The City of Longmont will celebrate National Trails Day on Saturday, June 3rd, at the Button Rock Preserve. The city is recruiting volunteers to build steps along the Hummingbird trail.
If you are a hiker, this is an opportunity to give back to the community in a meaningful way by helping to maintain our trail system at Button Rock.
You can register and find more information regarding the Button Rock event here: https://joinus.longmontcolorado.gov/ActivityVolunteerRegistration/26c277b8-df6c-4458-bd7b-970358f35bcb
There will be snacks and live music along the lakeshore at the top of the trail at the end of the project.
Longmont City Council will be voting on whether to approve a resolution to submit a ballot question to be voted on on election day (November 8, 2022). If Council approves the resolution, voters would be asked to approve issuing up to $20 million of storm drainage revenue bonds to finance the completion of the Resilient St Vrain flood mitigation Project (RSVP). On Tuesday night, City Council can either approve the proposed ballot language, modify the language and approve, or neither approve the language nor put the language on the ballot.
Stand is asking that City Council amend the proposed ballot language to include the following language (in red) ensuring that the City will not use our Storm Drainage fees to destroy Bank Swallow habitat at Roger’s Grove during flood mitigation work:
Without imposing new taxes or increasing existing taxes, and while preserving the established Bank Swallow habitat at Roger’s Grove, shall the City of Longmont be authorized to borrow up to $20,000,000 for the purpose of financing storm drainage system improvements, including but not limited to improvements to the St. Vrain Creek drainageway from Sunset Street to Hover Street to protect downstream areas from future flooding; and shall the borrowing be evidenced by bonds, loan agreements, or other financial obligations payable solely from the City’s storm drainage enterprise revenues and be issued at one time or in multiple series at a price above, below or equal to the principal amount of such borrowing and with such terms and conditions, including provisions for redemption prior to maturity with or without payment of premium, as the City may determine?
Please consider showing your support for Bank Swallows at the Council meeting by wearing green and signing up to speak during public invited to be heard.
If you are unable to attend the meeting or are unable/unwilling to speak, please consider sending an email to Council urging them to consider adding language protecting the Bank Swallow colony at Roger’s Grove in the ballot measure.
Some potential talking points for an email to Council are below:
Any plans the City might consider to use storm drainage fee bond $$ to mitigate future flooding along the St. Vrain Creek must be designed so our bank swallow habitat will not be destroyed.
I do not want my tax dollars nor fees used by the City to wipe out the Bank Swallow habitat at Rogers Grove.
Please include language in the flood mitigation plans in the area of Rogers Grove that will ensure protection of the nesting habitat of Bank Swallows.
Our St. Vrain greenway, particularly near Rogers Grove, is a very special natural environment including the presence of nesting Bank Swallows who migrate many thousands of miles every spring/summer to have babies. Please use your authority as our council and representatives to ensure protection of this precious and rare habitat for this species, which is listed as “a species of special concern” in Longmont’s Wildlife Management Plan.
I understand the favored option for Longmont’s flood mitigation project in Roger’s Grove will almost certainly wipe out the rare nesting Bank Swallow habitat, which currently hosts 30-50 nesting pairs of the smallest of our North American swallows. These special, threatened birds travel every April from Central and S. America and the Eastern Caribbean to nest and have babies. I don’t believe I can support a ballot measure allowing my storm drainage fee increase to be used to ruin this habitat.
Please use your position as our elected city officials to direct City staff involved with flood mitigation plans to come up with a plan to protect our special, rare, and sensitive Bank Swallow colony habitat by Roger’s Grove. I will continue to monitor this development and will vote on the proposed ballot measure accordingly.
As Council meetings are now virtual, we ask that you send in comments regarding the annexation to City Council prior to the meeting (contact Council members here) and/or call into the meeting on Tuesday the 11th to express your concerns. You can watch City Council meetings live from your computer through the City of Longmont’s YouTube Channel or via the Longmont Public Media Channel at https://longmontpublicmedia.org/watch.
Anyone wishing to provide Public Comment must watch the Livestream of the meeting and call-in only when the Chairperson opens the meeting for public comment. Callers are not able to access the meeting at any other time.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR CALLING IN TO PROVIDE PUBLIC COMMENT:
The toll-free call-in number is: 888 788 0099.
