Lafayette to Erie: You're wrong

 A few weeks ago, we reported on exciting news regarding Erie, Lafayette and Boulder County’s interest in jointly buying the land at 119^th and Baseline as open space.

Apparently that news was too exciting for Lafayette leaders.

Following a closed-door executive session on Sept. 2 “to receive legal advice on specific legal questions concerning statutory annexation procedures, the City’s obligations under pre-annexation and annexation agreements, and due process requirements for related quasi-judicial proceedings involving pending annexation applications,” the Lafayette City Council issued the following letter:

September 10, 2025

Dear Mayor and Members of the Erie Town Council,

On behalf of the City of Lafayette’s City Council we are writing regarding statements made during your August 26, 2025, Town Council meeting concerning the City of Lafayette’s alleged role in Erie’s efforts to acquire a parcel of land located northwest of 119th Street and Baseline Road for open space.

At that meeting, it was stated the City of Lafayette would be “taking the lead” in pursuing a joint acquisition of the property. This statement is not accurate. The parcel is currently under contract for sale to a private party, and both it and an adjacent parcel to the south are the subject of a binding Pre-Annexation Agreement with the City. Under this agreement, the City committed to process the owners’ petition for annexation in accordance with state law and to support mixed-use residential and commercial zoning for the parcels. The owners, in turn,

agreed to petition for annexation to Lafayette within ten years, and the City agreed to promptly process that petition. This agreement is enforceable by both parties.

As background for the Pre-Annexation Agreement, you may be aware that, in recent years, the City of Lafayette invested nearly $8.5 million to add more than 176 acres of open space along 119th Street and Baseline Road. These acquisitions included the Waneka Centennial Farm (purchased with Boulder County in 2019), 15 acres of Waneka’s property along the Burlington Trail and Emma Street in 2020, and 23.5 acres at the former Lowe’s-Waneka site. These purchases expanded the City’s open space portfolio to over 1,640 acres.

During these acquisitions, the City and the Waneka family discussed the family’s plans to develop the parcels northwest and southwest of 119th and Baseline. Those parcels were identified in Lafayette’s pre-2021 comprehensive plan as opportunity areas for annexation and development, and are designated for mixed-use commercial and residential use in the City’s 2021 Legacy Lafayette comprehensive plan. The discussions resulted in the binding Pre-Annexation Agreement, which aligns with the Global Settlement Agreement’s influence area for Lafayette.

On April 1, 2025, the City Council accepted an annexation petition for the parcels and initiated the annexation process. Because the annexation process is underway and the Pre-Annexation Agreement is in effect, the City Council will not engage in discussions about alternate uses for the parcels, including their potential acquisition for open space.

We request that the Erie Town Council publicly correct the record to ensure clarity, accuracy, and transparency for your Council, your residents, and ours. It is important that any discussions your Council has about matters affecting Lafayette are based on accurate information so that we can maintain the trust of the public and continue to work together productively.

We look forward to continuing to collaborate with you on issues of mutual concern, and we appreciate your prompt attention to this matter. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you would like to discuss further.

Sincerely,

Mayor JD Mangat

Mayor Pro Tem Brian Wong

Councilor Tim Barnes

Councilor David Fridland

Councilor Crystal Gallegos

Councilor Nicole Samson

Councilor Saul Tapia Vega

Setting the record straight

There’s an inaccuracy in this letter, which we’ve highlighted in bold.  

As background for the Pre-Annexation Agreement, you may be aware that, in recent years, the City of Lafayette invested nearly $8.5 million to add more than 176 acres of open space along 119th Street and Baseline Road. These acquisitions included the Waneka Centennial Farm (purchased with Boulder County in 2019), 15 acres of Waneka’s property along the Burlington Trail and Emma Street in 2020, and 23.5 acres at the former Lowe’s-Waneka site. These purchases expanded the City’s open space portfolio to over 1,640 acres.

According to city and county records, in 2019, the city (not the city and county) paid $650,000 for the Waneka Centennial Farm and its surrounding land.

