The Lafayette City Council approved the next step for bringing the property at the northwest and southwest corner of 119th Street and Baseline Road into the city boundaries, but the council faced a flood of comments from the public opposing the annexation. Instead, many advocated to preserve the property as open space.
Gateway Lafayette is a potential development on a roughly 78-acre property at the northwest and southwest corners of 119th and Baseline. The land is currently in unincorporated Boulder County and is owned by CLW 2 and the William M. Waneka GST Exempt Trust. Kairoi Properties sent the annexation petition to Lafayette on behalf of the owners. Bringing the land into Lafayette would put it under city officials' rules for building a development in that spot.
The City Council unanimously found that the annexation petition met all requirements and that the land is eligible for annexation during its Tuesday meeting. Finding the annexation petition to be eligible does not obligate the city to annex the property, and the council did not make any final decisions about the annexation during the meeting. The Lafayette Planning Commission will review the annexation petition and development applications at a future meeting.
Members of the public spoke for over an hour at the meeting, with the majority expressing their opposition to the annexation.
Karen Norback and Vicky Uhland are members of Preserve Lafayette, a local group campaigning for the property to be officially labeled as open space. Both also noted that if the city approves the annexation, the group will legally challenge the development. Preservation of the land as part of the local open space ecosystem is Norback and Uhland's goal, stating that the parcel in question for annexation is the "missing piece" that would connect open space in the area.
"When you preserve habitat for wildlife, you want to preserve large areas," Norback said in an interview with the Camera. "And the more you break it up -- it's called fragmentation -- the less valuable it becomes to the wildlife."
Designating the property as open space would preserve a local ecosystem, as well as create a buffer between Lafayette and neighboring communities, Uhland said.
Preserve Lafayette has created a change.org petition against the annexation, with over 900 signatures, with about 600 of those signatures from people in Lafayette or nearby areas, according to Uhland and the change.org page. She highlighted one comment from a petition signer, arguing city utilities and water rights are already strained and the land serves as an important wildlife corridor.
Suzanne Spiegel said wildlife populations have significantly declined, and adding development to an open area will only contribute to that decline.
"This land may seem like just a few empty parcels on a map, but it's a part of a living, breathing system," Spiegel said.
Developing the land would be unwise and irreversible, Spiegel and other residents noted.
Monalisa Young was the only resident to speak in favor of the annexation during public comment, arguing the city desperately needs more affordable housing options. She said it does not have to be an "either-or situation," and there could be a compromise for preservation while also increasing the city's affordable housing stock.
The potential developers did not respond to public comments during the meeting. The council stated there will still be multiple opportunities for residents to give feedback on the potential development.