

22:21Um

22:22I move to approve with three conditions

22:25of approval the conditional use for a

22:26restaurant with accessory after hours

22:28entertainment in the mixed use office

22:30institutional MUOI zone district because

22:33the proposal complies with the

22:34requirements of code section

22:35146-5.4.3.A.3

22:40of the UDO for the reasons stated in the

22:42staff report. Approval to be subject to

22:45the following conditions. The interior

22:47sound system must not be audible beyond

22:50normal ambient noise levels at the

22:52exterior wall of the adjacent hotel

22:54property to the east. Number two, the

22:56business must operate in accordance with

22:58their approved operations plan with only

22:59minor changes to the plan being

23:01permitted through an administrative

23:04approval process. And number three,

23:05after hours entertainment must remain

23:08accessory to the primary restaurant

23:10operations. The chair has moved to

23:12approve agenda item 8A as their second.

23:14Uh Commissioner Riley. Thank you. It's

23:16been moved and

23:16>> I approve that with with your amended

23:18language.

23:20>> Thank you, Commissioner.

23:21Um

23:22it's been moved and seconded to approve

23:248A. I'll open the floor for discussion.

23:28Uh Commissioner Riley.

23:30>> Uh

23:30>> [laughter]

23:30>> In reading this packet, I I'm once again

23:33very pleased at the information that we

23:34provided. And again, this is the first

23:37time I've seen Trevor involved in your

23:39letter was

23:41pretty detailed about what you were

23:42looking for.

23:44And that made me feel much more

23:45comfortable cuz when I drove by there

23:46and I saw the construction going on, I

23:48saw the hotel,

23:49I'm going, "Okay,

23:51what's going to happen here?" But uh you

23:52allayed a lot of my concerns with the

23:54information that you provided. So, thank

23:56you.

23:57>> I'd like to second uh Commissioner

23:59Riley's comments. This was a

24:00well-put-together packet for this

24:02application. I appreciate the work that

24:04went into this from staff. This is

24:06exactly, I think, what the commission

24:08likes to see for conditional uses. Uh it

24:10made it very easy for us to understand

24:12and any of the potential issues that

24:15might come up and how they've been

24:16mitigated.

24:18So, I appreciate that. Thank you.

24:20Further discussion on the approval of

24:218A.

24:24Seeing none, I'll call the roll.

24:25Commissioner Jeteck.

24:27>> Approve.

24:28>> Commissioner Bush.

24:30>> Approve.

24:32>> Commissioner Becker.

24:33>> Approve.

24:35>> Commissioner Banka is excused this

24:36evening. Commissioner Riley.

24:38>> I approve.

24:39>> Commissioner Hogan.

24:40>> Approve.

24:42>> Commissioner Walls also votes to

24:43approve. Agenda item 8A is approved with

24:46six votes.

24:49Stephanie, do we have any members of the

24:50public signed up up to speak on

24:52non-agenda items?

24:54>> Um Chair, we we do. Uh

24:56a Gary Zimmerman, who I'm not seeing on

24:58the call.

25:01So technically no.

25:03>> Mr. Zimmerman, just one final call. Are

25:06you with us on the meeting? If so,

25:09raise your hand or alert us in some way.

25:12One final call, Gary Zimmerman.

25:16Okay.

25:17Moving on. Comments by commissioners,

25:20any miscellaneous items of business?

25:22I'll open the floor.

25:24Commissioner Riley.

25:25>> Thank you. I have quite a few here.

25:27>> Maybe I'll go since I know what most of

25:30yours are. Do you mind if I go to

25:32Commissioner Becker first?

25:33>> I do not at all.

25:34>> [laughter]

25:35>> Wonderful. Robin, the floor is yours.

25:37>> Thank you, Chair Walls. I'm not sure if

25:40this is the right spot for it, but I

25:42just had a question about if I have like

25:45something that like a topic that I would

25:47like to maybe have a study session on.

25:50Just for my own informational purpose

25:51and it might be good for the commission

25:53as well. Is this the spot where I ask

25:55for that? Okay.

