Evergreen Local Improvement District - Upcoming Community Town Hall Meeting

Local Improvement District (LID) would provide some of the amenities of being incorporated without the cost of creating a city government. Examples….

• Improved status of roadways maintained by CDOT. Becoming a LID would move Evergreen from “rural” status such as roads south of Fairplay to urban status for upkeep of roadways, curbs, gutters, and crosswalks.
• Trail connectivity between activity centers.
• Creation of a more cohesive feel to the Evergreen community.

A LID is not a new layer of government.
• It would be managed by the Jefferson County Commissioners, who would delegate existing staff to administer projects and exercise contracts.
• Single-use LIDs have been utilized previously in Evergreen to fund the paving of roads in subdivisions such as Evergreen Highlands, Evergreen Meadows and El Pinal.
• Elsewhere in the county, the County Commissioners currently oversee a local improvement district formed in 1988 for an area surrounding Southwest Plaza.

How is a Local Improvement District created?
A LID requires specific boundaries. The boundaries being considered would overlap two existing special districts: Evergreen Metropolitan District and West Jefferson County Metropolitan District. Generally, the district being proposed would extend from north of Marshdale on the South to El Rancho on the North.

Although creation of a LID can occur without a vote of property owners within the district, imposing a sales tax to fund a LID does require such a vote.

A LID requires some sort of revenue stream, generally a sales tax (not a property tax). A 1% sales tax is being considered. Jefferson County Commissioners would need to be convinced the community is supportive of the idea before it would approve the concept.

How would LID money be used?
• 100% of the money collected from the local improvement district would be used to fund local improvements within the district. A list of potential projects and improvements is being created through community input.
• Monies cannot be used by the county to offset current expenditures.
• Monies could be used to augment other tax dollars being allocated for improvements, i.e., if CDOT were to put medians in to separate lanes of traffic, LID money could be used to beautify the medians with trees.
• The improvements would be governed by a “constitution” drawn up by the community itself to govern the kinds of improvements desired. The governing document will be designed to provide guidelines general enough to still be effective for decades to come.
• An Advisory Group would make recommendations to the County Commissioners, but the County Commissioners are not required to follow the recommendations.

What is the proposed timing?
• Through mid-June: Meet with local groups to propose the idea and gather input, revising the evolving list of amenities and improvements to be incorporated into the Service Plan, also referred to as the “constitution.”
• Mid-June 2017: Meet with County Commissioners to demonstrate community support and to ask approval of the concept.
• November 2017: Placement of proposed sales tax question on the ballot.

Of all the assets the picturesque foothills community of Evergreen offers its residents, from numerous parks and trails to a historic downtown, it is missing a big one: local government.

A group of area business owners and leaders is floating an idea they say would help the community with the challenges related to relying on outside agencies to fix things like streets and sidewalks in a timely manner.

“In every way it’s like incorporating without all the different layers of bureaucracy and government that comes with,” said Dean Dalvit, a local architect with EV Studios and president of the Downtown Evergreen Economic District, or DEED.

Dalvit and others, including a representative of Evergreen Park and Recreation District, propose creating the Evergreen Local Improvement District, or LID, and a 1 percent sales tax.

In the first draft of the Petition, or “Constitution” which will guide the ELID, we have compiled over 160 written comments from the community along with countless additional feedback from local group presentations, emails and conversations that we’ve had over the past 3+ years since we started the Trails Master Plan process. The categories outlined in the Purposes for the ELID are as follows:

Transportation Infrastructure
This includes things like Safety improvements on our highways, Curb/Gutter and sidewalks in Activity Centers, On-Street parking improvements in Activity Centers, Improved pedestrian crossings on arterial roadways and Activity Centers, Drainage and erosion control within Activity Centers.

Trail Connectivity
This includes completing trail connections throughout the District so there is a unified and safe bike and pedestrian system throughout the District. Jefferson County’s Evergreen Trails Master Plan outlines a starting point to these types of projects.

Public Amenities
This includes all of the things one would expect to have available in any of the Activity Centers to provide convenience and safety to the public. Things such as public restrooms, wayfinding signage, waste and recycling receptacles, thoughtful and efficient lighting that improves safety while also preserving the dark night sky.

Natural Resources
Preservation of our Bear Creek watershed within the District as well as wildlife management measures for safer highways throughout District. Also, burying powerlines in Activity Centers and critical view corridors to return Evergreen back to it’s natural setting.

Art, Culture and Landscaping
Incorporating landscaping and public art along arterial roads and in Activity Centers to soften the impact of the existing corridors. Where new improvements are made, include Landscaping and public artwork to complement the natural setting of Evergreen. Example: Instead of a plain concrete wall at a bridge or underpass, considering a mural or landscaping to soften its visual impact.

Exclusions
(This is very important)
Any infrastructure improvements otherwise required by any agencies having jurisdiction as well as any maintenance operations otherwise required by those agencies.

And MOST IMPORTANTLY:
The ability for an ELID Advisory Committee to update the purposes and specific projects in accordance with community priorities through public process and input over time.

***This last point, written into the constitution, underscores that an ELID is not a list of specific outcomes, but rather, a boundary of land with a legal mechanism to accomplish specific outcomes as guided by the constitution and established by the Advisory Committee to address community priorities that can change over time. So if you don’t see something you feel strongly about in this general list, that’s ok because you will have a voice in the public process in ways you never had before. Similarly, if there is something in the general list you strongly oppose, that’s ok too for the very same reasons. The priorities of the community will be solicited publicly, reviewed annually and inform decision-making at the county level. Here’s how that works, based on the first draft language in the Constitution…

Advisory Committee:
The Advisory Committee would be appointed by the BOCC through a process where applicants would be interviewed and selected based on the following criteria: 1) Qualifications of applicant to serve, 2) Distributed representation across the entire District and 3) Distributed representation among residential property owners, commercial property owners and business owners within the district. The Advisory Committee shall have no fewer than five members and no more than seven members at any time and the positions shall not be term limited but should be re-assessed and re-appointed every two years. The Advisory Committee shall have a minimum of one public town hall style meeting each year, along with other methods to gather community input on community priorities, and meet with the BOCC no less than twice per year to share gathered information, advise on priorities for the community and consult with the BOCC or appointed staff on past, present and future projects.