I-70 Coalition Land Use Planning Study For Rail Transit Alignment Throughout the I-70 corridor Final Report March 2009 TABLE OF CONTENTS Section Page Executive Summary.....................................................................................................................................................1 Introduction..................................................................................................................................................................9 1.1 Purpose ..................................................................................................... 10 1.2 Study Process............................................................................................. 10 1.2.1 Phase 1 - Listening and Generating Ideas................................................. 10 1.2.2 Phase 2 - Develop Specifications and Strategies Phase 2 ............................ 12 1.2.3 Phase 3 - Integrating Transit and Land Use Planning.................................. 13 1.2.4 Phase 4 – Conclusion and Reporting of Findings ........................................ 14 2.0 I-70 corridor Organization and Involvement..............................................................................................15 2.1 County Working Groups ............................................................................... 15 2.2 On-going Communication ............................................................................. 15 3.0 I-70 Corridor Vision .....................................................................................................................................17 3.1 I-70 Coalition Preferred Alternative................................................................ 17 3.2 I-70 Collaborative Effort............................................................................... 18 3.3 Working Group Priorities .............................................................................. 18 3.3.1 Jefferson County .................................................................................. 18 3.3.2 Clear Creek County............................................................................... 19 3.3.3 Summit County .................................................................................... 20 3.3.4 Eagle County ....................................................................................... 20 3.3.5 Garfield County .................................................................................... 21 3.4 Preferences for Service and Freight................................................................ 21 4.0 Regional Station Locations.........................................................................................................................24 4.1 Development of Guidelines and Criteria .......................................................... 24 4.1.1 I-70 corridor Wide Criteria ..................................................................... 27 4.1.2 Regional Criteria (County Level) ............................................................. 27 4.1.3 Site-Specific Criteria ............................................................................. 28 4.2 Initial Preferences for Station Locations.......................................................... 29 4.3 Screening of Initial Station Locations ............................................................. 31 4.3.1 Web-Based Location Screening and Preferences ........................................ 32 4.3.2 Focused Siting Criteria and Screening ...................................................... 33 4.3.3 Jefferson County .................................................................................. 34 4.3.4 Clear Creek County............................................................................... 36 4.3.5 Summit County .................................................................................... 40 4.3.6 Eagle County ....................................................................................... 44 4.3.7 Garfield County .................................................................................... 48 4.4 Summary of Tier 1 Regional Station Locations ................................................. 50 5.0 Example Specifications for Tier 1 Regional Stations ...............................................................................53 5.1 Background................................................................................................ 53 5.2 Function and Features ................................................................................. 53 5.2.1 Platform .............................................................................................. 58 5.2.2 Bus Interface ....................................................................................... 62 5.2.3 Passenger Drop-off ............................................................................... 63 5.2.4 Parking ............................................................................................... 64 TOC-ii 3/4/2009 5.2.5 Bicycle Parking..................................................................................... 66 5.2.6 Ticketing ............................................................................................. 67 5.2.7 Baggage.............................................................................................. 67 5.2.8 Train Depot ......................................................................................... 68 5.2.9 Stormwater ......................................................................................... 69 5.2.10 Utilities ............................................................................................... 69 6.0 Transit-Supportive Development and Land Use Planning.......................................................................70 6.1 Transit Friendly Planning and Development Forum ........................................... 70 6.2 Best Practices ............................................................................................. 72 6.2.1 Development at Transit Stations ............................................................. 72 6.2.2 Development at Transit Stations in Mountain Communities ......................... 74 6.3 Integrating Land Use and Transit................................................................... 77 6.3.1 Land Use Review and Community Action Plans.......................................... 77 6.3.2 Jefferson County .................................................................................. 79 6.3.3 Clear Creek County............................................................................... 82 6.3.4 Summit County .................................................................................... 86 6.3.5 Eagle County ....................................................................................... 92 6.3.6 Garfield County .................................................................................... 97 6.4 Land Use Toolbox.......................................................................................100 6.4.1 Community Visioning ...........................................................................100 6.4.2 Comprehensive Planning.......................................................................100 6.4.3 Transit-Oriented Development Policies and Strategies ...............................102 6.4.4 Station Area Sub-Plans.........................................................................104 6.4.5 Zoning Strategies ................................................................................108 6.4.6 Financial Strategies..............................................................................110 7.0 Path Forward..............................................................................................................................................113 APPENDICES Appendix A: Comments and Correspondence Also included by reference and available on the I-70 Coalition website: Task 3 Technical Memorandum – Summary of Existing Studies Task 4 Technical Memorandum – Summary of Similar Projects/Best Practices Task 5 Technical Memorandum – I-70 Coalition Meetings and Develop Guidelines Task 6 Technical Memorandum – Define Project Purpose and Jurisdiction Dialog Task 7 Technical Memorandum – Review of Land Use Plans and Zoning Codes Task 8 Technical Memorandum – Station Site Identification Task 9 Technical Memorandum – Technical Specifications of a Transit Center Task 10 Technical Memorandum – Action Plans Task 12 Technical Memorandum – Land Use Toolbox LIST OF FIGURES Section Page Figure 1: I-70 Coalition Land Use Planning Study Area ................................................ 9 Figure 2: Initial Station Locations Considered ...........................................................31 TOC-iii 3/4/2009 Figure 3: County Working Group Recommended Tier 1 Regional Station Locations (Red Dots).....................................................................................................52 Figure 4: Plan View of the First Floor of an Example Tier 1 Regional Station at Copper Mountain Ski Area ...................................................................................55 Figure 5: Visual Simulation Representing an Example Tier 1 Regional Station at Copper Mountain Ski Area ...................................................................................56 Figure 6: Visual Simulation Representing an Example Tier 1 Regional Station at Copper Mountain Ski Area ...................................................................................57