April 1, first official step for the Gateway Lafayette annexation at 119th and Baseline
What you should know and what you can do
I am briefly stepping away from my reports on potential new projects under consideration for Lafayette. Things seem to be coming fast and furious, and I want you to stay informed on topics of interest while doing my best not to overload your inbox. It’s a tricky line to walk. Here’s the first item, I have more to share asap.
I took the photograph above, standing on the city-owned Burlington Trail looking over the city-owned Old Town Pond to the city-owned Waneka Centennial Farm. Kairoi, a Texas developer, intends to build on the land between these two open space properties. The zoning they are seeking is high density residential and regional commercial. Walmart and Kohl’s zoning is regional commercial.
BACKGROUND
On February 18th, I told you Kairoi was holding a neighborhood meeting regarding a project to build on 78 acres of land at Lafayette’s eastern rural gateway, surrounded by Lafayette and Boulder County open space. These parcels are the missing pieces of the puzzle the city and Boulder County have put together to preserve this area as wildlife habitat, still farmed agricultural land, and also as a buffer between us, Erie, and Broomfield. It is a valuable ecosystem.
Each year Boulder County asks cities for their open space wish list for potential partnership purchases. Lafayette’s Open Space Board Proposed Open Space Acquisition/Conservation Projects list states (bolding mine):
”Land North and South of Baseline Road and West of 120th Street. Area 6 from PROS Plan. Approx. Acres:81.51. This property flanking Baseline Road West of 119th St. forms a buffer to Old Town Lafayette on the Eastern edge of the city. Adjacent land was recently purchased by partners Boulder County and Lafayette known as the Waneka Centennial Farm. This property has connectivity for farming, trail access and wildlife movement corridors to the Waneka Centennial Farm and would be managed in conjunction with that property. With swift development occurring all around this parcel, securing it as open space for future generations is a high priority to the residents of Lafayette and Boulder County.”
THE BIG PICTURE
This map shows not only where the development will go but also what Lafayette and Boulder County have saved so far. The silos you see when coming into town from the east, the Burlington Trail which used to be a railroad track, the property where Lowe’s planned a store, the Old Town Pond, and the Waneka farmhouse are part of Lafayette’s open space holdings now. The remainder of the green area to the east, 131 acres, is owned 50/50 with Boulder County. At the eastern edge is Powers Marsh. Michael Monahan, PhD, who was the co-director of environmental sciences at the University of Denver before he retired, studied Powers Marsh for over a decade. I obtained a letter he wrote to the county commissioners which said “From my experience the Powers property has no match in the Greater Metro area for total diversity or abundance of wetland species.”
This annexation is for two parcels of land on both sides of Baseline, bordered by 119th to the east. The land is currently in Boulder County, where you can only build one house on 35 acres. To develop this land, annexation to Lafayette is required. There is no obligation for a municipality to annex any property.
To give you a bit of perspective on the size of these properties, combined they are twice the size of the 39 acre Tebo property at 287 and Arapahoe. That property is where Illinois developer Kensington is also petitioning the city for annexation in order to build what they called the Lafayette Marketplace but is now the Range at Lafayette.
THE DEVELOPER
From the Kairoi website:
“Our specialties are Class A+ urban, high-rise projects and an unwavering dedication to quality of projects over quantity.”
SOMETHING NOTEWORTHY
At this time Kairoi has not revealed what this project will look like. If you’ve been following the Kensington development process for the Tebo property you will be aware that by the time they filed for annexation we had at least seen a graphic showing the concept which included the number of dwelling units and the square footage of the commercial component. There is nothing from Kairoi.
PRESERVE LAFAYETTE FORMS
On February 24th I told you that my fellow political hobbyists, Vicky Uhland, Grant Swift, Seth White, and I came together to create a group called Preserve Lafayette.
NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING
On March 19th I reported on the meeting and the narrative for the development Kairoi has submitted to the city. It has some rather blunt assessments about the impact it will have on our city including that there isn’t enough water, or police and fire protection, to serve the development. However, the word “thoughtfully” appears thirteen times in the narrative, four times on one page and twice in one paragraph.
