In January, Longmont City Council directed staff to pursue a partnership with Boulder County who wants to build a large-scale composting operation and does not want to use Boulder County land. Nor does the county want to go through their own stringent Land Use process. Longmont Public Works staff proposed a land exchange where land purchased by Open Space tax dollars (Distel) would be exchanged for land owned by Public Works (Tull). The proposal at Distel carves out just 8 acres for Boulder County’s compost infrastructure and 57 acres for City of Longmont infrastructure.
Public Works staff has been merchandising this proposal as a solution for the real need for compost infrastructure. Only 12% of the Distel Open Space property is appropriated for compost and 88% for city infrastructure; including relocating the fire training center and building a driving range for city vehicles. This proposal presents as a bait and switch for the City to build industrial infrastructure on land designated as Open Space.
I’m a member of Longmont Friends of Open Space (standwithourstvraincreek.com) We are residents committed to preserving St. Vrain Creek and all our Open Spaces. We initiated and campaigned for the extension of our Open Space tax ballot measure last November (passed with 74% approval). Voters supported taxing ourselves in perpetuity because we want our Open Space lands respected, protected and not developed. That includes not being bartered or traded for development. If you’re one of those voters, please contact City Council and attend the July 22 City Council meeting. Just Say NO.
We support partnering with Boulder County for regional compost infrastructure. City Council’s initial direction was well intentioned. It’s unfortunate city staff opportunistically used green washing sales tactics to mislead City Council and use Open Space as a commodity. This violates the spirit of the Open Space ordinance, public trust and sets a terrible precedent.
Open space is of high value to the citizens of Longmont as demonstrated by the passage of Ballot Issue 3A last year that extends indefinitely the open space tax paid by Longmont citizens. That demonstrates the importance of open space to Longmont residents.
When open space has been acquired in the past, location is of primary consideration. To that point, once a location has been established, it is meant to be permanent and not a future candidate for relocation.
My opinion is that any consideration of moving or exchanging existing open space property is not what the voters of Longmont want. Longmont voters share a belief that existing open space should be left alone and not be a candidate for any future property exchange. I am one of those voters.
Why is Longmont circumventing the will of residents (who, last November, overwhelmingly voted to extend the City’s Open Space sales tax) by attempting to rush through a land swap to build on City Open Space? The properties in question, which lie in northeastern Longmont north of Weld County Road 20 1/2, are known as Distel and Tull, and were purchased in 2019. Distel was purchased for future Open Space, while Tull was purchased through Public Works. Now, just 6 years later, the City wants to swap the two, supposedly to build a Boulder County-owned compost facility on the Distel property.
The idea of siting a compost facility on Distel popped up at a City Council meeting in January and the land swap proposal was sent to the City’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Board (PRAB) for a yea or nay. It’s coming back to Council later this month for a final decision on the swap. PRAB recommended nay, but will City Council listen?
Why the rush, anyway? Boulder County’s Compost Feasibility Study, which includes an analysis of potential sites, doesn’t come out until later this year. Following its release, there will be multiple rounds of public feedback and analysis. The whole process could take months or years and, in the end, there’s no guarantee Boulder County will choose Distel. There are also a number of as-yet unanswered questions regarding the swap, chief among them what the City will build on Distel if the compost facility plan falls through.
This land swap sets a bad precedent. The most chilling statement by City staff at the last PRAB meeting was that this kind of exchange could and would become more common in the future. I know I didn’t vote to have my tax dollars go toward purchasing Open Space for development. Did you?
Warning! Longmont’s open space program is under attack from Longmont Public Works and Utilities. Public Works has proposed a land exchange where land purchased by open space tax dollars would be converted to an intense industrial development involving composting with Boulder County, the fire training center and warehouse space. The exact size of the industrial development has not been revealed by Public Works.This proposal is commonly referred to as the Distel-Tull land exchange.
The Longmont City Council faces a huge dilemma since the Parks and Recreation Board (PRAB) did the right thing and recommended the council reject the conversion of open space to industry. Earlier this year per the city code, the City Council referred the proposed land exchange to PRAB to conduct a public hearing, analyze the proposal and advise the council. Chapter 14.52 of the code is titled Open Space Disposition.
Section 14.52.030B1 reads as follows: Before taking final action on any request to dispose of open space land, the City Council shall refer the request to the parks and recreation advisory board (PRAB), and other advisory boards the city council feels necessary, for their recommendation. Apparently the council only wanted a recommendation from PRAB since it was the only board to which it referred the matter. Part of the council’s dilemma comes from the fact PRAB recommended denial of the land exchange.
Section 14.52 clearly gives the City Council final authority to determine whether the exchange is appropriate. However, by ignoring the recommendation of the only advisory body given a specific role in the city code and the fact the council only asked for a recommendation from PRAB, the City Council’s rejection of PRAB’s recommendation will appear arrogant and condescending and will make a sham out of the open space disposition process outlined in the city code.
