For those of you who were not at the City Council meeting tonight (May 20th) when Karen spoke about the development plans for the Baseline and Highway 119 corner, please check it out. It was an articulate clear presentation of the history of the area and the potential pitfalls if development goes ahead. A big round of applause for Karen!👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Thank you Elisabeth, that is very kind. Here's what I read:
Everything about this project is in opposition to what Lafayette is and aspires to be, which is why Preserve Lafayette will challenge the annexation for this development if approved. Our comprehensive plan says, “Lafayette is committed to the preservation of open space and wildlife habitat as part of its overall objectives tied to environmental stewardship.”
It is so important to this community that only parks, recreation, open space, and wildlife habitat span two of our four planning frameworks, environmental stewardship and also community character.
A community survey question asking what they liked about Lafayette resulted in open space and public lands and small town feel coming in third and fourth both with 71% support.
The plan says open space also functions as a buffer from surrounding communities and preserves agricultural activities in and around Lafayette. That’s exactly what these lands do today: they are agricultural lands that buffer us, especially our Old Town, from the growth to the east. They are the last pieces of the puzzle we need to preserve this valuable ecosystem that includes the best wetland on the front range, and that rural entrance from the east, so many of us treasure, that tells us we are back home.
In May 2024, you approved the open space and trails acquisition requests to Boulder County. This land is on that list and was described this way: “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.”
A guiding principle in the environmental stewardship framework says Lafayette will demonstrate leadership in environmental stewardship and promote a healthy, sustainable, and resilient community by preserving open space and wildlife habitat.
Climate colorado.gov says Colorado’s agricultural lands play an important role in fighting climate change. The goal is to store one million metric tons of carbon dioxide on natural and working lands by 2030 – the equivalent of taking 215,000 gasoline-powered cars off the road.
Our Climate Action Plan says that through strategies aimed at preserving, restoring, connecting, and protecting natural resources and meaningful open spaces, along with increasing opportunities for carbon storage, the City prioritizes resilience and sustainability.
Under Resiliency the plan addresses environmental hazards and developments and says:
“The city will restrict development in areas that are at risk of subsidence from previous mining activities.” I gave you booklets from the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining, and Safety that oversees abandoned mines. A map shows the Simpson mine is under this land and extends east under the Lowe’s property, where the geologic hazard of subsidence risk was determined to be severe. In the booklet on Page 26 titled New Construction, it says “when serious subsidence hazards exist in undeveloped areas, construction of permanent structures should be avoided, and to set aside subsidence-prone sites for open space and other non-structural uses.
A recent letter from a senior project manager at the State Mining Division says “The Colorado Geological Survey (CGS) recommends that the City of Lafayette submit any development plans to the CGS for a Land Use Review prior to any development.”
There are three oil and gas wells on this undermined property. The developer told Preserve Lafayette he intends to access them by drilling laterally from a pad in Weld County.
In 2015, two blocks west of this property, on E Cleveland, the pavement collapsed as an SUV drove over a pothole, leaving it hanging over the edge of a 15 ft sinkhole over a 200 ft deep old mine shaft. In March this year, another incident happened when a shaft opened up behind a resident's home between Simpson and Cleveland. It took a Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety crew almost 3 weeks to drill down 220 feet and fill the hole with concrete. I will send you photographs.
When the land shifts and settles due to a mine underneath, pipes and utilities can shift and break, timbers can rot over time, and collapse.
Purchasing this land as open space takes the mining issue off the table, preserves an incredible ecosystem, removes an important item from the open space wish list, supports the community’s desire for open spaces and our small town feel, buffers our Old Town and even meshes with our climate action plan when it comes to carbon storage.
My request to you tonight is to please give staff direction to collaborate with Boulder County and Erie to create a new partnership and jointly purchase this land as open space. I think many in this room and the community would support you. Thank you
Darn, I was traveling for work and both missed the meeting and the opportunity to send in comments. Is there anything I can do after the fact?
Also, we should talk about fundraising for Preserve Lafayette.
