Kristin Baumgartner

The strategic plan for the City of Lone Tree outlines its Vision, Mission, Values, and six core strategic pillars, referred to as 'Big Ideas.' These Big Ideas focus on ensuring deep public safety, establishing a visionary transportation network, fostering a welcoming, connected, and resilient community, providing signature cultural and recreational opportunities within a beautiful natural environment, developing a diverse and sustainable economy, and building a high-performing, innovative city government team. The plan aims to continually improve the community's quality of life and raise the standard for government services, guiding the city's overall goals and department objectives.

This Comprehensive Plan, titled 'Lone Tree Elevated', serves as a roadmap for the City of Lone Tree, establishing a vision for its future growth and development through 2045. It outlines goals, policies, and strategic actions across land use, transportation, parks and open space, infrastructure, housing, economic development, and the natural environment. The plan aims to foster a healthy, safe, resilient, sustainable, diverse, vibrant, welcoming, and connected community by promoting design excellence, diverse housing options, a strong economy, multimodal transportation, extensive recreational amenities, public safety, and the protection of natural systems.

The meeting addressed public meeting procedures implemented due to executive orders, including virtual access and health screening measures. Key discussions involved the first reading of an ordinance to repeal and re-enact municipal code articles concerning storm drainage, grading, erosion, sediment control, and floodplain development, which was necessitated by FEMA's new flood insurance study. Proposed changes included adopting a two-foot free board standard for all floodplain structures and a zero-foot floodway to align with updated FEMA requirements and restrictions on tents and makeshift structures in floodplains, motivated by health and safety concerns from campsite cleanups. The council also approved the annual Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with Douglas County Commissioners for 2020-2021 snow removal services on designated arterial roadways, noting the efficiency and cost savings of using the county's larger equipment, and confirmed county maintenance of Ridgegate Parkway through May 2021.

The meeting was a study session providing an update on the brick wall engineering study, conducted in partnership with the Park Meadows Metropolitan District. The discussion reviewed the history of the city's brick wall installation program, which began in 2001 to replace wood fences, noting that the city owns and maintains these walls. It was noted that litigation in 2011-2013 resulted in a settlement due to brick spalling issues. The current study involves partnering with the Park Meadows Metro District and their consultant, Atkinson Noland and Associates, to assess the condition of the walls. The funding and management of the study are handled by the Metro District, while the City of Lone Tree leads communications, including establishing a dedicated email address and website for updates. The process involves detailed panel inspection using specialized photography, with a final report anticipated by the end of August.

This Community Wildfire Protection Plan for the City of Lone Tree aims to reduce wildfire risk by assessing hazards, implementing mitigation strategies, and fostering community preparedness. Developed in response to the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003, the plan focuses on understanding current risks, mitigating undesirable fire effects in the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI), and enhancing public awareness. Key recommendations address fuels reduction, home hardening, defensible space, land use planning, and strengthening partnerships with residents and other organizations.