Randy Moorman
Candidate for Arvada City Council – District 1

2025 – Answered the following questions from APA:

Learn more about Randy Moorman at randyforarvada.com

What is your plan to help the city reach 100% renewable energy use by 2035? What are some other initiatives you would champion to help Arvada become more sustainable?

Moorman: According to the city’s 2023 Greenhouse Gas Inventory, most of our emissions (40%) come from residential building energy use. To significantly reduce our emissions, we must adopt targeted strategies, including aggressively increasing renewable energy use and energy efficiency upgrades in both the residential and commercial sectors. I have advocated for the adoption of a Climate Action and Sustainability Plan (CASP) that will prioritize these strategies and provide direction for all city departments and future city plans and policies. The City Council will be approving the CASP this fall.

In order to reach 100% renewable energy use by 2035, the plan must include steps to advance neighborhood scale alternative energy such as community solar projects, networked geothermal heat pumps, and microgrids to store renewable energy and strengthen community resilience. My goal is to expand our Sustainability Division to include an advisory service to help residents and businesses find the technical and financial resources they need to transition to a net zero energy home or business. We also need to update our building codes to include the International Residential Code, The Colorado Model Electric Ready Code and the Solar Ready Code. I want to look at how we can better incentivize green building through streamlining building permits for projects that include renewable energy, electrification and energy efficiency upgrades.

As a member of the Arvada Sustainability Advisory Committee, prior to being elected to Council, I championed our effort to get organized recycling and trash service. This has brought recycling to all our residents and now we need to expand that service to include organic waste (yard trimmings and food scraps) collection for composting. We will have an opportunity in 2026, when the state’s Producer Responsibility Program for Recycling will start reimbursing cities for residential recycling services. We can then potentially use the savings from the reimbursement to pay for most or all of the cost of organics collection.

I also want to work on continuing to expand our city electric vehicle fleet and infrastructure and ensure there is equitable access for all residents. We need to work with our partners at CDOT and RTD to improve and expand public transit including the proposed Mountain Rail, Front Range Passenger Rail, and increasing the headways of the G-line to 15 minutes. I would like to see the city work more on developing and promoting community-based agriculture to help reduce emissions, increase resilience and improve food security. We must do better at integrating sustainability into our land use policy. This includes adding more incentives for affordable housing, Transit Oriented Development, and integrating land use planning with our water supply. Finally, all of our sustainability practices must be evaluated through an equity lens. We must prioritize ensuring that our strategies contribute to equity and don’t create or exacerbate inequities for our underserved or minority populations.

What does the city need to do to address the 24/7 year-round shelter needs of the homeless in Arvada, without putting the burden only on Mission Arvada?

Moorman: In the immediate term, the city is working to find an appropriate site for the severe weather shelter in Arvada. One that can accommodate housing unhoused individuals when temperatures reach 32 degrees or below with precipitation or 20 degrees or below and dry. I am working with our city manager to find a location that is out of Olde Town but is easily accessible. In April, I along with other elected officials signed a letter to Jefferson County requesting an emergency cold weather shelter plan with dedicated funding through an intergovernmental agreement (IGA). As a result of this letter and other conversations I and others have had with Jefferson County, the county held a Spring Forum on homelessness. In that meeting, I and other council members from Arvada advocated for and supported a plan to develop an IGA to provide regional support for municipal-based sheltering options with joint funding from municipalities and the county. This would mean that both the city of Arvada, Jefferson County, and other municipalities in Jefferson County would financially support a severe weather shelter in Arvada. Our city manager has been attending county meetings to develop the IGA and will be reporting back to council on August 5.

In the longer term, I and other elected officials from other municipalities are requesting Jefferson County to reconvene the county-wide forum to create a plan with funding for a northern navigation center that would include a 24/7 year-round shelter. This would be in coordination with Mission Arvada and other service providers. The city needs to find an appropriate location for the navigation center/shelter and identify long-term funding for operations. I have toured other shelters to learn of their models and continue to work with the faith community and service providers to explore options and how best to coordinate services. Along with finding a site and identifying funding, the city needs to do a comprehensive public outreach and education campaign to communicate the need and the benefits of a shelter. The navigation center/shelter needs to have public support to be successful.

Walk-ability and bike paths are increasingly popular. What are your ideas to increase the walk-ability of neighborhoods and assist the ease and safety of bicycle riders?

Moorman: One of my priorities is making our city more accessible for all, regardless of ability. We have many sections of streets that lack sidewalks or sidewalks that are not ADA complaint. The city initiated an ADA Transition Plan in 2020 and staff will return to council this year to finalize the plan. We also have the 2017 Bike Master Plan that identifies several challenges to biking in the city. These include limited and difficult bicycle connections due to barriers like I-70, US36, railroads and unincorporated areas in the city. We have major gaps in our bike lane and trail network, especially in north-south corridors. To make our city more bike friendly and safe, we need more low-stress design along arterial streets where the cyclist is separated from automobile traffic, either by lane separation or side paths. The Bike Master Plan also calls for designated bike boulevards that prioritize bicycle travel on slow speed, low-volume streets. We have seen some recent improvements, like lane separation with the W. 72nd Avenue Project and restriping along 80th Avenue and Simms Street. Additionally, we just completed a grade separation study for Little Dry Creek at Wadsworth and 80th Avenue. The recommendation for that study is to create an underpass or overpass that would allow safer travel for both cyclists and pedestrians, but we still need to find funding. I would like to see an update on the Bike Master Plan, especially as we approve the new Transportation Systems Plan.