25:57>> Yeah, you can either ask for it here.

26:00You can also email Commissioner Hogan,

26:02Commissioner Riley or me. Just remember

26:05if you're sending an email, it can only

26:06go to one of us if that makes sense at a

26:10time so that it doesn't trigger those

26:12public meeting

26:13rules. You can always

26:15a preferred route is always going

26:17through staff as well. And then

26:19Stephanie or Brandon will direct it back

26:21when we're getting together to plan our

26:23study sessions.

26:24So any of those methods are available or

26:26here in in comment section. Any of the

26:29above.

26:30>> That that was my going question. I've

26:32had I've had a couple things that I'm

26:33just like, oh, I'd like to learn more

26:35about that. I don't want to

26:37waste everyone's time if they already

26:39have too much information about it. So I

26:41will shoot an email then to staff.

26:45>> Brandon, do you have anything there?

26:55>> For my For my report?

26:57>> Uh no, I was asking if you had anything

26:59to add or if if I covered the question.

27:02>> Uh no. No, that's that's good. Thank

27:05you.

27:06>> Okay, Commissioner Riley, over to you.

27:09>> Thank you. So, there's a couple things

27:11that um I wanted to bring up for

27:14future discussion. Um the first one is I

27:17would like to propose that the Planning

27:19and Zoning Commission meets quarterly.

27:21Once I mean meets quarterly in person.

27:24Um I think uh after attending several

27:28uh public hearings at the City Council

27:30and knowing that they're going to be

27:31shutting down for about 9 months,

27:34I think we as uh folks that have been

27:36pushing very very hard for public

27:37notification transparency and getting

27:40the public to engage more often,

27:42I I think we ought to consider doing at

27:44least one session every quarter in

27:47person. Again, I'm just throwing that

27:49out there. You can all digest that. Uh

27:52the second thing is you're all aware

27:53that I have been very

27:55diligent in providing information about

27:57public notice signs, public

27:58notification.

27:59Um the Planning and Economic Development

28:02Commission had a meeting recently where

28:04they were suggesting we go from 10 to 30

28:07days

28:08for the notification time.

28:10And again, I I think uh again, based on

28:12a lot of the public comment that's been

28:14coming up in front of the Aurora City

28:16Council that the more time we give the

28:18public uh the better off we're going to

28:19be and the public's going to appreciate

28:21the fact that we are asking them to be

28:24more engaged in developments that occur

28:26in their communities. So, I I once again

28:29would ask that there is a strong

28:31consideration given to more

28:33time frame for the public to be able to

28:37comment once they see a a sign. And

28:39again, I've provided multiple

28:41recommendations. Some of them have

28:42already been incorporated into signage.

28:45Um I have to uh agree that the sign at

28:47Kendalls was

28:49well staked. Um, so it didn't blow over.

28:52Um, the next thing I wanted to talk

28:55about again uh

28:56is uh

28:58we haven't had the APS 42nd at Tibet

29:00come back to us yet. And and

29:03I got a feeling that they're itching to

29:05build there. Um, I would like to see how

29:08they intend to mitigate traffic and

29:10safety. I'm still very, very concerned

29:13about Tibet with the number of trucks

29:15there

29:16uh with continued development both on

29:18the east and west side and and

29:22you have all heard me talk about safety

29:24and consideration for children in every

29:26APS hearing.

29:28I'd like to see them back to us like

29:30they promised they were going to be so

29:31that we can feel comfortable they are

29:34addressing the current concerns that we

29:36have raised.

29:37And the last thing that just came up

29:39today, there was an article about the

29:41Gaylord uh being challenged by the

29:43Colorado Economic Commission that

29:46Colorado doesn't want the Gaylord to

29:48expand and be the only known

29:50destination. Um, this goes back to my

29:53comment 2 weeks ago about large

29:56developments that are coming in and the

29:57planning is only commission finding out

30:00on issues in the press.

