Moving Marijuana License Renewal from Every Year to Every Two Years

In 2000, medical marijuana was legalized in Colorado and subsequently in 2012, the sale, possession, and consumption of recreational marijuana was also legalized. During the 2024 Colorado Legislative Session, the State legislature passed a law that allows state marijuana licenses to extend to a two-year renewal period at the state level, and allows local licensing authorities, such as the Town of Frisco, to determine if a town-issued license should also move to a two-year licensing period. Businesses which sell marijuana and are in Colorado must hold a State-issued marijuana license, and businesses located within Frisco town limits must also hold a Town-issued marijuana license.

During the September 24 work session, staff sought direction from Council regarding whether to extend the licensing period for both retail and medical marijuana licenses from a period of one year to two years, which would align with State licensing processes. Town Council gave staff direction to return with an ordinance extending the licensing period from one year to two years.

Proposed Dumpster Enclosure Code Amendments

Town of Frisco Community Development Director, Katie Kent, presented proposed amendments to the code of ordinances regarding universal recycling. Ordinance 22-04 requires all commercial customers, including Homeowner Associations (HOAs), to have recycling containers onsite on or before June 1, 2025. Per Frisco Town Code, Chapter §180-6.17, these recycling containers must be kept in an enclosure that contains four walls and a roof.

Concerns have been raised by existing developments (primarily HOAs) regarding the requirement to add screening for these recycling facilities. The addition of recycling is not a concern, but the cost of designing and constructing the required enclosure, that includes four walls and a roof, is the concern. Some developments have also voiced concerns over the added space they need to find to provide the required recycling and screening facilities. The current code allows a development to convert up to three parking spaces for refuse/recycling facilities, and developments have stated that it is not feasible to give up parking spaces due to all spaces being assigned and necessary for residential unit parking and/or commercial unit customer parking.

Staff requested Council review the following options and give direction on whether Town code should be amended:

1. No Changes: Continue to require and enforce Chapter 180 of the Code that requires full screening (four walls and a roof) for these recycling enclosures by June 1, 2025.
2. Amend the Code: One proposed code amendment could allow existing developments to be exempt from screening requirements as they install recycling facilities. The developments would still be required to have recycling containers, but they would not be required to screen them. The recycling containers would still need to be wildlife resistant. Another proposed code amendment could allow partial screening (ex: four walls but no roof), with the proposed structure still meeting all building and safety codes.

Council gave staff direction to move forward with bringing code changes to Council that will allow multifamily residential, mixed-use, and non-residential developments, which have been constructed and received certificate of occupancies by March 22, 2022, to be exempt from screening requirements. These developments would still need to meet certain requirements that respect the concerns of neighbors and for wildlife:

• Recycling facilities would need to be wildlife resistant
• Adequate space should exist for the recycling collection facility to be accessed by service vehicles
• The homeowner’s association/property owner would need to have a signed an agreement with the Community Development Director stipulating that the building will maintain a contract for on-going recycling services, and the facility will be wildlife resistant
• Screening from public areas, including right of ways, public lands, etc… and adjacent properties, would need to be provided
• Screening could be achieved in various forms, including but not limited to walls, fences, mature landscaping, or other methods proposed by the applicant and deemed acceptable by the Community Development Director

This code change ordinance will be presented to Town Council for consideration at a future Town Council meeting.

Nonprofit Community Impact & Common Grant Award Recommendations

On an annual basis, the Town of Frisco considers requests from 501c3 non-profits for in-kind services and micro grants up to $5,000 through the Summit County common grant application. This year, the Town received 71 applications for the micro grant and/or in-kind services request process.

In 2023, the Town of Frisco introduced a new Frisco Community Impact Grant Program for 2024, which has been continued into the 2025 grant year. The purpose of this grant is to create a formal, annual process for evaluating investments in nonprofit projects that support the Town’s goals within the budget cycle and that have an exceptional impact on the Frisco community, requiring a higher level of support. These types of funds have often been presented to Council and considered outside of the budget cycle, which created challenges with fairly evaluating requests and honoring budgetary constraints. This year, the Town received seven applications for the Community Impact Grant program.

