By Rudy Hemmann
The Surveyor

The Berthoud Board of Trustees held a regular business meeting Tuesday evening and addressed six agenda items. Mayor William Karpeck read an Arbor Day Proclamation into the record. The proclamation established Saturday, April 24, as Berthoud’s Arbor Day. Josh Embry, the Town Forester stated that tree plantings would be done on that day at Berthoud Reservoir Park.
A motion to approve the Town of Berthoud’s 2021 CDOT Revitalizing Main Street Program Grant application to install parklets in front of Ko-fe house and Glass of Art as well as provide crowd fencing to expand the outside seating for Rise Bakery and Benny’s Tacos as made, seconded and unanimously passed.
Following more than two- and one-half hours of listening to presentations, asking for clarification regarding the plan being presented and discussion among the trustees a Neighborhood Master Plan for the Westside Crossing development was unanimously approved along with a laundry list of conditions and recommendations attached to the approval.
The plan was brought forward by Steve Weims who is associated with the landscape architecture firm Stacklot, acting as agent for owners/developers Scott Charpentier, and Jay Stoner, owners of Berthoud Gateway LLC.
The Neighborhood Master Plan as presented is the vision of the development by Charpentier, Stoner and Weims. The proposal calls for a mixed-use development referred to as Westside Crossing (formerly Safeway PUD).
The site is located at the northeast quadrant of the intersection of Mountain Avenue and Highway 287 and is bounded on the east side by Meadowlark Drive. The entire property is 28.342 acres. The northern end of the property, which consists of 9.158 acres is slated to be zoned R-4 in anticipation of having that portion of the tract devoted to duplexes and fourplexes. The remaining 19.184 acres of the property is proposed as being divided into nine commercial pads.
During his presentation of this item to the commission Curt Freese, the town’s director of Community Development, noted the northern end of the property had, at one point, been proposed as apartment buildings. However, after hearing comments concerning placing apartments on the site due to the density which would be brought to the site. For that reason, the applicant reconsidered the use of apartments and opted to change to the lower-density townhouses and duplexes.
Additionally, a preliminary traffic impact study was recently completed with the results of the study being the intersection of Mountain Avenue and Meadowlark Drive would need to be signalized and an entrance to the development on the south side would need to be right-in, right-out only per Colorado Department of Transportation regulations.
Freese stated the pocket park outlined on the plan is not sufficient for the number of residences in the proposed development.
The Neighborhood Master Plan is the future vision for the property, and how it complies with the Development Code. An approved Neighborhood Master Plan is now binding, all platting and zoning actions require a basic adherence to the Neighborhood Master Plan, or a revision of the plan be brought before the planning commission and Town Board.
The neighborhood master plan gives a little more certainty to the board to know what it is they are approving before they vote on the rezoning.
The trustees also had a short discussion regarding allowing plastic sandwich board signs in the Mountain Avenue Overlay District and will have a more detailed discussion to review the sign code at a later date.
Melissa Feldbush, Berthoud Area Chamber of Commerce executive director gave a presentation to the trustees regarding the Berthoud Day parade to be held on June 5.
The route will be the same as in previous years with the parade beginning on Second Street and ending at Eighth Street and Franklin Avenue. By ending at that location the residents at Berthoud Living Center have access to the parade.
The parade will be streamed live on a YouTube channel. The chamber will also have a sidewalk chalk artist draw distancing and signage as currently required by the Larimer County Health Department. The trustees were in support of the parade.