Littleton Independent 102821

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October 28, 2021

ARAPAHOE COUNTY, COLORADO

A publication of

LittletonIndependent.net

VOLUME 133 | ISSUE 14

Littleton City Council approves new land-use code Move is 1st change in rules for development in nearly 40 years BY ROBERT TANN RTANN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

A monstrous clown welcomes vistors to Reinke Brothers.

PHOTO BY ROBERT TANN

Reinke brothers bring Halloween fright Siblings have been into haunted houses since childhood BY ROBERT TANN RTANN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

As a child, Greg Reinke hated being scared. Reinke remembers being 6 years old when a neighbor gave him a fright one Halloween night.

Afterward, Reinke said, he was determined to face his fears and sat in the dark in his parents’ unfinished basement waiting for the boogeyman. “I was scared to death, but he never showed up,” Reinke said. “That’s when I went ‘I got it.’” Now, more than 53 years later, Reinke and his brother, Chris, make their own boogeymen to send shivers down people’s spines. Reinke Brothers, a year-round costume store SEE REINKE, P8

Forum shares realities of homelessness Speakers urge more community involvement, understanding BY ROBERT TANN RTANN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Paula McFadden had a 21-year career at a dentist’s office before she became homeless. “I had a life event and everything got taken

away,” she said. “It’s a struggle, and you don’t know where to turn or how to start once you’ve lost everything.” McFadden joined a panel of eight other speakers during an Oct. 21 forum to inform Littleton residents about the state of homelessness in the city. The event, “Challenges of Homelessness,” was put on by the South Metro Community

INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 14 | LIFE: PAGE 16 | CALENDAR: PAGE 19 | SPORTS: PAGE 27

SEE HOMELESS, P2

Littleton City Council, during an Oct. 19 meeting, unanimously approved a sweeping new land-use code, the first in nearly 40 years, that will govern future commercial and residential development as well as set the standards for neighborhoods and the downtown area. The Unified Land Use Code (ULUC), which began being drafted in 2018, makes up part of the city’s multipronged 20-year roadmap known as the Envision Littleton Comprehensive Plan. City staff members have long rallied around a new land use code, lamenting what they have called antiquated zoning guidelines that have not been updated since the 1970s and that segregate land uses to certain parts of the city. City Manager Mark Relph called the lack of change “inexcusable” and praised the current council for having the “political will” to adopt the ULUC. “No doubt other staff members and councils of the past wanted to take on this issue and tried but I think for the first time we’ve come together here with an approach that I believe is lasting,” Ralph said. The new code will allow for expanded mixed use development, meaning commercial and residential, primarily along major corridors such as Santa Fe, Broadway and Littleton Boulevard. The plan, in certain areas, calls for up to 75 units per acre for multi-family housing and 85 units per acre for mixed-use development and could authorize the building of up to 6,500 new homes. It also outlines ways to invest in development to complement a variety of SEE LAND-USE, P15

ELECTION RESULTS ONLINE

After polls close Nov. 2, visit ColoradoCommunityMedia. com for local election coverage and results.


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