How will you promote fair and equitable treatment of diverse and marginalized communities in terms of fair policing, economic advantages, and employment?

Moorman: First, we need to do a better job of understanding local opportunity gaps, inequality and discrimination. We need to seek more community input to fully understand the problem. I have advocated for and will continue to work to set up a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Advisory Board made up of a diverse representation of our community that will identify issues and recommend ways to address problems, including those related to policing, employment and housing. This Advisory Board will help inform the city of what policies and resources are needed. Second, we need to utilize the state’s data on disadvantaged communities (Department of Local Affairs) and the Disproportionately Impacted Community Map (Department of Public Health and the Environment) to identify where inequities exist, such as areas with less investment, housing, services, income, education, healthcare and mobility. We then need to use this data to inform the updating of our Capital Improvement Plan and Comprehensive Plan. Also, I would like to see the city work more in utilizing partnerships with Red Rocks Community College and city businesses to create greater opportunities for underrepresented populations through workforce training and entrepreneur programs.

What is your opinion about citizen-initiated resolutions presented to the council for adoption?

Moorman: I support citizen-initiated resolutions and would consider being a sponsor and bringing them before the council for consideration.

What should be done about short-term/vacation rentals in Arvada?

Moorman: First, we must improve the enforcement of our current ordinance requiring short-term rentals to be licensed. We currently have around 500 unlicensed short-term rentals in the city. This makes it difficult to enforce our current laws when there is no contact to resolve the issue. The city is in the process now of hiring a 3rd party vendor to manage short-term rentals—to get unlicensed properties in compliance and field complaints 24/7. In addition to improving enforcement of our current ordinance, staff will be returning soon to the City Council with potential code changes. I am open to considering new requirements, such as restricting the number of vehicles that can be parked, requiring a minimum number of nights for each stay, and requiring the property owner to live on the property, at least for a certain amount of time during the year. Short-term rentals can be a benefit for our residents seeking additional income, but some bad players can have a negative impact on our neighborhoods. I want to work to find the right balance that allows short-term rentals to continue, but greatly reduces the negative impacts, such as noise disturbances and disruptive parties.

What would you do to improve the physical and mental health of Arvada residents?

Moorman: I believe as a city, we have a responsibility to work to enhance the quality of life for all residents. I want to ensure that all Arvadans have opportunities to live, work and play in our great city. Having equitable access to services and programs, viable transportation options, parks and trails, affordable and attainable housing, clean air and water, and climate and fire mitigation and resiliency strategies all combine to help residents have healthy lives, both mental and physical. I will continue to advocate that our city fund and expand these priorities.

Neighborhood schools strengthen communities. How would you work with Jeffco School District to ensure equitable access to neighborhood K-12 schools, preschools, and other educational opportunities in all areas of the city?

Moorman: As a former teacher and son of teachers, I understand the importance of community support for student success. I think as a city, we can do better to partner with Jeffco School District to ensure that every student has access to resources, both in school and outside of school, including community support like tutoring, childcare, after school care, affordable housing, transportation, healthy food, and job training. We can help foster partnerships with organizations and businesses supporting schools and students. We can also do more to invest in early childhood development, making sure that our residents have access to quality and affordable pre-K education.

The recent announcement of numerous new business enterprises (Quantum Commons, Electra Steel, an aerospace industry, a massive AI data center at NREL Flatirons campus, etc.) will cause an influx of population and traffic. What specific steps should the City of Arvada take to update policies to meet the rental and ownership housing needs (both affordable and market driven), transportation, and infrastructure needs of west Arvada/Jeffco’s current and future workforce?

Moorman: We have a great opportunity with the potential of these new businesses to bring in living wage jobs. We need to be planning and making investments now in transportation, housing and infrastructure needs to support the influx of this population in a sustainable way. First, we are already involved in the planning for the Mountain Rail that will provide some commuter and recreational travel opportunities in this region of our city. As we prioritize transportation projects through the Transportation Systems Plan, this region needs to be a priority in making sure it is multi-modal and connected to other parts of our city to reduce traffic congestion and air pollution. We have to put pressure on RTD to include this region in its planning so that these new residents and our current residents in west Arvada can be better served by public transit. Additionally, we need to incentivize and attract both higher density affordable housing to accommodate these new residents and bring in businesses that provide necessary services like dental and medical services. A critical opportunity to plan for this growth is through the update of our comprehensive plan. This can direct the type of development we want to meet the needs of these new residents.

Parking is an issue in Olde Town, there is ample parking in the RTD garage, how can the city make parking in the garage more attractive and useful? What is your position on parking fees for the close in lots and spaces in Olde Town?

Moorman: City staff have presented a workshop on metered parking on Olde Town streets and parking lots. I am in support of us pursing this strategy, as it has been shown in other communities to keep vehicles moving in popular areas and encourage greater use of free parking garages. I understand there is some hesitancy from some businesses and therefore recommend we start it out as a pilot, maybe just on weekends during the busiest times. If the pilot goes well, it can be expanded to other times. I think disability parking should remain free in Olde Town and I strongly advocate for a small commuter bus or vehicle that will transport people from the parking garage to businesses and restaurants.