Here’s what city resolution 2019-64 says: WHEREAS, the City has agreed to purchase the remaining approximately 4.586 acres of the Property on which the Waneka family’s historic barn, storage structures, and residence are situated, which shall be known as the “Waneka Centennial Farm,” which will be used by the City for open space operations and purposes, and which the County has agreed to subdivide from the Waneka Centennial Farm Open Space as part of the acquisition.

County property records also show the city alone owns the Waneka Centennial Farm. 

Erie’s response

On Sept. 16, the Erie Town Council called a special meeting in which they discussed this letter from Lafayette and Erie’s response. You can watch that two-minute discussion here, starting at 2:03.

Town Manager Malcolm Fleming said, “I think [Lafayette’s] comments were in response to some things that [Erie Director of Parks & Recreation] Luke [Bolinger] said based on his understanding at the time. We thought they were going to take the lead on this [open space acquisition]. That is not the case.”

(For background, as we reported in our Sept. 1 newsletter, during the Erie Town Council meeting on Aug. 26, Bolinger said during the week of Aug. 17, he talked with both Boulder County and Lafayette staff about working together to buy the land as open space.)

Erie Mayor Andrew Moore said he spoke to Lafayette Mayor JD Mangat and “he indicated that it is in play now with the developer, but in their code they have had referendums from their citizens coming out to stop them, and he doesn’t know which way it’s going to go ultimately with that. But if the door does open, at least we’re on the record that we would partner with Lafayette and the county.”

(Note: Preserve Lafayette members have told Lafayette council members many times that if they vote to rezone and annex this land for development, we will challenge the annexation at the ballot box, as allowed under city and state law. We’ve told the developer this as well.)

Moore then asked the Erie council if anyone was against him sending the following letter in response to Lafayette’s letter. Councilors said they supported sending this letter.

September 16, 2025

Dear Mayor Mangat and Members of the Lafayette City Council,

Thank you for your letter clarifying the City of Lafayette’s position regarding the 26-acre property located at the NW corner of 119th Street and Baseline Road. Your letter makes clear that the parcel is currently under contract for sale to a private party, and both it and an adjacent parcel to the south are the subject of a binding Pre-Annexation Agreement with the City of Lafayette. Further, we understand that Agreement commits the City to process the owners’ petition for annexation and to support mixed-use residential and commercial zoning for the parcels. Further, because the annexation process is underway and the Pre-Annexation Agreement is in effect, the Lafayette City Council will not engage in discussions about alternate uses for the parcels, including their potential acquisition for open space.

This information is contrary to Town staff’s understanding and their comments during the Erie

Town Council’s August 26 meeting. Specifically, Town staff said they understood Lafayette would be taking the lead on efforts to jointly acquire the property for open space purposes. Thank you for clarifying this is not the case. Since the City of Lafayette is subject to the terms of a binding Pre-Annexation Agreement, and per your request, the Town of Erie understands the City of Lafayette will not pursue acquisition of the property for open space purposes. We will honor that position.

Please let us know if circumstances change and you are interested in discussing this matter further, as we would be interested in jointly—with the City of Lafayette and Boulder County—acquiring this property as an open space buffer between our communities.

We appreciate your clarification on this matter and look forward to continuing to collaborate with you on issues of mutual concern.

Andrew J. Moore

Mayor

What you can do

• Tell the Lafayette City Council what you think about all of this. You can email, call or text your councilors about your support for acquiring the land at 119^th and Baseline as open space.

• Pay attention to the upcoming city council election! Four of the seven council seats are up for election on Nov. 4, so it’s vital to know where those potential new councilors stand on the key issues of annexation and preserving this property as open space. Here’s how to contact the candidates.  

• Let the Erie Town Council and Boulder County Board of County Commissioners know you support their work to preserve this land as open space. It will take all of us pulling together to achieve our vision.

• And if you haven’t already, please sign our petition and make a comment.

Thanks, as always, for your passion and commitment to keeping Lafayette’s eastern gateway a rural haven for centuries to come. Your voice matters!

The Preserve Lafayette team