GOLDEN — The name will change, but the purpose will stay largely the same.
The Golden Urban Renewal Authority will soon cede its involvement with the city’s downtown area to the Downtown Development Authority.
will review the development plan at an Oct. 23 public hearing. The plan is a guiding document and the draft says it has built on previous documents, such as Golden Vision 2030 and the 2011 citywide comprehensive plan.
Golden’s planning commission reviewed the draft and recommended it for approval by City Council with some minor changes.
However, at the commission’s Oct. 2 meeting, development authority board chairman Ed Dorsey disagreed with the commission’s request to strengthen language regarding sustainability, affordable housing and building design.
Dorsey told commissioners at the meeting that he did not agree with their request to change existing language — which simply encourages these concepts — to language that asks for actual feasibility studies along these lines.
“I think when you put things in a plan that are very specific, you lose some of that negotiating power,” Dorsey said. “Or if you push the developer to do a certain thing, they’re going to look for more incentive.”
Planning commissioner Blake Mayberry said at the meeting that his experience with urban renewal authorities in other cities compels him to lean toward stronger language.
“I would like to see stronger language when using public funds for private development,” he said.
The development authority board will weigh the commission’s suggestions one last time at its Oct. 20 meeting when it will draft the final version to send to City Council.
Council will decide whether to accept the plan as presented, or go with changes such as those suggested by the planning commission.
The Golden Urban Renewal Authority downtown district expires this year, but voters within the district to continue collecting taxes and using tax increment financing to steer and support development in the area.
Steve Glueck, Golden’s community and economic development director, said that while the development authority won’t be dealing with the sort of large projects urban renewal authority did, it will pick up smaller projects such as the repaving of Miners Alley and holiday decorations downtown. In time, as the area redevelops, .
He added: “The fear is if the (urban renewal) project just ended, and there was nobody left to take up the challenge to really support our downtown area as the cultural and socioeconomic identity of the city, the city’s identity would not exist.”
More information
• The next Downtown Development Authority meeting is at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 20 at Golden City Hall, 911 10th St.
• City Council will hold its public hearing on the plan at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 23 at City Hall.
• Read the draft development plan at