30:02I'd really like to have

30:04more push information to us

30:07uh whether we are doing a vote on it or

30:09not. I think it weighs into a lot of how

30:12we're perceiving or viewing growth in

30:14Aurora and all the other mitigating

30:16factors that are surrounding

30:19uh some of the developments that are

30:20going on. So, just some suggestions

30:23uh for consideration. Um,

30:26and I will continue to

30:28uh beat my drum on this. Thank you very

30:30much.

30:31>> Uh Commissioner Reilly, how would you

30:33like to proceed on your suggestions?

30:36Would you like to make them like formal

30:38agenda items for discussion? Would you

30:41like Brandon to respond or planning? And

30:43when I say Brandon, it's like the royal

30:45Brandon, meaning the division. The

30:47department respond. Um how how would you

30:49like to move forward from here?

30:51>> Well, the the quarterly in person is

30:53probably a staff thing because again, we

30:55have to rely on them. So, I don't want

30:57to

30:58wind up making their jobs more

31:00difficult. That would be nice to see how

31:02they could accommodate it. I mean,

31:04clearly we could hold it. Is it the Is

31:06the Aurora room the small room? That's

31:09where they do the work sessions.

31:12Yeah, we could do something there. Um

31:15so, I you know, I I would just like to

31:17see if it's feasible. I'm just bringing

31:19it up. On the public notice signs, we

31:21talked about this in great detail. It

31:23would be nice to see

31:24um

31:26how staff intends to

31:28continue to ensure that signs are

31:30properly posted. Again, I take my

31:32checklist out with me, laminated. I go

31:34through it, make sure it's good, but I

31:36still think that uh

31:37uh we could do better on the signage and

31:39better on the markings so that people

31:42see them. Again, that that that could

31:44easily be a staff report. APFS, I'm

31:47assuming they're going through through

31:49Brandon's staff. So, that would be a

31:51staff report as well.

31:52Um

31:54the Gaylord and other public hearing

31:56stuff,

31:57um

31:59I again, that's going to be staff. It's

32:01what they know and and granted, I could

32:03sit in front of the Aurora project site

32:05every day and scroll through everything.

32:08Uh but it'd be nice to know when like

32:10there's major land use coming in. Um

32:13I'd like to be more aware of what's

32:14going on. So,

32:16I don't think any of these would warrant

32:18being placed into work session a work

32:20study session. Um

32:23but I want to make you all aware, too,

32:24cuz

32:25hearing some of the comments we've had

32:27amongst ourselves at these meetings,

32:29some of the things have come up and I

32:30think some of you are very familiar uh

32:33with some issues that we think that we

32:35want to have addressed. So,

32:37I don't think it needs to be an agenda

32:39item. I think if there's a report that

32:41comes up, I would be satisfied looking

32:43at the results. And then, if we need to

32:45take action, we can do that afterwards.

32:48Okay. Commissioner Becker.

32:50>> I'm just going to say, um I was going to

32:53I don't know if this is a discussion,

32:54but as somebody who does work full-time,

32:57I appreciate the flexibility of being

32:59able to join virtually. I'm open to one

33:02or two meetings in person. I like that

33:04option, but maybe looking at all

33:06options, just because I I have quite a

33:09commute. Um

33:11So, and I'm not retired yet.

33:13>> [laughter]

33:14>> I dream of that day, but um just just

33:16giving a different side of it.

33:18>> I'm actually So, you brought that up. I

33:21did bring that up to Commissioner Riley

33:22as well when when we were sort of going

33:24over some of these things to be

33:25presented tonight or asked tonight. And

33:28uh and that was a concern of mine. I I

33:30will not be able to um attend those

33:32meetings in person at the current time

33:35that Planning Commission is is scheduled

33:37as a as a working uh professional. They

33:40just especially if it happens to be on a

33:42study session night and it starts right

33:43at 5:00. I barely make it at 5:00 as it

33:46is. So, um that would be

33:49uh untenable for me.