A subcommittee of two Town Council Members and Town staff reviewed all nonprofit grant applications and presented their funding recommendations to Council during the September 24, 2024 work session. The staff memo gives a summary of the proposed recommendations. Also, the staff memo outlined the many ways beyond these two grant opportunities that the Town supports non-profits annually, which includes but is not limited to countywide distribution of the nicotine tax and nonprofit opportunities to support Frisco’s special events. In 2023, Frisco’s support for non-profits totaled $965,785 across all funding opportunities and grants. For 2025, Council approved the micro and Community Impact Grant recommendations that were presented.

Broadband Deployment Feasibility Discussion

The Town of Frisco has been exploring broadband services for several years with initial discussions dating back to 2013 during the Step Up Main Street project, when plans to install fiber conduit were ultimately abandoned due to cost. Nonetheless, Town Council recognized fiber infrastructure as crucial to Frisco’s economic future and resident connectivity, and subsequently in April 2018, over 90% of Frisco voters opted out of Senate Bill 152, a 2005 law that restricted local control over broadband services. This voter decision opened the door for the Town to invest in its own broadband infrastructure. Early in 2019, concerns over declining cell service reignited Council discussions on how a fiber network could improve both cellular and internet services, potentially enabling Townwide Wi-Fi. These issues were further echoed in public comments during the adoption of the 2019 Community Plan.

To address this, in February 2020, Frisco Town Council passed a “dig once” ordinance, requiring joint trenching and conduit installation during utility work in Town rights-of-way. This ordinance has been applied in various areas, including Granite Street, to install conduit for future broadband use. Also in 2020, the Northwest Colorado Council of Governments (NWCCOG) completed Project Thor, a middle-mile network designed to bring reliable broadband to communities across western Colorado. Concurrently, Town staff were in discussions with NWCCOG about the Thor project, as well as Summit County Government and the Towns of Silverthorne, Breckenridge, Dillon, and Blue River about how to work together to secure grant funding. Since then, several municipalities in Summit County have connected to Project Thor to provide broadband services to municipal buildings and residents.

In 2022, the Town Council began more serious discussions about establishing a comprehensive broadband strategy and directed staff to hire a consulting firm for this purpose. The Town issued a request for proposals (RFP) in 2023 for a broadband strategic plan. However, no contract was awarded, and the project was deferred for a year.

In 2024, the Town was in a better position to pursue broadband options and issued a new RFP for a broadband feasibility report and design with a phased approach that would address both municipal infrastructure and the broader community. A contract was awarded to Bonfire Consulting in early 2024. By August 2024, Bonfire had completed a feasibility report, which provided critical analysis of existing broadband options, competition, community feedback, financial modeling, and high-level network designs for both municipal buildings and key community facilities. This report offers a roadmap for addressing the Town’s infrastructure needs and broader broadband requirements, helping to shape the future of connectivity in Frisco.

Highlights from the feasibility report, resident survey, and staff report include the following:

• Xfinity provides coverage to 99.8% of Frisco with speeds up to 1200/35 MBPS download/upload speeds
• Lumen, AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and satellite internet provides offer services at slower speeds. Resident speed tests
• Resident speed tests show a median Xfinity speed of 207 / 24 Mbps upload/download
• 43% of residential respondents said they would definitely switch providers and 50% said they would consider switching
• 82% of business respondents stated they would switch providers
• Residential and business respondents cited a desire for faster speeds, lower costs, and greater reliability as primary reasons for considering switching providers
• Several private sector providers are interested in building broadband in the Town
• Frisco has high housing density and resident desire for another provider, but also has high construction costs due to subsurface ground conditions

The Town is currently challenged under its own existing broadband options. Town facilities utilize Xfinity business internet services. While Xfinity can meet many of the Town’s needs for internet, it generally does not offer 1 gbps symmetrical speeds that a fiber network could provide (upload speeds are significantly slower on the Town’s current service), there are service outages which occur occasionally at Town facilities, a separate Lumen copper ethernet system is required between Town facilities to provide a secure network and results in slow speeds for the Town servers, there are no internet services at most Town water facilities, there are not “dark fiber” options with Xfinity (dark fiber are fiber strands that are dedicated only to Town use for additional control and security), and the Town does not currently have other options for service.

Town Council gave staff direction to continue with the design for a first phase that would include a Town owned and operated fiber backbone connecting nine town facilities, including water infrastructure, as well as budgeting of $2.25 million in 2025 for the construction of this portion of Phase 1a. Council also directed staff to release an RFP to gauge interest for a possible public-private-partnership to deliver broadband services to Frisco’s business and residential communities.

