Council approves Bank of America branch in Palisade Park after rejecting motion to reduce parking

After a public hearing and a unanimous Land Use Review Commission recommendation, City Council approved land-use and urban-renewal site plan resolutions allowing a new Bank of America branch in the Palisade Park subdivision, with council voting 7–1 on the final resolution.

The nut graf: Council considered a parking-variance request tied to the bank project and rejected an amendment to require the site plan comply with the city’s newly adopted parking maximums; the underlying final plat and urban renewal site plan were approved.

Staff presentation and project: Lynn Merwin, deputy director of community development, described the proposal as a final plat and combined site development plan/urban renewal site plan for the northwest corner of Colorado 7 and Palisade Parkway. The application splits the parcel into Lot 1 (1.17 acres) for the bank and Lot 2 (2.64 acres) for later development; the proposal is consistent with the Palisade Park PUD and the site falls within the North Park West urban renewal area.

The proposed building is a 4,320-square-foot bank with two covered drive-through lanes and an open-air bypass lane. Merwin said the site is within a parking-reduction area; by code the maximum off-street parking for a bank of this size is 13 spaces but the applicant requested a variance to allow 17 parking spaces based on Bank of America’s staffing and operational needs (the bank expects approximately eight to 10 on-site employees). The applicant and developer, Garrett Baum of Urban Frontier and Austin Mitch (Cushman & Wakefield, representing Bank of America), said the modest increase helps ensure customers and employees have access and that nearby restaurants and medical offices in the area also need adequate parking to be viable.

Public comment included nearby residents urging adequate parking because the area is not easily walkable and attendees noted the amphitheater and medical office activity in the area.

Council action and amendment: Council member Ward moved a condition to approve the site only if the four extra parking spaces were removed so the site conformed to the municipal code maximum; Ward argued reducing parking supports the city’s goals for more walkable, transit-oriented corridors. The motion to add that condition was seconded and failed on a 2–6 vote. (The record during the amendment vote indicates Ward voted to remove the four spaces; other individual verbal votes were recorded in the meeting transcript but not all council members' individual amendment votes were named in the transcript.)

Council then voted on Resolution No. 2025-103 approving Palisade Park filing No. 1 replat F, Lot 1 final plat and site development plan; the motion carried 7–1. The companion urban renewal resolution (Resolution No. 2025-104-UR) also passed following the council action and the Broomfield Urban Renewal Authority vote later in the hearing.

Authorities and process: Staff noted the application meets the Palisade Park PUD and comprehensive-plan designation for mixed-use commercial, and Land Use Review Commission had recommended approval at its May 12 public hearing. The site development agreement and subdivision-improvement agreement will follow standard administrative processes if the council action stands.

Ending: The applicant and staff may finalize subdivision-improvement agreements and administrative approvals necessary to proceed; the council vote completes land-use and urban-renewal approvals required for the bank site to move toward building permits.