The responses are in! Here's what each council candidate thinks about open space

vicky2745
Oct 24
16 min read

Updated: Oct 28

For the past two days, we’ve been publishing our profiles of Lafayette City Council candidates, sharing what they think about all kinds of city topics.

Today, we want to focus on an issue we know is vital for all of us: preserving our existing and future open space.

We asked all 10 council candidates three questions about open space. We would have liked to expand those questions to include their views on annexation and potential development of the land at 119^th and Baseline, but they’ve been warned by the city manager that there could be legal implications to revealing their opinions about that (you can find out more in the Responsibilities and Constraints section on candidate Kyle Beaulieu’s website.)

So, legalese aside, here’s what we did. On the morning of Monday, Oct. 13, we sent all 10 council candidates an email with this message:

"Preserve Lafayette is a large group of Lafayette residents who are committed to preserving the rural land at the northwest and southwest corners of Baseline and 119th as open space. To help us become better informed on the issues that matter to us, we’re asking all city council candidates three questions.

We will include your answers to these questions in one of our pre-election newsletters to all Preserve Lafayette members, and also in a post for Preserve Lafayette member Karen Norback’s newsletter 'Reports From a Political Hobbyist in Lafayette, Colorado.'"

We set a deadline of Monday, Oct. 20, at 5 p.m. We’re thrilled to report that nine of the 10 candidates got their answers in by that deadline. We’re very disappointed that candidate Luke Arrington didn’t respond.

So, let’s get reading! Here are all of the candidate responses to our questions, in order of when they were submitted to us.

KYLE BEAULIEU

In the initial community survey for the 2021 Legacy Lafayette Comprehensive Plan, 70% of respondents said they like having open spaces and public lands in our community. What will you do to maintain or enhance that?

Protecting Lafayette’s open space is not just one of my campaign priorities, but a foundation for Lafayette to achieve our responsible growth goals, and ensure that we guarantee our community’s long-term resilience and prosperity. We should be adamant in protecting Lafayette's nature for future generations. At the same time, Lafayette, like all of Colorado, is growing, so we will need to be creative and thoughtful to allow for that growth while protecting open space: I firmly believe we can both protect our open spaces and build new housing, new businesses, and new amenities.

Furthermore, the 70 percent figure from the 2021 Comprehensive Plan survey confirms that open space is central to Lafayette’s identity, culture, and quality of life. My approach to maintaining and enhancing this value is three-fold and connects land protection to broader city resilience:

Strategic Acquisition and Growth Control: I will champion a disciplined, proactive approach to land management and acquisition, based on the robust expertise in the city's departments. Open space is one of our most effective tools for responsible growth and long-term prosperity and resilience. I've spent a lot of time reviewing the city's various strategic plans during the past few weeks, and I'm very impressed with the expertise the city can deploy. If I'm elected to Council, I will adhere to the guidance in the Parks, Recreation, and Open Space (PROS) Master Plan, which stated that Open Space acquisition is often focused on filling-in pieces to the Open Space system, and the community prioritizes acquiring ecologically sensitive lands and lands that provide regional trail corridors. I will also seek to operationalize recommendations focused on protecting riparian habitat and wildlife habitat/corridors, as well as ensuring defensible space from wildfires. I will prioritize securing key parcels, particularly those that form vital physical boundaries, to prevent unplanned density on the edges of our community. This is about ensuring the City dictates its own future, not developers.

Ecological Stewardship and Resilience: Maintaining open space means managing it as an ecosystem, not just as empty land. I will do everything I can towards the City budget fully funding and implementing the Lafayette Wildlife Plan and the PROS Master Plan strategies for ecological integrity. This directly ties to our priority of improving resilience, as responsible open space management, including fire fuel mitigation in key areas, is essential to defending our community against environmental threats like wildfire.

Equitable Access and Activation: Open space must be for everyone. I will advocate for completing planned trail connections, ensuring ADA-compliant accessibility improvements, and making our public lands a shared asset that connects all of Lafayette’s diverse neighborhoods. I also think it's important for all of the parts of our community to feel ownership and commitment to our open spaces, which means exploring how to offer more opportunities for underserved communities to access and enjoy nature.

Lastly, I'm surprised by the community survey's number only being 70%: who are the 30% of folks who don't like or are ambivalent to Lafayette's open space and public lands, and why do they feel that way? I'd be interested if that 30% number is due to accessibility, distance, lack of awareness, or something else. I want everyone to be able to enjoy our open spaces.

Which Lafayette open space parcel do you visit most often, and what do you like to do while you’re there?

