SUBJECT:
Title
Page Property Update
Department
DEPARTMENT: Parks & Recreation
Presenter
PRESENTER(S): Luke Bolinger, Director of Parks & Recreation
end
Time
TIME ESTIMATE: 20 minutes
Fiscal
Policy
Recommendation
BACKGROUND OF SUBJECT MATTER:
The Town of Erie purchased the 46.5-acre Page Property with the goals of expanding open space and trail opportunities, creating a mixed-income neighborhood, and adding space for the Parks and Open Space Division. Staff worked with the Board of Trustees (now Town Council) and Open Space and Trails Advisory Board (OSTAB) to approve the funding for the project.
The $6.6M purchase, completed in October 2023, was funded using equal amounts of Trails, Natural Areas, and Community Character (TNACC) and American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. In January 2024, the Council adopted an ordinance to annex the parcel into the Town of Erie. Zoning action was not taken with the annexation, and the property is currently zoned as Agricultural Holding (AGH).
At their May 12 meeting, Council directed staff to bring to Council an ordinance to zone the entire Page Property as Agriculture Open Space (AG/OS)/Reserve Open Space (RO) space in 2026. Rezoning requires Public Hearings before the Planning Commission and Town Council. All rezoning applications require published, posted, and mailed notice at least 15 days prior to the scheduled date of the hearing before Planning Commission and Town Council. The rezoning is tentatively scheduled to go before Planning Commission on August 19 and Town Council on August 25.
Before a completed land use application can be submitted, an ALTA/ASCM Land Title Survey and Zoning Map needs to be prepared by or under the supervision of a registered professional land surveyor. The Town has retained Ehrhart Land Surveying, LLC to complete these items in preparation for the land use application submittal.
The proposed draft exhibit shows the split zoning between AG/OS and RO. After conferring with legal, staff from Parks & Recreation, Planning, and Public Works met to discuss how to split the property to ensure that future uses are compatible with each zoning district. The proposed split ensures that the Town protects a large swath of the Coal Creek corridor via RO, with the rest of the property as AG/OS, which allows flexibility for potential uses at the existing single family home/shop site, recreational use of the pond, and agriculture uses, such as agricultural cultivation or grazing, which is not permitted under the RO district.
Staff recommends that the town moves forward the rezoning process using the attached exhibit for Ehrhart Land Surveying, LLC to create a zoning map to be included with the land use application for consideration by Planning Commission and Town Council.
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attachments
ATTACHMENT(S):
1. Page Property Rezone Draft Exhibit