There’s no day like a snow day: Goldenites stay busy during Jan. 18 storm

BY CORINNE WESTEMAN CWESTEMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Whether shoveling or sledding, running or plowing, many Goldenites were out and about during the Jan. 18 snowstorm.

Je erson County schools and sur- rounding districts called for a snow day the night before, and several government buildings and some businesses said they’d be closed as the Denver metro area anticipated 8-12 inches of snow between Jan. 17-18. e Golden area received at least

6 inches of snow. For several spots, this was just another layer, building atop snow still lingering from earlier in the month.

Residents near Heritage Dells Park in south Golden ventured out to go sledding, go for their daily run, walk their dogs, and shovel their drive- ways and sidewalks. e Front Range could receive more snow later this week. potential exceptions for the ordinance. e idea city sta highlighted as the strongest option was creating a Special Use Permit process

Many motorists were undeterred by the blizzard-like conditions, venturing out onto the snow-covered streets, taking it slow through the Heritage Road roundabouts.

“I do like the option of creating a special use permit process for property owners that have a unique circumstance and give them the opportunity to process that with us,” Mayor Laura Weinburg, who supported the idea, said in the session.

“People are creative, and the law of unintended consequences will have a bunch of these applications in ways that we didn’t anticipate,” responded Councilor Don Cameron. “I would rather just see either meet these rules or it’s a long-term rental.”

Councilors Brown, Paul Haseman, Bill Fisher and Robert Reed all agreed.

Weinberg also pointed out, in defense of a special use permit process, that people use STRs to make “ownership in Golden a ordable so they can continue to live in that home,” and that long-term rentals is not a viable alternative for every resident.

“I don’t like the possibility of opening pandora’s box under the new code, as councilor Cameron pointed out, where it can become a business model to have a compound with multiple short-term rentals and if we allow one, we will start to get applications for multiples,” Reed said. “We got it right the rst time.”