Loveland City Council has a simple agenda tonight, but both significant items - a new affordable housing project in east downtown, and a more restrictive definition of "family" in the development code (no votes tonight). Also our first fully remote sesh! https://twitter.com/colbywg/status/1320445080482660352

Two of our more amazing community members (earnestly, AJ & Jessica are awesome), with strong written statements against the city's attempt to restrict the definition of "family." No specific public comment on non-voting items, so they submitted to open public comment.

Now onto the affordable housing project from Archdiocesan Housing (Catholic Charities) east of downtown. RH had more on the details yesterday. It's supported by the relevant commissions/boards, and has so-far seemed to have decent public support.

Mayor Marsh is on this zoom, with the livestream for citizens on a second monitor? If she's already on Loveland Pulse (our eventually arriving municipal gigabit), sign me up.

The housing discussion rhetoric is so dehumanizing. "In this other project, the private neighborhood nearby agreed with us that people in our housing shouldn't be able to walk there, so we agreed on a variance making walking more difficult for our residents!"

Molloy comes through again, pushing for a path access to the main city path nearby, which would have access to shopping to the NE and downtown to the SW. Would probably need Sugar property approval.

Clark kinda wandered through budget-related questions without a clear point (though got some good info on waivers), but Samson drove home the point on the cost-savings of housing people anyway.

First public comment is a call from a 30+ year resident who lives near the project, and she is delivering an excellent speech in support of the project. What a tone-setter.

Project passes unanimously on all items, which is roughly what was expected. Recess, followed by a study session on changes to the Development Code, including how to define "family."

In 2018 there was a totally new UDC that did not define the word "family" despite being used... everywhere in a UDC. Council seems to have no appetite, from Overcash to Samson, for adding a definition. Planning Commission, however, is really pushing for it.

Both Overcash and Fogle have, at separate times tonight, instructed Mayor Marsh how to use Zoom. Overcash wants to do a special session on time management because Council, particularly Overcash, sucks at time management.

For reference, I called tonight “a simple agenda” at the top of this thread, but we’re in hour 4.