This is a tie for me between the Thomas Open Space and Adler-Fingru Open Space. I'm an amateur wildlife photographer and have spent a lot of time birdwatching at Thomas and the adjacent Greenlee Wildlife Preserve, and I always keep an eye out for beaver and bobcat in Adler-Fingru along Coal Creek. I love to run and bike along the Coal Creek Trail across several open spaces in Lafayette; it's gorgeous no matter what time of year, and folks I pass are always in a great mood. I walk my dog Korra all over our town and open space (always on leash!), and she particularly loves the trails and open space around Waneka Lake Park.

What’s your favorite flora or fauna to observe in Lafayette’s open space?

I love spotting coyotes popping their heads up in the grass, the osprey returning to her nest with a fish, and a northern harrier patrolling. The flocks of 40+ common nighthawks we had circling a few weeks back were magical. The cottonwoods yellowing this time of year is particularly lovely. I've gotten some great shots of bluejays bothering Swainson's hawks recently [I've attached a few of my bird pictures to this email!] My wife and I are also very proud that our house was recently designated as a Coal Creek Pollinator District Certified Habitat from the Friends of Coal Creek, and we love watching the bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds that visit our front yard!

I went through a three-month course to become a certified Community Naturalist through Denver Audubon a couple years ago, and it was a tremendously rewarding experience, and allowed me to really deepen my understanding of Lafayette and the Front Range's ecology, geology, and wildlife, and I really enjoy whenever I can find an opportunity to volunteer or teach more about local nature.

Lastly, I strongly recommend everyone sign up for Boulder County Open Space Rattlesnake Hike next year, it is a lot of fun and demystifies these oft-misunderstood critters!

ERIC RYANT

I feel the 2021 Legacy Comprehensive Plan is a great footprint for the community to continue to move forward with. As certain projects develop, I will get very granular to protect our town and use all resources available to make sure Lafayette stays on that path.

Which Lafayette open space parcel do you visit most often, and what do you like to do while you’re there?

I drive by Baseline and 119th almost every day, because I go to The Great Bark Dog Park for my dog. I do not walk that open space, but feel it's important for fire mitigation, vegetation and wildlife. I walk Waneka Lake frequently, because it's where I live.

What’s your favorite flora or fauna to observe in Lafayette’s open space?

Living on Waneka Lake, I love watching the variety of birds and spending time at the sanctuary.

MIKE WATSON

Wait, we have 30% of residents who don’t like having open space? That sounds like a fantastic place to start educational outreach. Our open space and public lands aren’t just there to provide a buffer for our community, or fire mitigation, they also help our mental and physical health and teach our children to foster a connection with nature. They’re a resting point for migratory birds and the home to countless small animals.Also, I don’t think it’s enough that we simply designate these lands as open space and then turn away, we also need to nurture them and help them grow. Grasslands need grazing to thrive (I’d love to see “town goatherder” in our staff directory) and we can add trees and shrubs, where appropriate, to help hold onto rainwater and aerate our soil. We can have volunteer days where we try to bring the community together to support and develop our land. Develop, not for our own short-term profit needs, but for the long-term benefit of the wildlife that surrounds us.

Which Lafayette open space parcel do you visit most often, and what do you like to do while you’re there?

I’ve lived in 6 different homes in Lafayette, and the open space I visit the most is usually just the one that’s closest. I do a lot of running with my kids, and it feels so much nicer to run through nature than through a town. But if I can twist the question a bit, I’ve designated my own yard as a mini open space of sorts, and that’s probably my favorite. I have a big juniper tree in front that’s a magnet for birds in winter time, and I’ve planted crabapples, serviceberries, chokeberries, redtwig dogwoods, and skunkbush to help support our local birds and critters. I try to keep flowers blooming throughout the spring and summer to help keep our pollinators happy. I restrict mowing to a small parcel in the back in order to make sure the rabbits and mice and shrews (and the occasional toad) have places to hide. I’m proud of what I’ve done with the place, because it provides not only happiness for my family and I, but also gives back to nature and helps support and maintain all the animals that call Lafayette home.I believe that humans have a choice, both on the broad scale of society, but also in how we choose to live alongside nature in our individual lives. We can continue to exploit the land for as much profit as we can claim, then wring our hands in consternation over the danger of environmental collapse, or we can develop and nurture the lands that we’re responsible for, taking what we need but always making sure we’re leaving something behind. That starts with personal choices and extends to how we run our town.

What’s your favorite flora or fauna to observe in Lafayette’s open space?

Birds and flowers. Whether it’s my own yard or the open spaces, those are the two broad categories of life I most resonate with. If you want specifics, I love the owls and chickadees the most. Chickadees for their great personalities, relentless optimism, and bubbly playfulness, and owls for their owlness. Oh, and bumblebees. How can anyone help but love the humble bumblebee?

