Montrose, CO — City Councilors met for a work session Monday morning, February 6, to hear a presentation about a new home loan program, a number of purchase recommendations, an annexation report, and a crime report for the end of 2022.
Mayor Dave Frank and Councilors Barbara Bynum, Doug Glaspell, David Reed, and Ed Ulibarri met in the Community Room at the Montrose Public Safety Complex along with city staff.
The following is a summary of the primary topics discussed during the meeting.
Watch the meeting here.
IMPACT DEVELOPMENT FUND AND DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE
City Councilors were presented with an overview of the Impact Development Fund. a program offered through the Colorado Down Payment Fund designed to help local residents become homeowners by offering to help with a home purchaser's initial down payment.
Ross Valdez, business development manager for the Impact Development Fund, told councilors the lending program aims to deliver flexible capital in underserved and underprivileged areas and close the gap for those with the ability to buy a home and “get their foot in the door.”
Ross said eligible borrowers include "natural persons with U.S. citizenship or otherwise legally in the United States," and that the purchase unit must be the borrower's primary residence while the loan is outstanding.
Eligible properties include single-family residences, duplexes, townhomes, condominiums, and manufactured homes affixed to permanent foundations and taxed as real property within the following counties: Larimer, Weld, Fremont, Eagle, Montrose, Mesa, San Miguel, and Ouray. The subject property must meet Housing Quality Standards (HQS) as determined by third-party inspection and cannot be located in a FEMA-designated flood plain.
The property must be owner/seller occupied or vacant at the time an offer is made. This must be documented by securing a copy of the appraisal, completed by a Colorado licensed real estate appraiser, which states the occupancy status of the home. Tenant-occupied homes are ineligible unless the tenant is also the purchaser.
To participate in the program without geographic restrictions, the income of a purchaser must be 80% or less of the most recently published CHFA Area Median Income (AMI), adjusted for actual household size, in the subject property county.
Income is established by the currently demonstrated income, excluding
overtime, shift bonus, commission, and bonus income that have not been earned consistently for the previous 2-year period, with a strong likelihood of continuance.
Maximum loan amount: $25,000
Total debt ratio: Maximum 45%
For households earning 80% or less of the AMI, the loan will be repaid via principal and interest monthly payments over a period not to exceed 30 years at 0.00% interest. After a review of affordability level and debt capacity, the applicant may be eligible for deferred payment at 0.00% interest over a period not to exceed 30 years. The loan will become immediately due upon the sale, transfer, or refinance, when the house is no longer the primary residence, or upon the death of the borrower. No geographic restrictions apply.
For more information about this program visit.
2023 FORD VEHICLE PURCHASE RECOMMENDATION
City Councilors were presented with a purchase recommendation for ten new Ford vehicles to be cycled into the city’s fleet.
Public Works Manager Jim Scheid said the total cost of the ten Ford vehicles is $667,250 and includes:
Montrose Police:
1 Police Interceptor (replacement)
2 K9 F-150s (replacement)
Public Works:
1 F-150 for Water Distribution (replacement)
1 F-450 for Streets (additional)
1 F-350 for Fleet (replacement)
2 F-350s for Parks (replacement)
1 F-350 for Streets (replacement)
1 F-250 for Facilities (replacement)
On January 11, the city accepted bids from the Ford Motor Company of Montrose and the other from Sill-TerHar Motors of Broomfield, Colorado.
Scheid said that, due to restrictions imposed by the Ford Motor Company, smaller, local Ford dealers were only allowed to offer one vehicle to local municipalities at government discount pricing.
The local bid was for a Ford F-450 while the Sill-TerHar Motors bid was for all ten vehicles.
Due to dealer restrictions, cumbersome deadlines, and the availability of government discounts, the city is recommending the total purchase contract to Sill-TerHar Motors.
MOVING MONTROSE FORWARD 2023 SURFACE TREATMENT CONTRACT
City Councilors were presented with a contract recommendation in the amount of $1,434,195 to A-1 Chipseal for completion of 2023's Moving Montrose Forward Surface Treatment Contract scope of work.
City Engineer Scott Murphy said the City of Montrose developed the Moving Montrose Forward (MoveMo) initiative in 2018, which placed a renewed focus on street maintenance, reducing traffic congestion, and improving pedestrian and vehicular mobility throughout the community. As part of this effort, each year the city hires contractors to perform some of the larger-scale and specialized street maintenance construction.
This contracted street maintenance work is in addition to typical routine maintenance activities performed by the city’s StreetS Division of Public Works. The city’s Street Maintenance and Capital Plan is available on the city’s website at www.MoveMo.co
The city is investing a record $4.3M for this year’s MoveMo contracted street maintenance efforts.
Approximately 30% of this year’s street maintenance work is focused on surface treatments consisting of slurry, cape, and chip seals. Additional information for each of these treatment techniques is included below:
• Slurry Seal. Slurry seals are a combination of a fine aggregate and an asphaltic binder that work to smooth out surface irregularities and protect the roadway from water intrusion and UV degradation. Slurry seals are used in lieu of chip seals within residential neighborhoods given the public’s general dislike of chip seals and a chip seal’s lower effectiveness in areas without consistent traffic volumes to help press in the chips.
• Cape Seal. Cape seals are used on higher volume roadways or those with heavier degradation and include a chip seal first, followed by a slurry seal several weeks later.
• Chip Seal. Standard chip seals are used on more rural roadways with routine traffic but less overall traffic loading.
More information about 2023 Moving Montrose Forward work will be published once it becomes available.
