Department of Community Development
Reference: Second Amendment to the Village at Southgate Development Agreement
To: Mayor Gregory Mills and Members of City Council
Through: Michael P. Martinez, City Manager
Prepared By: Emma Lane, AICP, Senior Planner - Historic Preservation
Date Prepared: January 8, 2025
PURPOSE
The purpose of this agenda item is for the City Council to review and authorize the Mayor to sign the “Second Amendment to the Village at Southgate Brighton Development Agreement” (the “Amendment”). City staff, along with ARCUS Southgate, LLC (the “Developer”), are requesting City Council’s consideration of the Amendment to alter certain improvements and reimbursements associated with the development of the Village at Southgate Brighton (“Southgate”). As the original Development Agreement was approved by the City Council, any amendments shall be reviewed by City Council with a resolution to approve the request.
BACKGROUND
Southgate is generally located to the south of East 120th Avenue, between Southgate Boulevard and Foley Road, and north of I-76, more specifically located in the west half of the northeast quarter of Section 1, Township 2 South, Range 67 West, of the 6th Principal Meridian, City of Brighton, County of Adams, State of Colorado. The overall development contains 79.811 acres.
The property was originally annexed into the City in 1988 with the Fuller Estates East Annexation. The property was originally zoned as part of the Fuller Estates East PUD, but was rezoned to the Village at Southgate PUD in 2014. The City approved the Village at Southgate Brighton Final Plat and associated Development Agreement in 2015. A portion of the property was re-platted as Filing 2 in 2019.
Per the original Development Agreement, Southgate was required to complete certain development obligations. Those relevant to this Amendment include building the traffic signal at East 120th Avenue and Southgate Boulevard, as well as constructing Southgate Boulevard including sidewalks and water and sewer lines below the road.
Per the original Development Agreement, certain adjacent properties are responsible to reimburse Southgate for the impact they will have on the infrastructure installed by Southgate. This is to happen before platting of either of the mentioned developments. The two properties specifically mentioned in this reimbursement obligation are the “South 41 Acre Property”, directly south of Southgate, now known as Southern Ridge, and the “East 51 Acre Tract”, directly east of Southgate, now known as Brighton Ridge. These are memorialized in the original Development Agreement Exhibit G, Section 23, as well as Exhibits G-1 and G-2. Please see the aerial map in the attachments for a visual representation.
Brighton Ridge is responsible for the reimbursement of 19% of the actual cost of the traffic signal at East 120th Avenue and Southgate Boulevard, per Southgate’s Development Agreement. Brighton Ridge is also required to build the sidewalk on the east side of Southgate Boulevard per their approved subdivision plan. Southern Ridge is responsible for the reimbursement of 15% of the actual cost of the traffic signal, 18% of the actual cost of construction of Southgate Boulevard, 16% of the actual cost of the 12” water line, and 14% of the actual cost of the 12” sanitary sewer line.
A subdivision plan has been approved for Brighton Ridge, and a Final Plat for Phase 1 of Brighton Ridge has been approved. Southern Ridge has not been entitled in any way.
AMENDMENT PROVISIONS:
1. Southgate Boulevard Sidewalk
In the original Development Agreement and plans, it was unclear if the sidewalk along the east side of Southgate Boulevard was supposed to be constructed with this Development. Some plans show that the sidewalk was part of the cross-section of the street, others show the sidewalk as being considered a future improvement. As part of the City’s process for Acceptance of Public Improvements (“Acceptance”), it was determined that the sidewalk on the east side of Southgate Boulevard was not constructed. Because this improvement was unclear, the City cannot continue with Acceptance until this has been resolved and recommends amending the Development Agreement to make the improvements clearer.
Per standard language in City Development Agreements, developers are required to make certain public improvements and the City holds a financial guarantee (e.g., letter of credit, performance bond, etc.) for all required improvements until they are completed, have passed all inspections, and the warranty period. The City currently has a performance bond on file for Southgate and will continue to hold it until the improvements have been completed per the Development Agreement. In the recent months, the Developer has requested the bond back, but as the responsibilities are still unclear, they will need to complete either the sidewalk or amend the original Development Agreement to remove the obligation.
