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Council liaison briefs NextGen on 'missing middle' zoning, Project Downtown, police tech and waste services
Summary
City council liaison Robert updated the NextGen Advisory Board on the council's postponement of the 'missing middle' zoning ordinance, the appointment of Joel Zink, plans for Project Downtown Phase 1 and financing options, police technology pilots including drones and AI-assisted report drafting, and a regional review of trash services.
Robert, the NextGen Advisory Board's city council liaison, reported to the board on recent City of Littleton council activity including the outcome of the "missing middle" zoning discussion, appointments and preliminary work on a downtown infrastructure project.
Robert said the council voted on Jan. 7 to postpone indefinitely the specific ordinance that had been under consideration for "missing middle" zoning; the council asked staff to return with next steps and alternatives. "The missing middle conversation at this point will start up again come January [of next year]," Robert said, summarizing the council's direction.
Robert also announced the appointment of Joel Zink to the council to fill a recent vacancy. "Joel's hit the ground running," Robert said, noting Zink's early orientation activities with police and other departments.
On Project Downtown, Robert said the council authorized proceeding with a Phase 1 plan that staff conservatively costed at about $30 million, and that $25 million of debt financing had been discussed as part of the approach. He summarized two financing mechanisms under consideration: general obligation bonds, which would require a public vote and use the city's full faith and credit, and certificates of participation, which use pledged revenues or assets as security and carry a different risk and interest profile.
Robert described recent council briefings from the police chief on enforcement technologies, including vehicle radar enforcement, commercial license-plate-reader services (which the police chief advised against citywide for now), and the growing use of drones as rapid-assessment tools for emergency response. He also said the police department is piloting an AI-assisted service offered by its video-storage vendor to draft preliminary incident reports from recorded footage.
On solid-waste policy, Robert summarized a multi-jurisdictional review and a recent trash summit. He said roughly half of household waste by volume is compostable and that the city is exploring whether changes to hauler arrangements and economies of scale could expand composting and other services.
A member of the public, Pam Chaparney, used the public comment period to urge alternatives to Project Downtown and to propose a Littleton Boulevard historic overlay. Pam said the city was considering a roughly $140 million downtown project and urged smaller, lower-risk interventions such as expanded historic district protections and a circulated shuttle on Littleton Boulevard. "Putting up assets as collateral — that would be like our museum and library — is an unacceptable risk for a city our size," Pam said.
Robert said the council will continue public discussions and briefings on these items and planned a study-session presentation on debt options at an upcoming meeting.
