May Day mayday

Happy May Day! The birds are migrating across the land at 119th and Baseline. Say’s phoebes, white-crowned sparrows, yellow-rumped warblers and western meadowlarks can be heard celebrating the season, and we’ve been hearing from a variety of people about how to protect this amazing ecosystem. Here’s an update on what you can do. Just like the birds, your voice matters!

Mark May 20 on your calendars. The Lafayette city council is scheduled to hold an annexation eligibility public hearing on Tuesday, May 20. This public hearing is important because it’s your first opportunity to tell city council as part of the legal record how you feel about the city annexing the land at 119th and Baseline for development.

But rest assured, this public hearing DOES NOT mean the city has to annex this land. Instead, it’s a legal step that shows the applicant is in compliance with the state’s annexation requirements and can begin submitting their development plans. You can read more about this process in the FAQ section on our website, PreserveLafayette.org.

We'll share details about how you can participate in the May 20 public hearing in our next newsletter, so stay tuned.

Help us hit the 1K mark on our petition. We now have more than 700 signatures on our petition to preserve Lafayette’s eastern gateway as open space. Well done! Let’s see if we can hit 1,000!

Lafayette city council members have repeatedly said they value public input, and there’s no easier way to give them that input than by signing this petition and making a comment. We’ll be presenting the petition signatures and comments at all city council public hearings for this development, starting with the May 20 hearing.

If you haven’t already shared the petition with your Lafayette, Erie and Boulder County friends and neighbors, now’s a great time to do so.

Share your flora and fauna sightings. The land at 119th and Baseline is an important bird, wildlife and native plant refuge, and the missing piece of a valuable ecosystem that stretches from the Old Town Pond just east of Lafayette’s Burlington Avenue to Powers Marsh west of Boulder County’s Flagg Drive.

Over the years, birders and wildlife enthusiasts have identified a variety of species living on this land or passing through, including northern harriers, American bittern, white-faced ibis, two species of breeding rails, Swainson’s hawks, vultures, great horned owls, kestrels, red-tailed hawks, white pelicans, long-tailed weasels, coyotes and foxes. The pond and marsh areas are also home to wetland plants like cattails, sedges and rushes.

What types of flora and fauna have you observed on this property? We’d love to hear your stories and see your photos. Please send them to info@preservelafayette.org.

And finally, thanks, as always, for your support. Going up against a big Texas developer will take a village—or, in this case, the three villages of Lafayette, Erie and Boulder County. We read and respond to every comment we get, so please keep your thoughts and ideas coming at info@preservelafayette.org.

The Preserve Lafayette team

P.S.: Thanks to Lafayette resident and graphic designer Claudia Carle for designing our beautiful new Preserve Lafayette logo and I Support Open Space stickers!