During PRAB’s public hearing on the proposed land exchange, numerous speakers had questions and comments particularly regarding issues covered by Section 14.52.0302 which reads as follows: the disposal should be sensitive to the integrity of the property features, including sensitive habitat and cultural and historical features, and generally should not adversely affect the remainder of the property. Members of PRAB had many similar questions regarding the application of the code. Approval of the land exchange would fragment the Distel open space. Members of PRAB, like the public, did not receive satisfactory answers from Pubic Works staff.
Another part of the City Council’s open space dilemma is the irony that last November the council referred ballot language to Longmont voters for approval to extend in perpetuity the open sales tax. It passed with 74% approval because Longmont residents value open space. I do not think most voters expect open space tax dollars to be used to purchase land for Public Works to convert to industry, even if Boulder County is dangling big dollars to get a partner for composting. Most residents expect open space purchases to be properly vetted before purchase and then remain open space. If the council thinks dissing the recommendation from PRAB will come only at a small price, the cost of the loss of public trust of 74% of voters should be carefully calculated, especially for any council candidates running for election next November.
The final part of the council’s open space dilemma stems from Section 4.04.130J of the city code which reads in part, once acquired, open space may be used only for purposes set forth in 4.04.130i. These purposes include preservation of natural areas, trails, conservation of natural resources, low-impact district parks and urban shaping buffers. Conversion to an industrial development is not listed. Stretching normal definitions beyond recognition by most residents is one way Public Works staff may try to spin the issue. But if the city council chooses to ignore PRAB’s recommendation it will make a precedent-setting, slippery slope decision that could threaten our open space program. What will be the next piece of open space to be stolen?
Gordon Pedrow served as Longmont city manager from 1993 until 2012.
In 1983, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and environmentalist Wallace Stegner coined the phrase “America’s Best Idea” to refer to the United States’ national park system. Stemming out of the democratic ideals of the Republic and the belief that all people should be able to benefit from and enjoy public lands, the very first national park in the world was established in 1872 with the creation of Yellowstone National Park. Today, 840 million acres of land is public land, which includes not just national parks but also BLM land, national forests, and national wildlife refuges.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service just published a proposed rule in the Federal Register that would remove the definition of “harm” in the Endangered Species Act so that entities would no longer be held accountable for actions that do not directly impact endangered species. This effectively guts the Act–which was overwhelmingly passed in 1973 by a bipartisan Congress and signed into law by Richard Nixon, a Republican president–by removing any habitat protections for wildlife, limiting penalties only to those entities directly poaching, harassing, killing, trapping, or otherwise hurting endangered species.
If you love wildlife and nature, please contact your representatives and tell them you oppose the sale of our nation’s public lands, and comment on the proposed rule regarding the Endangered Species Act.
We’ve been alerted by our sister conservation organization Front Range Nesting Bald Eagle Studies (FRNBES) that the City of Loveland is seeking to build a bike trail within 1/3 of a mile of the nest of a pair of Golden Eagles. Normally, Golden Eagles nest along cliff ledges, but this pair is rare in that they’ve chosen a tree as a nesting spot. They are the only documented tree-nesting Golden Eagle pair on the northern Colorado Front Range.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife guidelines call for maintaining a buffer of at least a 1/2 mile between trails and an eagle nest. Encroaching within 1/3 of a mile is likely to cause nest disturbance and, potentially, nest failure.
The Earth and its natural systems are nearing a point of no return, heading toward disastrous climate change, a significant die-off of wildlife due to habitat loss, and possibly the collapse of the food chain if insect pollinators, bats and birds continue to be killed at current rates. With drought becoming the norm, water is becoming ever scarcer — and water is the lifeblood of our existence here in the West.
The Boulder Creek Watershed forms the basis of all life in Boulder. Without the watershed maintaining its basic integrity, the forests, the animals, drinking water, and countless native ecosystems would all be at risk, especially considering the unpredictable forces of climate change.
Unfortunately, there is no indication that our current laws and policies will reverse the decline of the watershed’s health. That is because we treat it as mere property, which we exploit to the fullest extent possible without consideration of its inherent worth. For the watershed to survive, it must have a seat at the table. Nature must have a voice and must have representation when decisions are made about housing, other development, water usage, road construction, and other issues.
A community organization here in Boulder, Boulder Rights of Nature (BRON), along with partners such as Save the Colorado and Earth Law Center are proposing that we take a bold stand and try to protect the Boulder Creek Watershed by recognizing its legal rights through a local ordinance. Among the rights sought for Boulder Creek are rights to flow, to support essential functions within its ecosystems, maintain native biodiversity and exist free of pollution. The proposed ordinance would also establish an independent legal guardianship body that would defend those rights and advise local government on how to ensure Rights of Nature becomes part of the community decisionmaking.
