Published in the Times Call 7/23/25
The Longmont City Council should say no to the Tull/Distel land exchange and the idea of locating a compost facility in the Tull/Distel area. Some of the reasons:
• As a resident of Longmont since 1997, I have voted for every open space tax. The land exchange would violate the spirit of the open space program, and I might not have voted for 3A last fall if I had known this was coming.
• Neither the county nor the city have made a serious attempt to address concerns raised by wildlife advocates about the impact of a compost facility and other development on the nearby confluence bald eagle roost. My assumption is that they do not want to undertake a formal impact assessment because they expect it to be unfavorable to development in the area.
• The Tull property may be a “Plan B” location for proponents of the composting facility and other development. The only advantage to this idea is that it does not involve a land exchange with open space. There is still the same potential for harm to bald eagles and other wildlife. Add to that the fact that Tull is in the floodway and it becomes even more unsuitable.
• Boulder County’s compost facility feasibility study update of 7/7/2025 contains the following statements: “Phase 2 of the study includes site exploration … The feasibility study will primarily focus on the Distel site.” Clearly they have already decided that Distel is a feasible site, even though they have not completed the feasibility study and have not disclosed other sites under consideration. If Distel is taken off the table, I expect they will focus on Tull. So much for transparency.
We should give our neighbors in Weld County a break and find a composting site in Boulder County.
Chris Boardman, Longmont
