Manitou Springs City Council spent most of its Tuesday, Aug. 9, meeting discussing plans for a tree care ordinance and committee, a potential Downtown Development Authority and options for the Manitou Springs Urban Renewal Authority.
Skyler Beck, Parks & Recreation director, briefed council on the progress to update the city’s tree ordinance to comply with Tree City USA standards. Manitou was accepted to the program in October 2019.
The Parks and Recreation Advisory Board and the Climate Action Work Group received a consultant’s recommendations in November 2021 and May 2022.
Initiatives including an ongoing tree inventory; zero net tree loss; Organic Land Management policy; right-of-way tree permits; a Heritage Tree program; and a tree committee formed the foundation of a proposed tree care ordinance that city staff presented to council in mid-June of this year.
Beck incorporated feedback from councilors, PARAB members, city attorney Jeff Parker and others to update the proposed ordinance. Changes include defining private property; clarifying the tree committee’s relationship with PARAB and the Open Space Advisory Committee; eliminating a budget requirement; and making the appeals process consistent with city code.
PARAB approved the edited proposal on Aug. 8.
Councilor Nancy Fortuin asked Beck whether a tree committee, to be designated a subcommittee of PARAB, is really necessary.
“It just seems unnecessarily complex since PARAB can do that anyway,” Fortuin said. “PARAB does have the authority to create subcommittees and you’ve already designated PARAB as the official tree advisory board,” she said.
“The intention was for the tree committee to be a subcommittee under the umbrella of PARAB,” Beck said.
Council members then discussed the necessity to protect trees during construction activity; Fortuin asked for specific language about that in the ordinance.
Beck explained plans for a Heritage Tree program, which would protect unique trees on public and private property that contribute to the city’s environment and character. Individuals or groups could nominate a tree or grove of trees on city or private property to be protected as a heritage tree.
Councilor Judith Chandler asked to clarify that property owners will have to consent to having their tree or trees protected.
Beck said that he would revise the proposal to reflect council’s requests, and Mayor John Graham suggested the Sept. 6 meeting for first reading of the ordinance.
Councilor Natalie Johnson then presented information about a possible Downtown Development Authority. Her first point was that the Business Improvement District was formed in 2004 as a self-taxing entity to cover basic repairs, landscaping and snow removal, but she’s concerned that it wouldn’t have enough to respond to an unforeseen event downtown.
With the Manitou Springs Urban Renewal Authority ending in nine years, she’s concerned that the area east of the U.S. Highway 24 overpass and the Manitou Avenue from Park Avenue to Serpentine Drive (MAPS) area will need support to maintain infrastructure.
“In the past, we’ve had organizations like the Manitou Springs Development Co. that supported some of these efforts, but they disbanded several years ago. And so, we’re sort of in this limbo,” Johnson said.
She proposed a “gateway to gateway” Downtown Development Authority and said that many local entities could benefit from it.
“Developing a DDA takes about two years. There’s a whole process, obviously, involving community engagement,” Johnson said, that could take about $30,000.
“I believe that if council was willing to contribute $10,000 to $15,000, the rest could be raised through the other partners.”
Johnson emphasized that, since budget season is approaching, she brought it before council now in hopes that the DDA could be part of those discussions.
Fortuin said she thought it was a “really great proposal” and suggested that someone familiar with the process in other municipalities study Manitou’s situation and make a proposal for how that DDA would work.
Chandler suggested that it be put on hold briefly until other issues council is facing are clarified.
Graham added that council might not want to commit money for developing a DDA until Colorado Springs votes on allowing recreational marijuana sales, which is on November’s ballot.
Fortuin mentioned that the city’s finance staff is working on two budgets for next year, depending on whether the marijuana measure passes.
Graham then introduced the topic of the Urban Renewal Authority, which is funded through property and sales taxes.
“This is kind of a complicated animal,” he said.
The mayor expressed hope that any question of dissolving the URA could be included on the November ballot to avoid the expense of a special election.
“City Council can pass an ordinance, basically abolishing the URA, without a vote. Another way to do it is to initiate an ordinance that abolishes the URA,” Parker explained.
Graham said that, if council “turns off the faucet” to the URA, the authority could use its savings to still meet its obligations for a while.
Parker advised council about several advantages about retaining the URA in some way because there are “ramifications about forming them again.”
“We are not in crisis mode,” said Fortuin, council’s liaison to the URA. “If we get into crisis mode, I’m perfectly prepared to talk about diverting funding from the URA.”
Fortuin suggested that City Council meet with the URA board. Graham replied with a list of the city’s current unexpected, urgent expenses.
“Every time we turn around, there’s another major expense lurking,” he said.
Johnson said she does feel like the city is in a crisis situation, but that she’s uncomfortable about making major decisions about the URA out of fear. Mayor Pro Tem John Shada suggested an executive session with the URA board, and Chandler agreed.
The tentative date for that meeting is Tuesday, Aug. 23, subject to URA board members’ availability.