Unrolled from Bluesky
As the massive two-year @thorntonco.gov development code project pulls into the station, questions were raised about the public participation process.
Two residents opposed to the plan raised concerns about undue developer influence on the process vs. minimal opportunities for residents.
First comment starts at about 1:23:30 in the replay.
City staff countered that the public participation process was extensive, with postcards being sent to every property owner in the city along with other messaging efforts.
@thorntonco.gov has long struggled with sustaining quality, deep-level public engagement, and the development code process is no different.
Challenges are due in part to the conservative bloc on the council that has long worked to distance itself from resident engagement.
But Thornton’s geography plays no small role too with residents navigating sprawling territory to make connections across the city.
The city’s online efforts consist mostly of one-way posting on social media platforms with no spaces for sustained dialogue.
The most important engagement story from the 7/22
council meeting was the shameful lack of translation for a Spanish-speaking audience participant.
Council Member Ayala encouraged people to review council candidate financial disclosures if they are concerned about undue influence.
The first set of disclosures are posted.
However, as Ayala has also noted in earlier council meetings, there are also dark money independent expenditure efforts that can’t be tracked back to their source.
One of the best methods for tracking alignment through disclosed donations is to see which current council members are donating to which candidates.
Conservative incumbents Unrein, Kulmann, and Sandgren have all donated to their preferred candidates in the Ward 3 and 4 races.
As for the development code itself, council members present heralded it as an up-to-date solution to the problem of housing availability by increasing housing density and diversity of housing types.
That commitment to diversity and density will be tested in the future if concerns about building heights raised in past meetings remain unresolved.
The plan passed unanimously with Council Member Sandgren and Mayor Pro Tem Bigelow absent from the meeting.
Thornton Civic Observatory 