Way to show up for open space!

We asked and you delivered, BIG TIME. The city council chambers were literally standing room only for the May 20 annexation eligibility hearing for the two rural parcels at the northwest and southwest corners of Baseline and 119th. 

We counted 40 people in the chairs inside the room (and only three were developer representatives) and another 20 or so in the lobby (who weren’t allowed inside the council chambers because of fire code capacity restrictions).

Twenty of you spoke to council, and another 20 sent emails that were included in the agenda packet for the council to see before the meeting. Out of those 40 comments, only five were in favor of developing the property—and one was the owner’s daughter, who lives in Wyoming, one lives in Broomfield and one lives in Longmont.

It was an impressive outpouring of support for making this property open space rather than developing it. We’ve been to A LOT of city council meetings over the years, and can count on our fingers (and maybe our toes, LOL ) how many times we’ve seen this many concerned citizens turn out for a single issue. 

Whether you spoke or not, there’s no question your presence had an impact on  council—especially with four seats up for election in November. From the dais, councilors could look out over the overflowing chambers and through the glass walls into the overflowing lobby. And for more than an hour, they heard your impassioned and knowledgeable speeches (and your applause) about why this land should be open space and the perils of developing it. 

EXTREMELY well done, everyone!

What council decided. Not surprisingly, council voted unanimously to approve the ordinance stating that the property owner met the annexation eligibility criteria. 

But don’t despair—this is a formality that state law requires for any property annexation into a city or county. All it means is the property meets the state rules for annexation and that the developer can begin submitting plans. It DOES NOT mean Lafayette has to annex the property. 

Developer’s next steps. You can view the timeline here. The next thing the developer is scheduled to do is submit a sketch plan to city planning staff. (Planning Manager Jake Nitchals is the lead planner for this project. You can contact him here.)

The sketch plan is supposed to include the lot layout for the development, number and type of dwelling units, dwelling units per acre, building heights and massing, commercial square footage, street system, number of parking spaces, green space designations and a landscape plan. The sketch plan also needs to show there’s enough water, utility, public safety and school capacity to service the development.

After city staff reviews the sketch plan to see if it complies with the city code, there will be a required neighborhood meeting where members of the public can comment. After that, the sketch plan would go before the planning commission, with a public hearing, and then before council, also with a public hearing. To learn more about this process, check out the FAQ section at PreserveLafayette.org.

We don’t know yet when the developer is submitting the sketch plan or when the neighborhood meeting will be. We’ll let you know as soon as we find out.

Preserve Lafayette’s next steps. We’ve sent an email to the Boulder County commissioners forwarding them our petition, Preserve Lafayette’s Eastern Gateway as Open Space, and asking them to partner with Lafayette and Erie to purchase the property as open space.

Thank you again for all of your time, work and commitment to preserving the land at 119th and Baseline as open space. Please reach out to us with any thoughts, ideas and good vibes.

The Preserve Lafayette team