Town Selling Four Homes Through Housing Helps

In 2019, Frisco Town Council established the framework for the Frisco Housing Helps Program through Resolution 19-31. The Housing Helps program was established to help residents obtain and maintain affordable housing, assist businesses with housing their employees, incentivize investment in local housing, and help preserve the character of the Frisco community. Housing Helps is one of the strategies deployed to address Town Council’s priority goal to implement housing solutions.

In December 2020, the Town purchased 500 Bill Ranch Road Unit C-111, a one-bedroom condominium, and in 2024, the Town purchased three additional units located at 220 Galena Street units 1 and 2, two-bedroom condominiums, and 99 Granite Street unit 210, a studio. The intent of these purchases is for the Town to purchase market rate units, establish deed restriction on the properties, and then sell each property at a reduced price that is based on the most recent Area Median Income (AMI) limits. The Town is proposing that all four units be sold at a 100% AMI level.

AMI and Housing Cost

The AMI selection was based on unit size, Town investment costs, community need, and the Town’s commitment to State Proposition 123 which supports increasing the amount of affordable housing. Therefore, a qualified owner’s income based on a two-bedroom may not exceed $97,500 with a maximum sale price of $374,516, an owner’s income base on a one-bedroom may not exceed $91,400 with a maximum sale price of $298,110, and an owner’s income based on a studio may not exceed with a maximum sale price of $272,641.

Housing Lottery

In cooperation with the Summit Combined Housing Authority (SCHA) and Omni Real Estate, a lottery system has been developed to select potential buyers for the units; this process is much like what was used at Smith Ranch. Two to four units will be available in the lottery, depending on whether renters currently in two of the units wish to purchase the units. Units will have individual lotteries to select the order in which qualified applicants will have the opportunity to purchase a unit. SCHA will assist the Town by receiving and processing applications from prospective buyers. Once an applicant has been qualified by SCHA, the applicant will receive one or two tickets based on criteria established in the lottery system. Those criteria are:

1. Applicant(s) work for a business or organization operating within one mile of the Ten Mile Basin (in summary- Copper; Frisco, including the hospital, County Commons, and the middle school; and Farmer’s Corner, including the high school) and average 30 hours per week on an annual basis will receive one ticket.
2. An additional entry into the lottery will be given to applicants currently living or working in the Town of Frisco and who have done so continuously for at least five years prior to the date of application. Frisco employment must be an average of 30 hours per week on an annual basis within the Town limits. Current residency must be within the Town limits. Applicants meeting one or both priority criteria will receive a total of one additional entry in the lottery. In summary, there will be a two-entry maximum per applicant.

The Town’s real estate broker, Omni Real Estate, will assist the Town in processing all legal agreements, providing disclosures, communicating with clients, marketing, and holding open houses for prospective buyers. Omni Real Estate will be retaining the open listing for each property for 10 calendar days. Tentatively, the Town believes that applications for the lottery will open in October. Interested residents should start the process of finding housing through SCHA and finding out about workforce housing opportunities like this by filling out the SCHA preliminary applicant screening form.  

Why do these home sales need to be approved by ordinance?

Per the Colorado Revised Statutes section 31-15-713(b), the Town must authorize the selling of Town owned real property by ordinance. Staff is evaluating future buy back purchases that would be initiated by Frisco Housing Authority, which would eliminate the need for future Town Council authorization.

Council approved sale of these four units through Ordinance 24-14 on the second reading, with a possible application process beginning in October.

Liquor License Renewal Moving to Two Years

During the most recent State legislative session, Senate Bill 24-231 was passed to revise liquor licensing rules, including renewal periods, and it went into effect on August 7, 2024. Ordinance 24-09 moves certain qualifying liquor license renewals in Frisco from one year to two years, to match the State Liquor Enforcement Division.

Town Council approved Ordinance 24-09 on the second reading.

Frisco Town Council Meetings: Ways to Participate

Frisco Town Council meetings are available to view via Zoom and YouTube, and are also held in person to make Town Council meetings easier to access for everyone.

The public can provide comment during meetings via Zoom or in person (not YouTube), and a public comment period will be available at 7:00pm; during the consideration of ordinances; and at the discretion of Town Council during work session items, which are discussions that don’t require a formal vote by Town Council and do not require public comment. Again, this hybrid approach is intended to make Town Council meetings more accessible, and meeting recordings will typically also be made available the day after a meeting in the meeting archive with agenda topics bookmarked to the discussions in the video.