A number of items were discussed during the Rifle City Council meeting held April 17 in Rifle. The council heard presentations regarding a municipal code amendment, a planned unit development, park equipment upgrade, and other agenda items.
An amendment to Rifle’s municipal code was considered on Wednesday’s meeting about accessory dwelling units (ADUs) being in commercial and light industrial zones. ADUs are, in the current language of the code, only allowed to be attached to the building on the property.
In section 16-3-60 B – Accessory dwelling units in commercial and light industrial zone districts that have commercial or light industrial uses shall be attached and limited to only the top floor of the building, and the total area developed with accessory dwelling units shall not exceed the total interior area of the commercial space in the building.
These ADUs must be no less than 300 sq. feet and no more than 850 with no more than two bedrooms. There can only be one built onto the premises.
Geir Sverdrup, Senior Planner for the city of Rifle, wrote to city council that: “As written, the current language provides an avenue for a commercial or light industrial property owner to do anything more than an attached ADU. A detached ADU would provide the property owner with an opportunity to provide housing for employee housing that could include their family or someone not associated with the company.”
Sverdrup also wrote that this would go above and beyond the scope of a caretaker/sleeping quarters, which is permitted in industrial and light industrial zone districts, but not commercial zones. City council chose to approve this consideration.
In other council action, the Marketplace and 14th Ecodwelling Development sought approval for their final plat, zoning and subdivision improvement agreement.
The planned unit development includes 3,000 sq ft lot size in the Community Service Business District, there will be restriction to only residential uses in the development; setbacks of 5 ft in the side yards, 10 ft in the rear yard, and 10 ft in the front and street side yard; carports may encroach into front setback to a 5 ft lot line; storage sheds can encroach into side and rear setback to a maximum area of 100 sq ft; and no requirement to provide garages.
In addition, the homeowners association will only be responsible for maintenance of roads and open space areas. Property owners will maintain their own property.
This project was originally approved in 2009 and amended in 2011. These are the final plans for the development of 12 single family residences. A park has been added to the middle of the property, which has been subsequently divided into lots.
Concerns about possible effects of flooding were raised during public comment, however, city staff addressed this and stated that it was decided to raise the grade of the road slightly to deal with this possibility. City council also approved this consideration.
Rifle Police Department has a recurring purchase order from the Garfield County Communications Authority for use of record-keeping technology. New World/Tyler Technologies is where Rifle PD maintains all records of criminal history queries, drivers license queries, contacts, and the keeping, managing and queries of all records within the police department. It also covers the mobile units’ access to this database.
These law record expenses were billed at $1.168 per incident per agency. Rifle PD was billed for 14,826 incidents, totaling $17,319.33 for them. Additionally, the law mobile expenses are calculated for the number of mobile units per agency, which was 24 units for Rifle PD. This comes out to $11,340.77. The grand total comes to $26,660.10.
Every agency is billed at the same rate, according to Chief of Rifle Police, Debra Funston, and this purchase was accounted for in the police budget portion of 2024. Council approved this purchase.
A purchase for new playground equipment for Arnold and Moki Parks was also approved. City staff reported that the parks’ equipment has been around for more than 30 years, and is in need of replacing. Rifle’s Parks and Recreation Department will be removing the old equipment, as a cost-saving measure. This will put more money towards the parks’ new equipment.
They have chosen Altitude Recreation for the project at $334,250, which was budgeted at $360,000. The project is estimated to be completed by the end of July.
In other items, the council approved the purchase of new flooring and installation services for the Justice Center in Rifle. The building was built in 2008 and currently has some duct tape holding pieces of the flooring together. Rifle’s Parks and Recreation has determined that Luxury Vinyl Tile and carpet tiles will be the best option for installation.
Although $80,000 was budgeted for this project, $85,651.35 will be paid to AG Flooring for the project. While it is over budget, the city staff stated that there are enough savings to cover this extra cost. This project will last around two weeks to be completed in phases and will disrupt operations in the Justice Center, but it will be short periods of time.
Rifle City Council approved the replacement of epoxy coating on the influent channels of the wastewater treatment plant. This serves to protect the pipes. City staff informed the council the coating is failing and needs to be replaced. C&L Water Solutions was awarded the contract to blast off the former coating and apply the new one. The Influent Channel Coating Project will cost $381,280.
Although this project is also over budget, which was originally for $366,500, city staff stated that the Wastewater Fund has enough in its reserves to absorb the increase over the budget.
In other items of interest, trash cans and recycling bins are being swapped out, these past two weeks. New cans, both for trash and recycling, are being distributed. Citizens may keep their smaller recycling containers, but if you want your recycling to be taken, it must be put into the new, bigger bins that will go out onto the curb. Contact Mountain Waste if there are any issues at 970-963-3435 or visit their website mountainwaste.com/contact-us.
The traffic light for the White River Ave. intersection will be delivered soon, hopefully in the next week or so. It should be opening by the end of April or the beginning of May.
The city council meeting on July 3 will be canceled due to the July 4 celebrations the next day to allow, not just city council some relaxation, but the rest of city staff.