You can always send in comments directly to the council. https://www.lafayetteco.gov/247/City-Council
We have been thinking about fundraising. 😊
For those of you who were not at the City Council meeting tonight (May 20th) when Karen spoke about the development plans for the Baseline and Highway 119 corner, please check it out. It was an articulate clear presentation of the history of the area and the potential pitfalls if development goes ahead. A big round of applause for Karen!👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Thank you Elisabeth, that is very kind. Here's what I read:
Everything about this project is in opposition to what Lafayette is and aspires to be, which is why Preserve Lafayette will challenge the annexation for this development if approved. Our comprehensive plan says, “Lafayette is committed to the preservation of open space and wildlife habitat as part of its overall objectives tied to environmental stewardship.”
It is so important to this community that only parks, recreation, open space, and wildlife habitat span two of our four planning frameworks, environmental stewardship and also community character.
A community survey question asking what they liked about Lafayette resulted in open space and public lands and small town feel coming in third and fourth both with 71% support.
The plan says open space also functions as a buffer from surrounding communities and preserves agricultural activities in and around Lafayette. That’s exactly what these lands do today: they are agricultural lands that buffer us, especially our Old Town, from the growth to the east. They are the last pieces of the puzzle we need to preserve this valuable ecosystem that includes the best wetland on the front range, and that rural entrance from the east, so many of us treasure, that tells us we are back home.
In May 2024, you approved the open space and trails acquisition requests to Boulder County. This land is on that list and was described this way: “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.”
A guiding principle in the environmental stewardship framework says Lafayette will demonstrate leadership in environmental stewardship and promote a healthy, sustainable, and resilient community by preserving open space and wildlife habitat.
Climate colorado.gov says Colorado’s agricultural lands play an important role in fighting climate change. The goal is to store one million metric tons of carbon dioxide on natural and working lands by 2030 – the equivalent of taking 215,000 gasoline-powered cars off the road.
Our Climate Action Plan says that through strategies aimed at preserving, restoring, connecting, and protecting natural resources and meaningful open spaces, along with increasing opportunities for carbon storage, the City prioritizes resilience and sustainability.
Under Resiliency the plan addresses environmental hazards and developments and says:
“The city will restrict development in areas that are at risk of subsidence from previous mining activities.” I gave you booklets from the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining, and Safety that oversees abandoned mines. A map shows the Simpson mine is under this land and extends east under the Lowe’s property, where the geologic hazard of subsidence risk was determined to be severe. In the booklet on Page 26 titled New Construction, it says “when serious subsidence hazards exist in undeveloped areas, construction of permanent structures should be avoided, and to set aside subsidence-prone sites for open space and other non-structural uses.
A recent letter from a senior project manager at the State Mining Division says “The Colorado Geological Survey (CGS) recommends that the City of Lafayette submit any development plans to the CGS for a Land Use Review prior to any development.”
There are three oil and gas wells on this undermined property. The developer told Preserve Lafayette he intends to access them by drilling laterally from a pad in Weld County.
In 2015, two blocks west of this property, on E Cleveland, the pavement collapsed as an SUV drove over a pothole, leaving it hanging over the edge of a 15 ft sinkhole over a 200 ft deep old mine shaft. In March this year, another incident happened when a shaft opened up behind a resident's home between Simpson and Cleveland. It took a Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety crew almost 3 weeks to drill down 220 feet and fill the hole with concrete. I will send you photographs.
When the land shifts and settles due to a mine underneath, pipes and utilities can shift and break, timbers can rot over time, and collapse.
Purchasing this land as open space takes the mining issue off the table, preserves an incredible ecosystem, removes an important item from the open space wish list, supports the community’s desire for open spaces and our small town feel, buffers our Old Town and even meshes with our climate action plan when it comes to carbon storage.
My request to you tonight is to please give staff direction to collaborate with Boulder County and Erie to create a new partnership and jointly purchase this land as open space. I think many in this room and the community would support you. Thank you
Kairoi is currently under fire in Lakewood for how they're handling their development there.
https://www.denver7.com/news/local-news/lakewood-neighbors-horrified-as-dozens-of-trees-are-cut-at-recently-approved-development-site
Wow, thanks for sharing!