WHAT PRESERVE LAFAYETTE DID
We had awesome stickers saying I Support Open Space, designed for us by Claudia Carle of Good Coffee Media, and asked people who were going in to the meeting to wear them so when the developer looked out at the audience, he would hopefully get the message. We also had signup sheets to subscribe to our updates on the project.
I delivered this message when the public was allowed to speak.
I’m Karen Norback of Preserve Lafayette.org. These properties are a top priority on the city’s open space wish list and the missing piece to complete the incredible ecosystem at our eastern gateway. We support open space and if this land is annexed for development we will challenge the annexation at the ballot box.
Here’s a clip of the audience reaction:
https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxLA3scEqWSVLQordfVTPJh9WF0XPEYdOR?feature=shared
ONLINE PETITION
We are asking Erie to partner with Lafayette and Boulder County to purchase these remaining pieces of the puzzle as open space. Here’s the petition. Your signature would be appreciated!
CHALLENGING THE ANNEXATION
There are three steps to an annexation that council must vote on. If the council votes to approve the final step in the process via an ordinance, state law and the Lafayette charter allows the residents to collect signatures, and either request the ordinance be repealed, or submitted to the voters in a referendum. Preserve Lafayette intends to follow this procedure if the annexation is approved.
WHERE ARE WE NOW?
ANNEXATION - THE FIRST STEP
Once the annexation petition is submitted, state law says the council must examine the petition and find that it complies with the state’s requirements. This will happen at the April 1st council meeting. If those requirements are met council must also schedule the next step, an eligibility public hearing. The agenda says that public hearing will be scheduled for May 20, 2025.
Here is the title of this action on the council’s agenda for April 1st.
“Resolution No.2025-19/Finding the Annexation Petition for Properties Generally Located Northwest and Southwest of the Intersection of Baseline Road and N. 119th St. to be in Substantial Compliance, Setting a Public Hearing on the Petition, and Initiating Annexation Proceedings for the Gateway Lafayette Annexation in Accordance with the Municipal Annexation Act of 1965”
Here’s a chart from the city website showing the development process.
HOW TO GIVE COUNCIL INPUT ON THIS ANNEXATION
THE BEST
Attend the meeting in person. Preserve Lafayette will be there. City Hall Council Chambers, 1290 S. Public Road. This is not a public hearing, if you would like to speak to the council do so during public input at the beginning of the meeting, you have five minutes. The meeting begins at 5:30.
SECOND BEST
Participate by telephone during public input at the beginning of the meeting. Call 1-877-853-5247 (toll-free). Once connected, you will be asked for the meeting number. The meeting number is 869 1163 2580. Press # after entering the number. To request to speak, press *9 during public input to raise your hand. When it is your turn, your microphone will be unmuted.
THIRD BEST
Submit written comments for public input to the City Council. If your written comments are received by 1 pm on the day of the meeting they will be added to the meeting packet for that night. Written comments submitted for public input will not be read aloud during the meeting.
FOURTH BEST
Contact council directly by email or phone
Want to offer more support? Awesome!
If anyone had noticed the latest work going on highway 7, just east of 119th. Highway 7 and 119th intersection was only a small part for CDOT to expand the thoughfare for Brighton to Boulder. They will be working on widening the area by E County line rd followed by taking highway 7 through to 119th turning north, then west again on Arapahoe. This also includes Baseline through OLD TOWN. The City of Lafayette, in partnership with the Town of Erie, Boulder County, and the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT). The project is part of a larger effort to create a multimodal corridor on CO 7, including bus rapid transit (BRT), bike and pedestrian connections, and transit-supportive land development. https://www.codot.gov/projects/studies/co7-brighton-boulder. This is why it is soooo IMPORTANT for all of Lafayettes citizens to band together to STOP this land annexation Karen has been writing you all about ! Many of you have complained about all the mega building/developing going on in Lafayette, NOW IS YOUR CHANCE TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. Please Follow Karen's LEAD !!!!