Erie council directs staff to add 'medium-low' density and move 111th & Arapahoe parcel down

Town planners and councilors spent more than an hour on the 2024 comprehensive-plan implementation, focusing on residential land-use categories and three undeveloped parcels: 111th & Arapahoe, the Golden Run / Erin Harbor property, and the Gateway town-owned site.

Planning director Sarah Namella and senior strategic planner Josh Campbell reviewed how the land-use ‘paint colors’ in the comp plan function as a vision rather than an entitlement and described the town’s development-review process (pre-application, neighborhood meeting, planning commission recommendation, and council decision). Campbell said the plan’s updated medium-density range increased to 8–18 dwelling units per acre to reflect market realities, but he noted only a handful of parcels in Erie remain undeveloped or unentitled.

Public commenters repeatedly raised infrastructure concerns. Michael Barrow told council he can see the 111th/Arapahoe intersection from his backyard and said traffic there can take "close to 8 to 10 minutes" to traverse because signal timing and lane capacity are inadequate. Brandy Unruh and others warned that large new builds in areas without roads, school capacity or adequate emergency response would lower neighboring home values and shift costs to current residents.

Council directed staff to create a new medium-density subclass — "medium-low" at 6–12 dwelling units per acre (with a medium-high band 12–18 d.u./acre) — and to propose technical amendments and community engagement materials. The council specifically directed staff to draft an amendment to re-categorize the 111th & Arapahoe parcel to medium-low and to return with analysis of drainage, traffic (including potential roundabout or left-turn treatments), school and emergency services impacts, and interjurisdictional referrals to adjoining municipalities.

On Gateway and the town-owned property near I-25, staff said a separate PD (planned development) vision exists and that the current draft PD shows a gross density in the range of about eight dwelling units per acre for the town-owned site; staff said the town can include guidance about height, transit access and preservation (including protecting the historic water-tower and the Eagle Mine site) before zoning or PD approvals.

Staff also noted next steps: perform technical studies, conduct public engagement and coordinate with neighboring jurisdictions, then bring planning-commission and council hearings for any comp-plan amendments or UDC (Unified Development Code) revisions. The council asked staff to return with draft language, outreach plans and the technical analyses needed to proceed.

Ending: Staff will draft the medium-low amendment and a public-outreach schedule; any formal comp-plan changes will require a public hearing sequence through Planning Commission and Town Council.