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Annual Report 2012 Lafayette Urban Renewal Authority Sally Martin Chair Chris Bosch Vice Chair Graig Anspach Carolyn Cutler Jake Puzio Jamie Ramos John Ward Lafayette Urban Renewal Authority F or the Lafayette Urban Renewal Authority (LURA), 2012 was a year of transition and accomplishment. Since LURA’s inception, Lafayette’s City Council served as the commissioners of the city’s urban renewal authority. That changed in 2012, when City Council authorized a change in LURA’s governance and Mayor Carolyn Cutler appointed seven people to the new citizen board. Also in 2012, LURA began work to change city regulations identified during the Downtown Vision process as barriers to redevelopment. The urban renewal plan was amended to allow multi‐family residential developments in the urban renewal areas and to match language in the plan to the city’s Code of Ordinances. In 2012, the city hired a full‐time downtown coordinator and gave LURA a $250,000 grant to begin work on improvements identified in the Downtown Vision. New landscaping and rock materials were installed along the Public Road corridor in the spring, and LURA held a logo contest, asking artists to submit logos reflecting downtown’s “creative, diverse, and eclectic” brand. The new logo debuted in advertising for downtown events and is planned to be used in new gateway signage. Lafayette Urban Renewal Authority • 1290 S. Public Road • Lafayette, Colorado 80026 March 2012 — The Lafayette City Council amended the urban renewal plan to allow for a citizen LURA board and add multi-family residential as a stand-alone use with a special-use review April 2012 — The Lafayette City Council amended the city’s mixed-use regulations, changing the ratio to allow a maximum 5% commercial, 95% residential June 2012 — Mayor Carolyn Cutler named seven new LURA commissioners to sit on the new citizen board ---PAGE BREAK--- Traffic Counts By the Numbers In 2012, the Lafayette Urban Renewal Authority Areas saw $7.7 million of private investment, including building renovations and new building construction. LURA also assisted businesses with exterior improvements including awnings, signage and landscaping in 2012. The City of Lafayette began tracking sales tax receipts by square footage in individual commercial areas in 2010. Based on those figures, the Old Town Urban Renewal Area produced 94 cents per square foot in sales tax in 2009; 99 cents per square foot in 2010; and $1.07 per square foot in 2011. The So. Boulder Road URA in 2010 generated 68 cents per square foot in sales tax and 70 cents per square foot in sales tax in 2011. *City of Lafayette Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG) and the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) Above: 301 E. Simpson in 2004. Below: 301 Simpson in 2012, after exterior renovation. Location Traffic Count Date So. Boulder Road and Dixon Ave. * 7,136 Jan. 2012 So. Public Road * 6,581 Feb. 2012 So. Public Road north of Emma St 8,398 3/11/2010 Colo. 7 (Baseline Rd) west of Public Rd 16,288 3/30/2010 ---PAGE BREAK--- Spring Planting & Flagstone Public Road got a new look in 2012 thanks to new landscaping, which included the addition of new trees and perennials, roughly 50 rock elements in various planter beds and drip irrigation. The cost of the project was approximately $33,000. Also in 2012, crews repaired and replaced flagstone along the downtown business corridor sidewalk and added new sections of flagstone in key areas. Old Town Events Several events that took place within the downtown core in 2012 were directly supported by the Lafayette Urban Renewal Authority. LURA’s financial support helped put on the Art Night Out series, Picnic on the Plaza music lunch hours, and the Home for the Holidays celebration! The Authority also supported the first‐ever Lafayette Quest — a scavenger hunt in which participants solved clues and competed in challenges — by sponsoring an Old Town checkpoint. Special Events in Old Town Lafayette Oatmeal Festival — January 14, 2012 Attendance: 3,500 Total Volunteer Hours: 701.50 Peach Festival — August 18, 2012 Attendance: 21,000 Total Volunteer Hours: 331 hours Art Night Out — Third Fridays in May, June, July, August & September Total Attendance: 3,500 Enhancing Downtown Through the Arts In 2012, the arts continued to be an integral part of Old Town’s revitalization and important to the city overall. Attendance swelled at the 5th annual Art Night Out series, as people flocked to visit downtown businesses, hear the music at Festival Plaza and enjoy the event’s new beer garden. The city’s rotating sculpture exhibit, Art on the Street, again featured 16 public art pieces and continued to draw people to visit downtown. Alley Art Amazin’ — a grassroots mural project designed to beautify Old Town alleys and discourage graffiti — increased its number of murals to 27. Lafayette received an award for its work in the arts. Gov. Hickenlooper announced in April that the City of Lafayette and the Town of Carbondale were selected as co-recipients for the 2012 Governor’s Arts Award. ---PAGE BREAK--- Festival Plaza Home to the Picnic on the Plaza music lunch hour, an Easter Egg hunt, free yoga practice, Art Night Out, a summer evening concert, the Peach Festival smoothie and cobbler tent, and an outdoor cinema, Festival Plaza in 2012 continued to serve as a thriving community gathering place in downtown. During the summer months, the Plaza fountain provided hours of entertainment for children as they splashed in the water. In December, Santa visited with local children twice at the Plaza; several groups of carolers sang holiday favorites; and local residents lit a holiday tree in the center of the performance structure. In 2012, approximately 20,000 people visited the Plaza. Urban renewal funds and a grant from the state Department of Local Affairs created the popular Festival Plaza area, which is also maintained by LURA dollars. For more information about LURA, contact Downtown Coordinator Jenn Ooton at [PHONE REDACTED], ext. 3337or go to www.cityoflafayette.com/urbanrenewal www.facebook.com/ Lafayette.FestPlaza Looking Ahead to 2013 The Lafayette Urban Renewal Authority in 2013 has plans to replace gateway identifier signage for the Old Town area, make additional improvements to the downtown streetscape and continue working toward private‐public partnerships for the downtown core. The Lafayette Cultural Resources Division is also pleased to announce that the Lafayette Cultural Arts Commission and Public Art Committee have been awarded a $10,000 grant to expand the Art on the Street program. In 2013, each selected sculpture will receive a QR code and phone number so viewers can access additional information about the artwork and the artist. Through the city’s website, people will be able to access videos of interviews with the sculptors, background information on each artwork, artists’ statements, a teacher’s curriculum packet and other activities. Home for the Holidays