Littleton 7-4-13
July 4, 2013
Arapahoe County, Colorado • Volume 124, Issue 23
75 cents
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourlittletonnews.com
City’s planning board rejects project Council has final say on Broadstone proposal By Jennifer Smith
jsmith@ourcoloradonews.com The troupers who remained in the gallery at 12:30 a.m. on June 25 seemed surprised when all seven of Littleton’s planning-board members voted against a proposal to build a six-story apartment building across the street from the iconic courthouse. “We’ve been working hard for this for a long time,” said Paul Bingham, who helped lead a citizens’ movement against the plan. City council will have the final say on the project, and was set to take up the proposal on first reading on July 2. The board members openly struggled with the decision as the 5½-hour meeting drew to a close, but agreed in the end that
the sheer mass and high density of the project is not in line with the city’s current comprehensive plan or the Littleton Boulevard corridor study. “This was a very difficult case here,” said board member Mark Rudnicki. “I keep going back to the existing zoning versus the new (planned development). It’s an existing use by right.” He said the project’s opponents either don’t understand or don’t care that the current zoning allows things like car lots, a parking garage, a movie theater or even a drive-through restaurant. There are no height limits, open-space requirements or minimum setbacks. Andy Clay of Alliance Residential Company stressed that his team worked diligently to assuage the neighbors’ concerns. As a last-ditch effort, they even lowered the Project continues on Page 12
Littleton’s planning board recommended the rejection of a proposal to tear down the former sheriff ’s building, which is on the city’s List of Merit, and replace the structure with a six-story apartment building. City council has the final say. Photo by Jennifer Smith
LPS budget gets a boost from state School board approves next year’s spending plan By Jennifer Smith
jsmith@ourcoloradonews.com
On his third day of swim class, Terrance Kelly paddles his way across Centennial’s Holly Pool using a foam kickboard as a flotation device. The 10-year-old Centennial boy is just one of many area kids enrolled in a variety of swim programs offered by South Suburban Parks and Recreation. Photo by Deborah Grigsby
Summer is season for water safety South Suburban offers classes to get kids ready for the pool By Savanna Walker
Special to Colorado Community Media As summer hits its peak, pool attendance increases dramatically. However, children’s safety in the water is always a concern. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, drowning is the second leading cause of death for children ages 1-14. JoAnn Gould, who serves as director of Recreation and Community Services for South Suburban Parks and Recreation, POSTAL ADDRESS
shares these concerns. “It’s vital for children, regardless of where they live, to learn how to swim,” she said. “It encourages socialization and athleticism, it’s a life skill, and it’s a life skill that could save their life.” In addition, Gould recommended that children be educated early. “In general,” she says, “whether it’s learning to swim or any other activity, from skateboarding to mountain climbing, it’s best to learn before you develop fears. It comes easier to young children.” Terrance, Torin and Emilia Kelly are three young children taking advantage of South Suburban’s swim-instruction classes. Terrance, 10, was enthusiastic about his
progress so far. “Before, I was not as good at the front stroke, but they’ve helped me learn how to breathe better,” he said at Holly Pool in Centennial. His 8-year-old brother, Torin, was a fan of one technique in particular. “You have to pretend that you have a watermelon in your tummy, so that you’re fat and then you float. Once I was doing a back glide and I started to sink and so I ate another watermelon and then I was fine.” Their mother, Lisa Kelley, has seen a marked improvement in her children’s abilities since starting the classes. Safety continues on Page 26
LITTLETON INDEPENDENT (ISSN 1058-7837) (USPS 315-780) OFFICE: 9137 S. Ridgeline Blvd., Suite 210, Highlands Ranch, CO 80129 PHONE: 303-566-4100 A legal newspaper of general circulation in Englewood, Colorado, the Littleton Independent is published weekly on Thursday by Colorado Community Media. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT ENGLEWOOD, COLORADO AND ADDITIONAL MAILING OFFICES. POSTMASTER: Send address change to: 9137 S. Ridgeline Blvd., Suite 210, Highlands Ranch, CO 80129 DEADLINES: Display advertising: Thurs. 11 a.m. Legal advertising: Thurs. 11 a.m. Classified advertising: Mon. 12 p.m.
The budget the Littleton Public Schools Board of Education approved on June 27 for next year includes some hopeful signs, but mostly a lot of status quo. Per-pupil funding from the state increased for the first time in four years. It’s $6,398, $165 more than last year. However, total budgeted expenses are $9,080 per student. The district predicts a decrease of 64 students next year, to 15,381. But more students still transfer into LPS than any other district in the metro area, noted Scott Myers, chief financial officer. “Which is always a good sign, that people are choosing to come here,” said board member Sue Chandler. The bottom line is a $221 million total budget, up about 2 percent from last year’s $216 million. Total expenditures increased $3 million to $173 million. The other $43 million is mostly state-mandated emergency reserves. Budget continues on Page 12
NEW ITEMS IN SCHOOLS’ BUDGET • The district is placing a full-time health assistant in every building next year, at a cost of about $400,000. They will administer medicines, perform first aid, track immunizations and be on hand for emergencies. • Field Elementary School is adding an hour to the school day in an effort to foster achievement in its large population of at-risk students. The program is partly supported by a federal grant. • A new state law that defines how teachers will be evaluated will cost about $500,000 to implement next year, and Chief Financial Officer Scott Myers anticipates it will cost about $3 million a year thereafter. • $3.2 million from the 2010 mill levy will go toward curriculum, technology and other student needs.
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