33:52Um Brandon, do you have uh

33:55do you have any responses to any of

33:57those things maybe now or things that

33:59you know are in the works or maybe an

34:01update or would you pre- prefer to do a

34:03more structured um kind of response or

34:07update even email update to the

34:09commission? Or how would you and

34:11Director Restad, who just joined us on

34:13video, how would you guys like to handle

34:15those items?

34:17>> Brandon, if I can jump in just on

34:19various development applications,

34:22we have had this conversation with

34:24council, you know, what's going on in my

34:27ward.

34:29And

34:30we worked with Todd Consulman when he

34:32was still at the city with how we could

34:34aggregate this because there is so much.

34:38It It

34:40you know

34:41Brandon, I don't know if if a starting

34:43point is sharing

34:45um

34:47new applications, something like that.

34:50But I I'm very cognizant of staff time

34:53right now.

34:56>> Yeah, and I I kind of missed on on

34:58Gaylord was that like for example with

35:01Gaylord

35:02um

35:04you know, they got

35:05an approval for an expansion of that

35:08you you know

35:10I don't know, 2 years, you know, a

35:12couple years ago. And so that that's

35:13something that comes to you all as our

35:15administrative

35:17um approvals, you know, and and

35:18sometimes there is a big lag between

35:20maybe they never even do it. Um you

35:22know, of of those sort of entitlements.

35:25So there's there's that aspect of

35:27things.

35:28Um

35:30And and and so

35:32that's our our best tool right now is to

35:35say, well, here's here's the things we

35:36just approved administratively.

35:38You know, once that approval is done

35:40administratively, it's kind of off of

35:43our radar screen. You know, we're no

35:44longer in contact

35:46with the developer in in most cases. And

35:49so they're off doing stuff with the

35:51building department or their own their

35:53own shop of of preparing for things. And

35:57so a lot of times we don't we don't

35:59know. Um

36:02Sometimes we do, sometimes we don't. So

36:03I'll just That's just kind of a

36:04preliminary insight there.

36:07Um

36:09You know, on to

36:14another topic, you know, the APS school,

36:17um you know, certainly our expectation

36:19is that they're they're coming back to

36:22when they're prepared to come back to

36:24and yeah, we're kind of nervous too that

36:27are you guys running out of time to get

36:29this done and then how is that all going

36:30to happen? But that is our our

36:33expectation there.

36:35Um

36:37and then

36:38I think as it relates to

36:41notice, you know, we are working on on

36:45that project. Um you know, I think with

36:48the the recent council priorities of you

36:51know, data centers and landscaping and

36:53and other things, those things are

36:55probably a little

36:56into the into next year a little bit,

36:58but certainly that is one of our the

37:00things that we've

37:02um

37:03talked about is when we are going to

37:06have a public hearing, how are we able

37:09to

37:11um

37:13let people know visually like with the

37:15signage consideration

37:18at the beginning of the process. And and

37:20there's pros and cons to the variety of

37:22different ways you could pursue that.

37:25Um but that is something that other

37:27communities

37:28uh look at

37:30um and so we're looking at trying to you

37:32know, potentially the front end of a

37:34project. Um we don't know when the

37:37public hearing's going to be exactly,

37:38but we're letting people know uh it

37:40might even be a different sign or what

37:42have you, that something is in process

37:45now and and now would be a good time to

37:47uh if you're if you're interested in

37:49that location, now would be a good time

37:51to to look into it. And so

37:55kind of boot belt and suspenders towards

37:58whatever where whatever we end up with

38:00with um you know, adjacent notification

38:03and and stuff like that.

38:06So, the I'll stop there. Go ahead.

38:09>> No, if if you have more, go ahead. I

38:11didn't mean to cut you off.

38:14>> I I was just going to say probably the

38:15rest

38:17um

38:19I'd have to kind of think about a little

38:21bit more.

38:23>> Okay, fair enough.

38:24There's a lot to digest. Uh,

38:26Commissioner Hogan.

