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Meet Mike
Background
Mike grew up in the south spending most of his time living in Florida and Louisiana. Throughout his childhood and early life Mike lived in dense apartments, the wooded countryside, trailer parks, and suburban communities. Access to amenities and opportunities to play varied, but Mike always made friends wherever he went. From his childhood, two things stuck with him that influenced his work today, communities need people and people need accessibility.
Mike met his wife, Abby, while studying for his Bachelors of Landscape Architecture at Louisiana State University. Together they then moved to Colorado to attend the University of Colorado at Denver. After graduating with a Masters of Landscape Architecture and Masters of Urban Design, Mike and Abby got married and moved to Arvada settling into a home that was originally built in Olde Town Arvada 110 years ago, preserved and moved to its current location on W. 62nd Avenue in the late 1980’s.
Mike and Abby are parents of a kindergartner, preschooler and now new baby.
Landscape Architect & Urban Design Professional
Mike is a licensed Landscape Architect and Urban Designer who works with architects, developers, city planners, engineers and contractors in a highly collaborative environment across the State of Colorado. Mike has led green infrastructure and placemaking projects in the Denver Metro Area including:
- Miles of people focused streetscapes that connect people with multimodal transit options and celebrate their communities, such as:
- Brighton Boulevard
- South Federal Boulevard
- 16th Street Mall
- Auraria Campus 10th Street
- Mike achieved the highest scoring LEED Neighborhood Development Gold project in Colorado with the South Sloans Lake project. This community includes 20% affordable housing and integrated increased density and amenities into the existing single-family neighborhood fabric.
- At McGregor Square, Mike helped to create the largest central block plaza in Downtown Denver, freely accessible to the public creating a highly amenitized and vibrant public space.
- Mike has helped to reforesting the front range with over 500 trees through his professional and private tree planting initiatives.
Currently, Mike is leading the Arvada Transportation Study to create the first comprehensive plan in Arvada’s history. Read more on Mike's Blog.
Mike is also a professor at the University of Colorado at Denver where he teaches graduate level students working towards their design professional degrees. He is very proud that 100% of his students get job placement after graduation.
Service
Chair of the Arvada Planning Commission
Mike is currently the volunteer, appointed Chair of the City of Arvada’s Planning commission. Mike was a past Vice Chair and has been selected three-times over by his colleagues to serve as Chair of the Arvada Planning Commission. Mike helps to lead the review of development applications that will go before the Arvada City Council. Mike has overseen dozens of important new developments and provided informed guidance to the City Council members that has led to better design negotiations for our community. Mike's last term on the Planning Commission starts March 2025.
Chair of the Arvada Board of Adjustments
Mike was appointed to the Chair of the Arvada Board of Adjustments in 2022 to review residents' appeals of the zoning ordinance and requests for variances to the Land Development Code.
Board Member of the Olde Town Business District (BID)
Mike currently serves as a Board Member of the Olde Town Business District (BID). Their mission is to “preserve, promote and enhance the vibrancy of Olde Town.” Mike lends his professional expertise by serving as Chair of the Placemaking Committee, where he worked extensively on ways to enhance Olde Town's amenities during the holiday season with the annual ice rink installation and merchant booths. Mike's innovative solutions has saved the organization over $50,000 by creating a sustainable ice rink and reusing materials.
Supporting our Local Businesses
For over a decade, Mike has been volunteering his time for our community. Most notable is his involvement in the Arvada Resiliency Task Force during 2020 where he used his professional experience and knowledge to help reimagine the uses for public spaces in Olde Town Arvada. He also worked alongside current council members to build warming huts in his front yard and delivered homemade hand sanitizer to the Olde Town District.
Contributing Member of the Land Code Development Advisory Committee
Mike was a part of the 2020 Land Development Code Advisory Committee where he provided professional insight and firsthand knowledge of code application for the update. The Land Code provides more predictability and streamlined processes for all developments. This code update will reduce unnecessary burdens on developers and clarify the process for citizens. Mike attended numerous committee meetings with city staff, council members, citizens, and planners that led to the revised Land Development Code.