ANNMARIE JENSEN

I will support continuing to find ways to stretch our existing open space dollars through partnerships. We also need to prioritize trail connectivity for bikes and pedestrians. As a councilmember I would support pursuing state and private conservation grants to secure additional open space with a priority on environmentally valuable properties that are valued based on the criteria that the open space board has established. I also support ensuring that the space that we do have is well managed for both wildlife and human access.

Which Lafayette open space parcel do you visit most often, and what do you like to do while you’re there?

I most often visit Waneka Lake Park, and I walk with my pup, and/or my granddaughter who rides her bike.

What’s your favorite flora or fauna to observe in Lafayette’s open space?

When I walk I like to listen for the birdsong. I am not any kind of expert in birds, but enjoy listening to them.

ADAM GIANOLA

Open Space is such an important part of our community and is a big contributor to what makes Lafayette special. I and many others value our Open Space and the wildlife that call it home. I will strive to maintain and expand our Open Space portfolio and public lands holdings, where possible, in order to balance growth, provide a buffer against overdevelopment, preserve wildlife habitat, and enable equitable access to natural spaces. I also think the City should plan for more trail connectivity between existing trails within and outside of Lafayette's city limits, and to provide trail connections between all Lafayette neighborhoods to the extent possible.

Initial thoughts I have to achieve these goals include meeting with the Open Space Advisory Board to solicit their ideas and inputs for Open Space and public land enhancements. I also want to update our City code to expand the public land dedication requirements as well as update the definition to exclude areas like detention ponds, medians, or other developed areas that are unsuitable for use by the public or wildlife. I would also like to see the code emphasize that, with the exception of parks, dedicated public lands should be retained in their natural/undisturbed state, ideally with greater contiguous areas to allow for better wildlife habitats and corridors.

Additionally, I will encourage the City to approach landowners of undeveloped land within or at the edge of Lafayette's city limits, perhaps in collaboration with our Open Space Advisory Board or other community members, to encourage them to work in partnership with the City, County, and neighboring jurisdictions to preserve their lands as Open Space, where appropriate. I understand there are sometimes complexities and tensions between the City and landowners, so this must be done thoughtfully and carefully so as not to exacerbate tensions and to preserve and enhance relationships to the extent possible to allow for new Open Space acquisition in the future.

Which Lafayette open space parcel do you visit most often, and what do you like to do while you’re there?

I visit the Coal Creek Corridor Open Space the most often. Frequently, this is while walking with my dogs on a weekend afternoon, coaxing them to go in the water at the developed creek access area (they are not fans of the water, but on a hot day there's a slim chance they will get in for a quick cool off). I also frequently take my mountain bike out on the trails along Coal Creek and Mayhoffer Open Space to visit Stearns lake at Carolyn Holmberg Preserve.

What’s your favorite flora or fauna to observe in Lafayette’s open space?

I enjoy seeing the turkey flock that frequents the Open Space area between Aquarius trailhead and Public Road trailhead - one time I counted 13 turkeys! I am also excited to see the occasional bull snake on or near the trail and have seen bobcats as well nearby to the Open Space and am thankful they are part of our community. I think it is interesting that there is a poison ivy patch adjacent to the Coal Creek trail—poison ivy is native all across the country and provides shelter and food for many animals, so it is great that humans have not removed it from the Coal Creek area.

JOSH BERYL

It is a priority for me to maintain Lafayette’s open space for both recreational and environmental purposes. I will do this in multiple ways. First, collaborating with the Planning Commission, the Lafayette Urban Renewal Authority, and the Land Use Code Working Group to make sure that our open space is protected in the Zoning Code that is in the process of being updated.

Unlike some of the candidates who have suggested our open space is a prime opportunity for development and construction, I generally oppose building on the precious open space and natural environment that makes Lafayette special. I will keenly scrutinize contracts and purchase offers from developers and private entities who wish to build on our open space. I am in favor of annexation of additional land into our city, especially for the purpose of expanding our open space and natural resources, not to further develop and increase sprawl.

Which Lafayette open space parcel do you visit most often, and what do you like to do while you’re there?

Waneka Lake and Park are my most visited outdoor spots here in Lafayette. My wife and I often meet friends at the park to let their kids play on the playground and for all of us to have a picnic in the shade. I will often bring my dog along and sometimes walk her around the lake path if it’s not too hot.

What’s your favorite flora or fauna to observe in Lafayette’s open space?