38:29>> I I do support meeting in person. I

38:33understand working and obviously

38:36Commissioner O'Reilly and I and Gail

38:38have all worked before and kept up other

38:41voluntary boards. Um, and that's not to

38:44say that we don't do anything throughout

38:47our days. We also are quite involved in

38:49different things. But I you know,

38:52whether it is once a quarter or twice a

38:54year, I think the objective is for

38:57people to understand what this board

38:59does, who serves on it. If nothing else,

39:03it could be

39:04um, both a recruitment and a retention

39:08effort. And I think we could

39:10um,

39:11I think that we could schedule it around

39:13travel schedules or other types of

39:17things. Not, you know, try to make sure

39:20that it is not

39:22or one or two meetings a year or not

39:24paired with study sessions to

39:26accommodate different people's schedule.

39:29But I still understand the overall

39:31intent and I think that it has more

39:34benefits

39:35um,

39:36>> [clears throat]

39:36>> than less. So that's that's my comment

39:39on that. Secondly, regarding public

39:42notification, for as long as I've been

39:44on planning commission, we've talked

39:46about public notification. We talked and

39:49we talked and we talked and we talked at

39:50PED and we talked about proposals that

39:53are coming before us and then that seems

39:56to get derailed a little bit.

39:59I would argue that if we had a better

40:02public notification, we might not have

40:05some of the issues aka data centers

40:08popping up that we do now.

40:10So I'm not sure that the best of course

40:13of action is to say well, we'll just

40:16waylay public notification because

40:18there's always something more {quote}

40:21unquote urgent because the two do go

40:23hand in hand, whether it's a school,

40:26whether it's a data center, um or

40:29whether it's a business park. So, I

40:31would ask staff consideration of that

40:34again as simply not so much an

40:38alternative, but truly considering some

40:40of those merits.

40:48>> Okay, further comment discussion by

40:50commissioners.

40:52>> When do we talk about the the the

40:55meeting dates? I don't want that to go

40:57by the wayside cuz

40:59I know that that came from staff and I

41:01think we owe them a a response

41:04on that.

41:06>> It's usually a formal

41:08>> I can help with that.

41:10>> Yeah, go ahead, Stephanie.

41:12>> Sorry, I I apologize. I can help with

41:14that. Commissioner Riley, are you

41:16referring to the meeting dates for next

41:18year, for 2027?

41:20>> Yeah, yeah.

41:20>> Um okay, if so, it'll be on our agenda

41:23for the the 28th for that to be

41:26considered.

41:27>> Okay, thank you very much.

41:29>> No problem.

41:31>> Okay, further comments discussion.

41:34Okay, Brandon, you are up for our

41:37planning division manager report.

41:41>> Uh thank you, Chair Walls. Um

41:44administratively approved projects since

41:46our last meeting. Um

41:50and infrastructure-related site plan for

41:54Aurora One.

41:55Uh so, when I say an infrastructure site

41:59plan, um

42:01it's kind of a a higher level

42:04um street and infrastructure plan, and

42:07then they move on to civils. And so,

42:10it's it's looking at mostly the streets

42:12and the adjacent uh areas within the

42:14right-of-way themselves and

42:18um

42:19in preparation for getting into civil

42:21design. Um so, that's what that is

42:24related to Aurora 1. Aurora 1 is roughly

42:28at the north is roughly uh east of

42:32Piccadilly and on either side of of uh

42:36Stephen Hogan Parkway. And

42:41the second project that we

42:42administratively approved would be

42:45Skydance neighborhood plan. And so, that

42:48is

42:50um in a busy part of the city right now.

42:53And so, that is uh north of 56th and

42:57uh

42:58east of Piccadilly. And so, as you all

43:01probably are aware of the grocery store

43:02is

43:04the

43:05south of

43:06of 56th and east of Piccadilly. So, this

43:08would be across the street to the north.

43:11And so, Skydance has

43:13um

43:14commercial

43:15uh property there as well. And so, what

43:18a neighborhood plan is

43:20in other communities' vernacular, it

43:22might be called a preliminary plat.

