City Council has continued to tackle several important issues facing our community, from police reform to COVID-19 to selecting a permanent police chief.
Here are a few items of note from our last few meetings:
July 20, 2020 Council Meeting & Study Session
1. City Council voted on a resolution to formally move forward on the investigation into the death of Elijah McClain. I had previously joined with CMs Hiltz and Lawson in calling for this so I am glad Council unanimously approved to moved forward. This is a good first step in rebuilding trust between APD and our community.
2. City Council was asked to approve a disaster declaration in order to increase the maximum number of unrelated occupants allowed in a single family home from 4 to 6. In response to this proposal, hundreds of Aurora residents sent in their opposition. While I do think government should be less involved in the zoning process, there are still a significant number of zoning restrictions in our communities - we can't move the goal posts on one without having less government involvement in other areas. We need to reach a point with less government involvement in zoning, as it is a main contributing factor to the increased of cost of housing, with things like artificial growth boundaries, restrictions on housing products that builders can build and more. Ultimately, the proposal failed 6-5.
August 3, 2020 Council Meeting & Study Session
1. Council received an update on the Southeast Recreation Center. This facility should be done by 2023 and is being built using revenue from recreational marijuana sales in Aurora. The plans looks very exciting and it's great to see the project moving forward.
2. Aurora Water presented a plan for a new water tier structure. This had been communicated as an increase in water rates so Aurora Water General Manager issued the following statement:
Marshall Brown, General Manager for Aurora Water, has been presenting at multiple Ward meetings on a proposed change to the residential water rate tier structure. There was not an increase to water rates at any time during 2020 and staff is not proposing an increase in water, sewer or stormwater rates during 2021. Staff is proposing an adjustment to Aurora’s water rate structure to become effective in January 2021 – this adjustment would result in changing Aurora’s tiered rate structure from 3 tiers to 4 tiers for single family residential customers. This methodology adjustment could result in small monthly bill increases in 2021 (likely not until outdoor irrigation begins) for customers that use more than 5,000 gallons per month of water. The two main drivers behind this proposal are affordability and conservation. Additional details on this proposal can be found at AuroraGov.org/2021WaterRates.
3. I brought forward a resolution to update our Council rules to make reasonable and appropriate accommodations for Councilmembers dealing with medical issues, that are pregnant or have new children and to care for their loved ones facing medical issues. I am glad Council supported my proposed changes 10-0 - it demonstrates we can care about people and the circumstances they find themselves in, while also accomplishing the business of the City.
4. City Council voted 9-1 to confirm the City Manager's choice of Vanessa Wilson as the permanent police chief for the City of Aurora. While we had two great internal candidates, I feel comfortable with the process our City Manager used in deciding on his permanent choice. Ultimately, the decision rests with him.
August 10, 2020 Special Council Meeting
1. Council held a public meeting to hear from community members on our existing restricted breed ordinance (pit bulls). Council has several options when considering this item and a vote is expected on August 17:
-Repeal existing breed specific law by ordinance and replace with a comprehensive dangerous dog ordinance
-Ask voters to decide whether they would like to repeal the existing breed specific ordinance by citizen vote
-Keep the existing breed ban in place and do nothing
Be sure to tune in August 17 if you would like to follow along on this topic.
Our next Study Session and Council Meeting is scheduled for August 17. We are still in a virtual format for council meetings so please tune in at www.auroratv.org to watch.
