City of Golden

This document, titled 'Golden Vision 2030', outlines a strategic vision for the City of Golden, focusing on managing inevitable growth and change while preserving core community values. Through a partnership with the Orton Family Foundation and extensive citizen engagement, the plan identifies key community values such as active involvement and volunteerism, a healthy lifestyle with strong connections to the natural environment, and the development of a walkable, bikeable, and accessible community. The strategic objective is to inform future public policy with these identified values.

The Golden Vision 2030 plan for the City of Golden, developed through extensive community engagement, outlines the desired future of the city over the next two decades. It is guided by two primary principles: 'responsive government,' which includes openness, transparency, fairness, and fiscal responsibility, and 'controlled and directed change,' which focuses on preserving the city's small-town character, history, and scenic beauty. The plan incorporates community values and preferences and fosters collaboration with local institutions such as the School of Mines and Coors brewery.

The discussion centered on the Housing Needs and Strategies Assessment, focusing on data highlights and the assessment's purpose, which included estimating unmet housing needs, forecasting market changes, reviewing housing development economics, and identifying strategies to address housing needs. Key topics covered included data on single-family sales prices (reaching a median near one million dollars), average monthly rents (around two thousand dollars, showing a 28% increase over five years), and housing cost burden percentages. The committee also discussed shifting demographics, noting an increase in the senior population and a decrease in the workforce population segment as defined in the study. Further discussion involved large-scale development projects, including negotiations for affordable housing units (one for every nine market rate units) and required investment into the affordable housing trust fund. Challenges regarding permitting processes and securing upfront allocations for future projects were addressed. The need for housing across various income brackets, particularly for those above 120% of Area Median Income (AMI) due to high home prices and constraints on condo development, was highlighted. The projected need for 3,100 housing units over the next 10 years, primarily for workforce housing, was reviewed alongside the current reality where only 5% of the existing workforce lives in the city.

The study session focused on the 'Heart of Golden' project, specifically the proposed Police and Municipal building. Discussion covered the project's history, tracing back to space needs identified as early as 2006 and the 2011 Clear Creek corridor plan, noting how community focus has shifted from increasing visitor amenities to enhancing usability for residents. Key issues driving the need for new facilities include outdated, insecure, and inefficient current city/police buildings with inadequate electrical capacity and poor air quality. The acquisition of the former Kors property provided an opportunity to relocate services, opening up the creek corridor for resident-focused use, including open space and gathering places. Staff presented four options, concluding that building a combined Police and City building on the former Kors property (estimated at close to $60 million) best met the comprehensive goals related to corridor transformation, service improvement, and sustainability without raising taxes. Next steps involve awarding a design team contract and subsequent community engagement throughout the design process.

The event was a swearing-in ceremony for the new Fire Chief, Alisha Welch. The City Manager welcomed attendees, including members of the City Council and the Mayor. Recognition was given to the Deputy Fire Chief who served in an acting capacity during the transition. A significant portion of the event highlighted Chief Welch's qualifications, including her 26 years of operational experience with the Los Angeles Fire Department, advanced degrees, and contributions to national preparedness models. The ceremony also marked a historic occasion as she is the first female Fire Chief in the history of the Golden Fire Department. Following the oath of office administered by the City Clerk, hardware presentations, including the Fire Chief badge, were made.