Cell: 970-528-0412 (call or text)

Email: sarah.rothberg@cityofloveland.org

Have a group of neighbors that get together (like a politically focused group, a religious group, a book club that likes to discuss what’s going on in Loveland)? I’d be happy to attend!

You can also find upcoming town hall information on the calendar.

Over the past month, I’ve received many thoughtful questions from neighbors about data centers.

Transparency is a top priority for me, so I created this Q&A to break down what’s happening and how we can work together on this.

TLDR: Our one-year data center application suspension (moratorium) protects our city and gives us time to update our rules and regulations.

The city council is reviewing potential Unified Development Code (UDC) updates that, if passed, will help us get more housing at affordable prices. I have compiled this Q&A using the city’s Code Change Fact Sheet as well as other relevant resources.

TLDR: The proposed UDC changes will:

• Help new housing better reflect today’s housing market (what buyers want and can afford)

• Allow for a wider range of housing types (including smaller single-family homes and Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs))

• Deliver more housing at more affordable prices

• Simplify and modernize housing standards (making the UDC easier to use and understand)

Participatory budgeting is a democratic process that gives voters control over a portion of the general fund.

It’s your money, you should decide how it gets spent! 

Participatory budgeting is “used in 7,000 cities around the world, and has been used to decide budgets from states, counties, cities, housing authorities, schools, and other institutions.”

We would meet as a city, propose projects we want to see funded, and vote on our top ideas. The top ideas then go to our city employees, who create plans based on the proposals, and then those plans go to the voters. The plans will be added to the standard ballot schedule.

Driving on 34 in 2016 was a completely different experience from today. One thing is clear: if we keep doing what we have been doing, traffic will only get worse. We need more options to get around town. We can do this by adding protected bike and walking routes and investing in our public transit system so the buses can run more frequently.

I support a city model with more transit options, where everything you need on a day-to-day basis (jobs, schools, grocery stores, healthcare, and leisure activities) is a short walk, bike, or public transit ride.