within that radius.

Chapter 3 is “Housing.” Val Lundy, who served on the housing subcommittee, said they spent a lot of time discussing the difference between “attainable housing” and “affordable housing.”

“The word ‘attainable’ doesn’t offend people like ‘affordable’ does,” she said. “We tried to avoid ‘trigger words.’ People do what they have to do.”

Commissioner Larry Larsen said the chapter still needs to define “affordable housing.”

Riley suggested adding the Housing and Urban Development definition of affordability — that housing and utilities combined cost no more than 30% of a household’s annual income. This definition looks at the (household’s) entire lifestyle, she said. “If the household spends more than 30 percent of its income on housing, the cost-burden means it won’t have the 70 percent to cover its other needs such as food, transportation and healthcare.”

One of the chapter’s objectives is to promote stable and safe neighborhoods and provide a variety of housing options. One way to meet that objective is to build more flexibility into the city’s regulations on accessory dwelling units and in-fill projects.

Chapter 4 is “Community Character and Design.” This chapter’s goal is to enhance the city’s small-town atmosphere while promoting its Mountain-Western theme and creating a sense of entry by enhancing the city’s gateways and way-finding systems.

The chapter includes conceptual drawings of what the downtown could look like once a reliever route is constructed and the city can take back its main street.

Chapter 5, “City Finances,” states: “City Finance is closely related to all other chapters in this document. Parks, trails, recreational amenities, roads, utilities, events, and infrastructure all come with a cost; however, those features ensure the health, safety, vitality, and tourism that make Woodland Park a great place to live and play.”

To maintain healthy city finances requires good stewardship of taxpayer dollars and fiscal responsibility. One proposed action item is to explore re-establishing the city’s Economic Development Office to identify new revenue sources and support new businesses.

“By not having an economic development office, we’re telling new businesses that the city doesn’t care,” Larsen said.

Other actions include looking for efficiencies, diversifying city revenue sources and looking at peer cities for ideas.

Riley updated the commissioners on an item that was sent back to its subcommittee — a section in Chapter 9, “Community Wellbeing,” titled “Civility.” The subcommittee decided to move this item to the “Good Governance” section of Chapter 7, “Sustainability,” and change its name to “Civic Sustainability.”

Civic sustainability includes developing a Woodland Park Public Relations Campaign, adding a public-civility module to the Citizens Academy curriculum and encouraging voter registration and participation, Riley said.

The commission will take one last look at the entire document in a 6 p.m. work session on Sept. 23. This will be followed by a regular meeting at 7.