RAUSCH USA CCTV SEWER CAMERA VAN PURCHASE RECOMMENDATION
City Councilors were presented with a purchase recommendation for a Rausch USA CCTV sewer camera van from Ten Point Sales and Marketing LLC from Wheat Ridge, Colorado, for $279,833.
Utilities Manager David Bries said the current sewer camera inspection system was last upgraded in 2016 and is currently using the 2003 van and chassis. The unit’s replacement was included in the 2023 Budget.
2023 ANNUAL ANNEXATION REPORT AND 3-MILE PLAN
City Councilors were presented with an annual annexation report and 3-mile plan for the City of Montrose. This is an annual report that requires City Council approval as stipulated by Colorado statutes.
Planning Manager Jace Hochwalt said the city is required to adopt and file a plan each year that contains written policies and maps to illustrate annexation priorities, eligible enclave annexations, existing city limits, growth areas, and transportation routes. The plan will fulfill the statutory requirement to have a “plan in place” for the annexation of new properties in 2023.
Notable figures include the total number of acres annexed into the City of Montrose each year:
2020: 63.6 acres
2021: 166.327 acres
2022: 34.33 acres
SUNSET VILLAGE ADDITION ANNEXATION
City Councilors were presented with a proposed annexation application for the Sunset Village Addition.
Planning Manager Jace Hochwalt said the Sunset Village Addition is approximately 10.01 acres in size. The property is two parcels located at 576 6600 Road and 616 6600 Road. The parcels are within the city’s Urban Growth Boundary, City of Montrose Sewer Service Area, and the Tri-County Water Service Area. Annexation of this property will allow for future single or multi-family
residential development. An annexation agreement will be required and is currently being discussed with the applicant.
Proposed Zoning: “R-4” High-Density District
Applicant: Cook Family Trust (Floyd L. Cook as Trustee)
CITY COUNCIL REVIEW OF DECLARATION OF COVENANTS WITH WESTSTAR DEVELOPMENT LLC
City Councilors were presented with a draft Agreement and Declaration of Covenants document between the City of Montrose and Weststar Development, LLC regarding infrastructure improvements required upon future rezone.
Planning Manager Jace Hochwalt said a large area of land known as the Two Creeks Addition was annexed in 1996 and zoned within the Montrose city limits. The total land area of the Two Creeks Addition Annexation was 484 acres. Since the annexation, that area has been subdivided, with portions being developed for residential use as well as the Cobble Creek Golf Course.
Weststar Development, LLC owns 122 acres at the southernmost portion of the Two Creeks Addition, which sits south of the Cobble Creek Golf Course. In the original 1996 zoning ordinance (Ordinance No. 1603), this area was known as Phase 3. Ordinance No. 1603 states explicitly that this Phase 3 area be limited to 100 dwelling units, which falls well below the maximum density of the R-3 zone district and limits the density for this area to less than one unit per acre. The R-3 zone district with no conditions could allow up to 6.9 units/acre.
In addition to the density limits imposed by Ordinance 1603, there are other conditions specific to open space, right-of-way dedication, and infrastructure improvements, all of which would be required upon future development. Neither the city nor the developer seeks to eliminate these other requirements. Instead, the goal is to retain them, while eliminating the density condition.
Weststar Development, LLC specifically desires to rezone the property to allow a subdivision to be built-out to the dimensional standards of a normal R-3 zoned property. Because Ordinance 1603 contains other conditions beyond just the density restrictions, city staff has determined that the best way to move forward with this rezone request would be via a new zoning ordinance. The recommended zoning ordinance would not contain conditions for the 122-acre property, aside from a condition that the owner would be required to sign an Agreement and Declaration of Covenants with the city to retain the infrastructure, right-of-way dedication, and open space conditions imposed in Ordinance 1603.
By signing and recording the Agreement and Declaration of Covenants, these conditions will then run with the land and associated title reports, which will make clear to the current and future owners of the property what the infrastructure and open space requirements are for any future development. As things stand now, Ordinance 1603 is held in city records but is not recorded and may not show up on a title report. This can add confusion for city staff and any owners of the property who were not involved in the annexation and zoning that took place in 1996.
Staff has negotiated the Agreement and Declaration of Covenants document with
the developer and has incorporated the infrastructure, right-of-way dedication, easement, and open space requirements within it that are carried over from Ordinance 1603. With approval from City Council authorizing the city manager to sign on behalf of the city, the rezoning application will move forward through the standard rezone process. The agreement would not be recorded unless the rezone is successfully approved by the city, according to Hochwalt.
STAFF REPORTS
2022 YEAR-END CRIME STATISTICS
Montrose Police Chief Blaine Hall delivered fourth-quarter 2022 crime statistics for the City of Montrose.
Hall said he was pleased to see a decline in many areas of crime.
“Overall we are tracking down,” Hall said, adding that there have been decreases in motor vehicle theft and DUI arrests. He credits the progress to having more staff to better patrol the streets and investigate reported crimes.
Hall said sexual assault investigations and crimes involving firearms are areas of concern moving forward and that the department’s mental health co-responder continues to pay dividends throughout the community.
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All City Council meetings are recorded and made available online via the city’s website and cable channels 191 for Charter subscribers and 970 for Elevate subscribers. Replays of council meetings are also broadcast at 6 p.m. on the same channels on days that the council is not in session.
In addition, each regular meeting is archived on the City of Montrose’s YouTube channel.
Residents can watch all regular City Council meetings and work sessions live and on-demand through the city’s Public Meetings Portal.
For more city news visit CityOfMontrose.org.