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The Sentinel not only cares deeply about bringing our readers accurate and critical news, we insist all of the crucial stories we provide are available for everyone — for free.
Like you, we know how critical accurate and dependable information and facts are in making the best decisions about, well, everything that matters. Factual reporting is crucial to a sound democracy, a solid community and a satisfying life.
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Sentinel Colorado
The source for greater Aurora, Colorado
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AURORA | City lawmakers tonight will consider advancing a new Socioeconomic Impact Permit that would regulate the density and operations of certain businesses linked to blight and crime in lower-income neighborhoods. It’s part of a growing effort to balance retail development and public safety along corridors such as East Colfax.
“When you have these concentrated sales and services that are targeted, sometimes called poverty industry or predatory economics, towards lower income or historically disadvantaged communities, it gives you a feeling of social disorder and blight,” Trevor Vaughn, manager of licensing and finance, said during a Public Safety, Courts and Civil Service Policy Committee meeting in September.
The proposed Socioeconomic Impact Permit would apply to certain retail operations, such as liquor stores, vape and smoke shops, pawnshops, payday lenders and extended-stay motels.
Research has found that when such businesses are clustered together, they can contribute to blight, public safety concerns, and negative economic outcomes when heavily concentrated in specific neighborhoods, according to Trevor Vaughn, manager of licensing and finance, who presented the permit during a Public Safety, Courts and Civil Service Policy Committee meeting in September.
“Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design is basically how you would build it,” Vaughn said. “Using the proper design, effective use of the built environment to reduce the incidence of crime and fear of crime and improve the quality of life.”
Councilmember Danielle Jurinsky, who sponsored the ordinance, has been working with Vaughn to create a way to deter businesses that attract crime and, in turn, can contribute to urban decay in areas around the city.
The new permit is modeled after equity-based land-use policies recommended by the American Planning Association’s Equity in Zoning Guide, which encourages cities to prevent the overconcentration of “health-compromising” businesses in historically disadvantaged areas, according to the city council packet.
The intent is not to punish existing stores, Jurinsky said in September, but to prevent new clusters of targeted businesses from forming.
Existing businesses would be automatically “grandfathered in” and issued a permit alongside their regular business license, at no initial cost.
New applicants would face spacing and operational requirements based on Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) principles and Risk Terrain Modeling (RTM), a data-driven method that maps areas of elevated crime risk, according to staff.
The draft ordinance establishes several separation rules according to the packet:
- No new businesses of the same type within 2,000 feet of one another (e.g., liquor store to liquor store).
- No “Socioeconomic Impact” operation within 300 feet of another such business.
- No operation within 1,000 feet of an extended-stay motel.
- No operation within 500 feet of a major transit hub, such as a light-rail station or large bus junction.
- No operation in a retail center with more than 50% vacancy or visible blight.
Bars, hookah lounges and event centers operating after midnight would not be subject to spacing limits but could still be evaluated under operational standards, Vaughn said.
The city identified an estimated 350 businesses that fall under the ordinance, including 131 convenience stores that sell alcohol or tobacco, 85 liquor stores, 59 vape or smoke shops and smaller numbers of pawnshops, payday lenders, and rent-to-own stores.
“This idea of trying to not let businesses concentrate, we’ve done some, but it’s been more of businesses of the same kind,” Jason Batchelor, city manager, said in September. “I think Trevor did a great job of highlighting that more predatory ecosystem, and looking at it from a broader standpoint.”
Vaughn said they added a new “healthy small grocery store” exemption to encourage greater access to fresh produce and healthy food options and to prevent food deserts. They plan to use language that distinguishes from grocery stores, by defining vape shops as stores where 15% of their floor space or 50% or more of the store’s sales come from vape or smoke shop products.
“We exclude large-format grocery stores,” Vaughn said. “We’ve talked about food deserts and potentially not discouraging them from locating in the city.”
Specialty second-hand shops will be excluded from the second-hand buyers part because the city doesn’t want to discourage thrift, fashion or comics or collectible stores, Vaughn said.
The ordinance will also be featured in a regulatory newsletter and posted on the city’s website for public input.
The measure is structured as an operations permit rather than a zoning amendment because it deals with dynamic factors like crime risk and business behavior, Vaughn said.
Under the plan, permits could be revoked if a business repeatedly violates nuisance laws, closes for six months or longer, or shows a “pattern of neglect.” Incorporating CPTED improvements could be considered a mitigating factor during review.
The city is also exploring the purchase of Risk Terrain Modeling software, estimated to cost about $24,000 annually, to identify and track high-risk areas. A small biennial permit renewal fee of approximately $130 per business could be charged to cover that expense, according to the packet.
“One thing that I wanted to highlight of this, which you and I both agreed on, was that any existing businesses will not pay for this permit initially,“ Jurinsky said.
The proposal pairs with Aurora’s recently adopted derelict property ordinance, which targets neglected commercial sites and is intended to further pressure landlords to reinvest in aging shopping centers.
Jurinsky said that the “grandfathered” businesses would still be monitored through the derelict buildings ordinance, and if that business were to ever have to close, the location would be subject to the new permitting that is being proposed.
The ordinance is scheduled for discussion during the city council study session Monday night.
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