43:24And that is basically uh

43:27laying out

43:29um

43:29kind of the the

43:32network of uh drives, streets, uh

43:35stormwater, parks if applicable,

43:39um sort of area. And so, then it makes

43:41it uh

43:43so they can start laying out pad sites

43:45or if they're looking to make

43:47shovel-ready sites, they can start

43:49developing the infrastructure, you know,

43:51to create those internal drives or

43:52streets and have more shovel-ready

43:55sites. And so,

43:57neighborhood plan is one of the things

43:58that, you know, we

44:02implemented uh to try to get away from

44:06uh to be a little more nimble with uh

44:09kind of a higher level layout of of

44:11streets and and things of that sort to

44:14allow people to get to infrastructure a

44:15little sooner. So, that was kind of

44:17related to

44:19uh you know, the red tape committee from

44:212022 and those sort of things. And so,

44:24that is an example of of those things.

44:29Um

44:31And I'll stop there.

44:34Uh let's see. City Council-wise,

44:37um

44:39things that have come through this body

44:41and that were uh in front of City

44:44Council include the uh

44:47UDO amendment to MUOI to remove data

44:51centers from that zone district, and the

44:53public hearing was on Monday for that

44:56and was voted on first reading, I

44:59believe, unanimously.

45:03I think that's all I have.

45:05Any questions?

45:07>> Okay. Uh not so much a question for you,

45:09but just wondering uh I did see uh

45:13member on the meeting earlier, Pierre,

45:15uh had his hand raised. If we happen to

45:17capture any information from that person

45:20from joining the meeting, uh maybe could

45:22we have Stephanie or someone from staff

45:24reach out and see if they had a question

45:26for planning or if they had a question

45:28for the commission. Or I'm curious, um

45:31if it was a member of the public, I want

45:33to make sure that we

45:35find out if they had a question.

45:36>> Sure, right. We were kind of in past the

45:38public portion, and so we can probably

45:42find him and see what questions he had

45:45or what he wanted to comment on. So,

45:47yes.

45:48>> Great. Thank you, Brandon. Uh

45:49Commissioner Hogan?

45:53>> Yes, quick question, Brandon, because I

45:55don't remember the details. I believe

45:58that Council did decide in either study

46:01session, I believe it was in study

46:03session, related to the selection of

46:07planning commissioners

46:09beginning 2027.

46:11Do you recall what that schedule was?

46:14And can can you confirm that they are

46:17looking at two

46:19commissioners versus a simple

46:22reappointment of one of the two

46:24commissioners?

46:26You want to give me that update, please?

46:30>> Uh let's see. I don't have all that in

46:33my

46:34fingertips. I don't know Stephanie

46:37I know we kind of were sent that.

46:43We could follow up with um the schedule

46:47that we have from from the clerk's

46:49office

46:50um and and let you all know what their

46:53in intentions are.

46:55Um

46:56roughly speaking, I I think they're

47:00considering all applications that are

47:03within their

47:05time frames that they've set. Um so but

47:07I can confirm that.

47:10>> Please, that would be great because as

47:13different people reach out, I think it's

47:16important A as commissioners on this

47:18commission to know what's going on. Um

47:21but

47:22just also to kind of look a little bit

47:25at a precedent that was set um

47:29uh with not immediately considering a

47:33reappointment.

47:38Which historically, I believe that they

47:40have done on many boards and commissions

47:44including us.

47:48>> Certainly, we'll do our best to

47:49communicate what we're

47:51given from the clerk's office as

47:54instructed by city council on how

47:55they're handling

47:56uh the appointments.

47:58>> Perfect. Thank you very much.

48:00>> Okay, other questions for Brandon?

48:05All right, thank you Brandon.

48:07Lena, you are up with our city attorney

48:09report.

48:11>> No report this evening, chair.

48:13>> Okay, any final announcements, comments,

48:16questions, concerns from the commission?

48:20Seeing none, I move that we adjourn this

48:21evening's meeting. Is there a second?

48:24Thank you, Commissioner.

48:25>> All right, have a wonderful evening

48:26everyone. Meeting adjourned.

48:28>> Thank you.

48:29>> All right. Thank you.

48:30>> Okay.