2. Reimbursements from Adjacent Properties
No reimbursement has been collected for the Brighton Ridge development as part of the Phase 2 of Brighton Ridge, which has not been platted. No reimbursement has been collected for Southern Ridge, as it has not been platted. Both of these requirements would be required of both developments in the future.
STAFF ANALYSIS
AMENDMENT PROVISIONS:
1. Southgate Boulevard Sidewalk
While some pages of both the Civil Plans and the Landscape Plans for Southgate show that the sidewalk should have been constructed in conjunction with the construction of Southgate Boulevard, there are a few reasons why it would be difficult to construct. The grading of the proposed sidewalk on the portion of Southgate Boulevard adjacent to Brighton Ridge on the east side of the street, matches the grading of the Brighton Ridge site, which is higher than the existing Southgate Boulevard.
Additionally, a portion of the proposed sidewalk is planned for the area adjacent to the current School District 27J Bus Barn. The existing fence and the grading of the space between the fence and the road would be difficult to construct without the fence being removed. The fence would have to be removed and potentially replaced by the School District.
Within the Brighton Ridge Subdivision Plan, a sidewalk along the east side of Southgate Boulevard is contemplated in both the phasing map, and in their general cost estimate of public improvements. Additionally, the entirety of the second phase of Brighton Ridge will be graded at the time of development, which will include the portion of sidewalk adjacent to their property, making it more appropriate to construct with the Brighton Ridge development.
Additionally, because of the portion of sidewalk along the School District 27J Bus Barn property cannot be constructed now, when that site redevelops, the developer of that site would be responsible for building the sidewalk at that time. This site was not originally contemplated with the original Development Agreement.
The Southern Ridge development will also be required to contribute to the sidewalk construction. This will depend on the timing of development of both the Bus Barn parcel and the Southern Ridge parcel, but could include either construction of the sidewalk, or financial contribution.
2. Reimbursements from Adjacent Properties
As a direct result of Southgate’s release of obligation to build the sidewalk along Southgate Boulevard, neither development mentioned in the original Development Agreement would be required to reimburse Southgate for impacts to the infrastructure constructed by Southgate. The obligation of construction of the sidewalk by Southgate will be released, and in lieu, the adjacent developments will no longer have to reimburse Southgate for their contribution to the mentioned improvements.
The improvements, with the exception of the sidewalk, have all been completed by Southgate. The full right of way for Southgate Boulevard was dedicated by the Southgate development, which is a cost and impact typically shared by two adjacent landowners. In this case, Southgate took on a higher burden by dedicating land and constructing the full roadway section without requesting reimbursement from Brighton Ridge. Brighton Ridge benefits from the construction of Southgate Boulevard adjacent to their site and the traffic signal at 120th Avenue. In addition, when the Southgate, Brighton Ridge, and Southern Ridge sites were originally contemplated for development, only one ownership group under different LLCs owned the entirety of all three developments. This may have been a reason that the improvements on each of the three sites were all intertwined.
The sidewalk will be constructed in the future by both the Brighton Ridge development and either the Bus Barn or Southern Ridge, ensuring that all improvements will be constructed. Staff believes that this is a fair alternative for all parties.
DEVELOPMENT REVIEW COMMITTEE:
The Development Review Committee (DRC) reviewed this project and recommends approval. This includes review and approval of the draft Agreement.
A complete list of comments and the agencies who made them are available upon request.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff has reviewed the Amendment and finds the request acceptable. Staff recommends approval of the Second Amendment to the Village at Southgate at Brighton Development Agreement. Based on staff’s recommendation, a draft resolution approving the Amendment has been provided.
OPTIONS FOR COUNCIL CONSIDERATION
The City Council has four (4) options when reviewing this application. City Council may:
• Approve the Resolution authorizing the Mayor to sign the Amendment;
• Modify the Resolution authorizing the Mayor to sign the Amendment; or
• Deny the Resolution
ATTACHMENTS
• Draft City Council Resolution
• Draft Development Agreement Amendment (Exhibit A to the Resolution)
• Village at Southgate Brighton Development Agreement (original Development Agreement)
• Aerial Map by Staff
• Agenda Item Notification
• Draft Staff Draft Presentation