Let's pack city hall and speak out for open space!

Bookmark Tuesday, May 20 at 6 p.m. That’s the first Lafayette City Council public hearing regarding a Texas developer’s plan to turn the rural land at Baseline and 119th into a massive new residential and commercial complex.

This meeting is your first chance to tell the council on the record why you’d like this land to be open space and not annexed for development. Here’s what you need to know.

WHAT THE MEETING’S ABOUT. Council is scheduled to have a public hearing followed by a vote on Texas developer Kairoi Residential's annexation petition for the northwest and southwest parcels at the corner of Baseline and 119th.

Even if the council votes yes, this DOES NOT mean the city has to annex the land. It’s just a step in the annexation process, showing the properties are eligible for annexation into Lafayette. You can read more about this process in the FAQ section on our website.

WHAT THE DEVELOPER IS PLANNING. You can check out the annexation petition and the supporting documents on the city’s webpage for this development. The narrative that accompanies the petition doesn’t give any specifics about the developer’s plans, but does say they want commercial and high-density residential zoning.

We’ve identified two key points in the narrative that you might want to talk to council about:

• The developer doesn’t have all of the water for whatever they hope to build. You can read more about this on page 7 of the narrative. Here’s some information about how much the lack of water in the city is already costing us. And here’s how many millions of dollars it will cost us in the future to try and get enough water for developments like this.

• The developer expects this development to increase demand—and costs—for city services, including police and fire (also on page 7 of the narrative). Lafayette voters already had to approve a sales tax increase in 2021 to boost our police and fire capability to service new development, making Lafayette’s sales tax rates the highest in Boulder County. And the council is considering asking for more tax increases in November to pay for more city services and facilities. At what point will voters just say no, and the city will have to tighten the budget to pay for increased services for this new development?

There are also other key issues the developer didn’t address in the narrative that you can talk to council about—including traffic, density, wildlife preservation or anything else that concerns you.

HOW YOU CAN MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD. There are several ways to tell council you want the land at Baseline and 119th to be open space and not annexed for development:

• Attend the meeting in person at the city hall council chambers, 1290 S. Public Road. You can speak during the public hearing (which will be sometime after 6 p.m.) or show your support if you don’t want to speak. It can have a major impact on council members to look out and see a room full of people who are concerned about an issue—especially considering that four council seats are up for election in November.

• Call in during the public hearing at 877.853.5247 and enter the meeting ID—869 1163 2580. Press *9 when it’s time to raise your hand to speak. You can stream the meeting or watch via the city’s YouTube channel so you’ll know when the public hearing is beginning.

• Submit written comments to the council. If you send in your comments before 1 p.m. on May 20, they’ll be added to that night’s meeting packet. A packet full of comments can make a powerful impression on councilmembers.

We’ll also be presenting the signatures and comments from the Change.org petition to council during the public hearing, but it’s important for council to hear directly from you as well. Your voice really does matter!

We’ll be at city hall handing out our snazzy I Support Open Space stickers before the meeting, so please stop by and say hi.

The Preserve Lafayette Team