Globally, Rights of Nature is recognized at some level of government in at least 14 other countries. It is becoming bread and butter law in Latin America, with many rivers and ecosystems being declared “subjects of rights.” In the United States, numerous Tribal Nations have recognized the Rights of Nature, including the Yurok’s recognition of the rights of the Klamath River and the Nez Perce Tribe’s recognition of the rights of the Snake River. Many other communities have acknowledged and started to implement Nature’s rights as well, including Santa Monica, California, and Orange County, Florida. Boulder can lead the way towards recognizing the rights of rivers in Colorado if Boulder Creek is protected in this way.
BRON and other local advocates are now meeting with local nonprofits, businesses, student groups, scientists, and community groups to build support for this initiative. Together, we can put Boulder on a pathway to protect its watershed for the future. Jake Matyas is an environmental policy intern at Earth Law Center and BRON. Mary C Balzer is a Board member of BRON. Jmatyas5@uoregon.edu or info@boulderrightsofnature.org
As organizer of Stand With Our St. Vrain Creek I wish to clarify our groups position on development which has lately been mischaracterized.
Stand supporters are concerned about the potential for development along St. Vrain Creek that may occur as a result flood mitigation work that will remove over 800 acres of land from the floodplain. 90% of all wildlife relies on riparian areas for survival. If we want to continue having the abundance of wildlife including birds, beavers, raptors, canines, reptiles, deer, wild turkeys and bobcats, along our Greenway and at Sandstone Ranch, we need to protect these areas from development that will cause harm if too close or inappropriate.
In addition to providing habitat and acting as a wildlife movement corridor, riparian areas filter pollutants and sediment, stabilize banks, and prevent downstream flooding. There have been 11 flood events in our city reach of the St. Vrain corridor since the late 1800s. Common sense dictates that even with the best possible mitigation efforts, there will likely be another major flood in our lifetime. The lesson from the 2013 flood should be to keep people and property out of harms way by setting development back from the river.
In August, 2018, City Council gave final approval to the first set of major updates to Longmont’s Land Development Code in 17 years. These new standards became effective in September. These did not include improvements to the Habitat and Species Protection section because staff was waiting for the Wildlife Management Plan update to be done to help inform the Code. City Planning was directed by Council to include several amendments and to develop a sustainability evaluation tool (SES) for appraising development applications using the triple bottom line; economy, environment and social equity. The Planning Department is expected to present these amendments and the new tool to City Council later this summer. The Wildlife Management Plan Update is also being finalized and should be done and approved by City Council in July.
Last October, Stand With Our St. Vrain Creek presented City Council members with 750 postcards and 520 signatures from residents which stated: We, the undersigned, urge Longmont Mayor Brian Bagley and City Council members to protect Longmont’s sensitive and important riparian areas from the intrusion of damaging urban development. Specifically, we want any/all considerations for development in proximity to the St. Vrain Creek corridor to be “put on hold” until the following are in place: 1) FEMA approves new flood plain maps 2) Resilient St. Vrain Project Plans – and funding are in place; 3) The Land Development Code Update is completed for the sections concerning Riparian Protection and Wildlife Management.
Eight months later although none of those 3 common-sense provisions have been realized, development applications are being submitted and processed along our St. Vrain greenway. These applications fall under the current code that is lacking in the essential riparian protections that Council will soon be reviewing. For this reason Stand with Our St Vrain Creek recommended Council enact a Time Out now on any/all development or redevelopment applications along our St. Vrain Greenway until the Code amendments and SES tool are established. Ideally, this time-out should extend until such time as FEMA approves new flood plain maps and the Resilient St. Vrain flood mitigation project is completed, but we realize that’s highly unlikely. Enacting the Code updates and approving the SES tool is the best way to insure that any development along this corridor and near other sensitive areas is done right.
According to our city manager these important standards and practice policy improvements should be in place early this Fall. Therefore, a time-out would be short and productive; giving staff a chance to catch their breath and devote full attention to completing the code and SES for Council’s approval. A time-out is a 5-way win: 1) Win for city planning staff to catch up; 2) Win for our creek’s health to continue to recover and be protected from future harm; 3) Win for taxpayers return on our $150 million investment for flood mitigation; 4) Win for the public who value wildlife; and 5) Win for developers who will have better guidelines to improve their proposals.
The results of Longmont’s 2018 Customer Satisfaction Survey found 74% of residents rated “Protecting nature areas from development” as “very important.” Stand With Our St. Vrain Creek simply suggested City Council be proactive to allow good policy to catch up to and inform good development before it’s too late.
Submitted by Shari Malloy, Retired special education teacher and member of Stand With Our St. Vrain Creek
