By Rudy Hemmann

The Surveyor

On Friday, Sept. 14, 2018, a group of 12 people comprised of town trustees, planning commission members, and town staffers toured the Mountain Avenue corridor with consulting firm bha, which was represented by Roger Sherman and Doug Elgar, along with Roger Thorpe of Thorp Associates. Thorp was asked to join the tour by bha to give a historical perspective to the discussions.

The purpose of the tour was to give insight to the trio named above by town board, planning commission, and staff members. The tour started at the west end of Mountain Avenue, where the group stepped out of their vehicles to discuss the chances of commercial development in that area.

The tour group worked its way eastward, stopping at a property owned by Butch Hause and his wife Sarah Lincoln. The group heard some of the vision Hause and Lincoln have for the future of their property.

The last stop of the tour was just to the east of the Interstate 25 interchange.

The consultants had a list of items they liked about the downtown area that had been noted on earlier visits to the town. Some of these were:

• Interest shown by town residents in retaining the “old town” atmosphere of the downtown area. A strong desire among residents to protect the downtown area.
• The uniqueness of having agricultural tracts surrounding the community.
• Great views of the Rocky Mountains. (Longs Peak)
• The tree-lined streets.

They also had a list of goals and items which, from their perspective, could be built upon. These included:

• Berthoud is an attractive location to live or work in.
• Use the obvious salability to attract new businesses/retain businesses already here as the town grows.
• Improve signage to identify different neighborhoods with gateway signage.
• “Develop a community collaborated and comprehensive design vision.”
• Protect the character and charm of downtown as well as older residential neighborhoods.
• Encourage commuting from surrounding (outlying) neighborhoods by developing the extensive trail system envisioned in the PORT (Parks, Open Space, Recreation and Trails) plan.
• The I-25/Highway 56 interchange area needs to be made a recognizable part of Berthoud.

In other planning news:

Sue Bowles, Berthoud’s planning and building technician, reports August was a record-breaking month for the number of single-family building permits issued. The number of permits issued for August was 87. The total at the end of the year may also be a record if the issuance of permits continues at the current pace. The number of permits issued as of Sept. 10, 2018, came in at 365. The number of permits issued as of Sept. 10, 2017 was 323.