I have a mild fascination with the birds of prey we can see here outside of the more urban areas. It is always a pleasure to see hawks or falcons and especially the occasional eagle. So cool!

ROB GLENN

Open space is one of Lafayette’s defining features, and it’s important to distinguish between what’s already designated as Open Space and what is simply vacant land that could become future Open Space. Our Open Space Advisory Committee does a great job maintaining existing areas and identifying new opportunities for preservation, and I fully support their continued work.

It's important to me to protect and connect Lafayette’s open spaces. My wife and I, along with our dog, love exploring the trails and enjoying the views these areas provide right in our backyard. As the city continues to grow, it’s critical that we plan carefully, while balancing new development with the preservation of the land that makes Lafayette so special. Connecting open spaces and ensuring new communities have access to nearby parks and trails helps maintain that balance and quality of life that residents value.

Which Lafayette open space parcel do you visit most often, and what do you like to do while you’re there?

Two of my favorite spots are Waneka Lake and Rothman Open Space. Waneka Lake is such a hub of community activity. I love seeing so many people enjoying the loop trail, the playground, disc golf course, boathouse, and even the pickleball courts. You can't forget the great bird watching, especially at Greenlee WildLife Preserve and the spectacular sunsets coming up Emma at the entrance. It’s a great example of how open space brings people together.

Rothman Open Space, on the other hand, offers a peaceful escape just a short walk from my home in Old Town. I often go there with my wife and our dog to take in the mountain views and watch the prairie dogs. It’s a reminder of why preserving these spaces matters. They connect us to nature and to each other.

What’s your favorite flora or fauna to observe in Lafayette’s open space?

I love the summer sunflower season around Waneka Lake. When they bloom wild, they add so much color to the backdrop. I’m also really enjoying all the fall leaf color changes across the trees right now. It’s such a beautiful part of living along the Front Range.

SAUL TAPIA VEGA

Open Space and public lands are incredibly important to me and for the entire City of Lafayette. We cannot talk about all the great things our city has to offer without mentioning the incredible open space Lafayette already has. For the first year of my term on city council, I was fortunate enough to serve as the liaison to the Lafayette Open Space Advisory Board (LOSAB); there, I was able to work directly with the advisory board that makes recommendations to city council about open space. I am incredibly proud of the work the city has already done in preserving open space and will continue to advocate for expanding and enhancing our open space program.

Which Lafayette open space parcel do you visit most often, and what do you like to do while you’re there?

This is a difficult question to answer because of how many great open space parcels we have in Lafayette; however, I believe that the Rock Creek Open Space, especially the space on the trail in Rock Creek West is where I spend a lot of time. The views, the nature, the trail, the creek, it is beautiful and I love spending time there. When I’m there, I like walking on that trail and I like spending time near the creek. A close second is the Greenlee Wildlife Preserve; this is also a space that I love to visit.

What’s your favorite flora or fauna to observe in Lafayette’s open space?

When serving as liaison to LOSAB, I was able to learn a lot about flora and fauna in our city, and one of my favorite memories is working through the Wildlife Plan with the board. I learned so much during this experience, and I specifically learned a lot about the Preble’s Meadow Jumping Mouse. I learned about this mouse and our immediate need to preserve the habitat in which they live. I hope to continue serving the city and I hope to continue advocating for the preservation of the home of my favorite flora or fauna in the city: the Preble’s Meadow Jumping Mouse.

CRYSTAL GALLEGOS

Open space is what makes Lafayette unique and if it’s important to the community, it’s important to me. Protecting our open space is also a vital part of maintaining the character and quality of life that make Lafayette so special. I’ll work to preserve what we have, expand access to parks and trails, and support smart development that protects our natural spaces. Our open spaces are part of who we are.

Which Lafayette open space parcel do you visit most often, and what do you like to do while you’re there?

I’m blessed to live within walking distance of Waneka Lake Park. I love taking walks around the lake, soaking in the beautiful sunsets, and spending time at the Greenlee Nature Preserve. It’s incredible to see so many butterflies and birds, it almost feels like you’ve stepped into the tropics. We’re so lucky to have this kind of natural beauty right in the heart of Lafayette.

What’s your favorite flora or fauna to observe in Lafayette’s open space?

Although they aren’t native to Waneka Lake, I love watching the sunflowers bloom around the park. They pop up as summer winds down, and for me, they’re a beautiful reminder that fall is just around the corner. Sunflowers symbolize resilience, warmth, and optimism, always turning toward the sun, even as seasons change. That spirit really reflects the strength and heart of our Lafayette community.

LUKE ARRINGTON

No response

The responses are in! Here's what each council candidate thinks about open space

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