Watch the livestream (instructions above) and write down the Meeting ID when it is displayed at the beginning of the meeting.
WAIT for the Chairperson to invite callers to call-in and then dial the toll-free number, enter the Meeting ID, and, when asked for your Participant ID, press #.
Mute the livestream and listen for instructions on the phone.
Callers will hear confirmation they have entered the meeting, will be told how many others are already participating in the meeting and will be placed in a virtual waiting room until admitted into the meeting.
Callers will be called upon by the last three (3) digits of their phone number and allowed to unmute to provide their comments.
Comments are limited to three minutes per person and each speaker will be asked to state their name and address for the record prior to proceeding with their comments.
Once done speaking, callers should hang up.
On Tuesday, January 11th, City Council will hear the second reading of the annexation of the Rivertown property adjacent to St. Vrain Creek and Roger’s Grove Nature Area and will determine whether or not to approve the annexation and concept plan. It has come to our attention that approving the annexation of this property ALSO approves the concept plan as it is currently drafted. There are a number of issues with the concept plan that need to be addressed prior to annexation and any development that occurs on this property.
Specifically, Stand With Our St. Vrain Creek is concerned that the concept plan does not comply with Longmont Municipal Code, particularly with the zoning of the property as well as with the compatibility of the proposed development with the adjacent natural areas.
As Council meetings are now virtual, we ask that you send in comments regarding the annexation to City Council prior to the meeting (contact Council members here) and/or call into the meeting on Tuesday the 11th to express your concerns. You can watch City Council meetings live from your computer through the City of Longmont’s YouTube Channel or via the Longmont Public Media Channel at https://longmontpublicmedia.org/watch.
Anyone wishing to provide Public Comment must watch the Livestream of the meeting and call-in only when the Chairperson opens the meeting for public comment. Callers are not able to access the meeting at any other time.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR CALLING IN TO PROVIDE PUBLIC COMMENT:
The toll-free call-in number is: 888 788 0099.
Watch the livestream (instructions above) and write down the Meeting ID when it is displayed at the beginning of the meeting.
WAIT for the Chairperson to invite callers to call-in and then dial the toll-free number, enter the Meeting ID, and, when asked for your Participant ID, press #.
Mute the livestream and listen for instructions on the phone.
Callers will hear confirmation they have entered the meeting, will be told how many others are already participating in the meeting and will be placed in a virtual waiting room until admitted into the meeting.
Callers will be called upon by the last three (3) digits of their phone number and allowed to unmute to provide their comments.
Comments are limited to three minutes per person and each speaker will be asked to state their name and address for the record prior to proceeding with their comments.
Once done speaking, callers should hang up.
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
Stand With Our St. Vrain Creek is organizing a group to participate in Longmont’s annual Clean Up, Green Up celebration! This year, the Clean Up, Green Up kickoff is Saturday, April 6th at 7:30am at 7 S. Sunset Street in Longmont. As part of the kickoff, the City of Longmont will be providing volunteers with free coffee, juice, and donuts!
Due to the reseeding going on along the St. Vrain, Stand will be cleaning along Lefthand Creek. If interested in helping out, please email standwithstvraincreek@gmail.com.
All volunteers should wear weather-appropriate clothes and sturdy shoes as well as bring their own work gloves.
This is a last minute notice, but Longmont is holding another City Council Open forum tonight at 7:00pm at the Civic Center (350 Kimbark Street) where residents can speak about any topic they desire. If you are able to attend, please consider doing so and speaking up in favor of greater riparian protections.
Since residents can speak about any topic for up to 5 minutes, it’s best to show up early to add your name to the speaker list.
A more open attitude toward development along the St. Vrain Creek corridor once the Resilient St. Vrain flood restoration project is completed further separated Longmont Ward 1 City Council candidates Josh Goldberg and Tim Waters at a forum Thursday night.
The conversation about the future of development along St. Vrain Creek took center stage last night at the Sustainability Forum hosted by Sustainable Resilient Longmont, Eco-Cycle, and the Longmont Observer and participated in by Longmont City Council Ward 1 candidates Tim Waters and Josh Goldberg. The third candidate for the seat vacated by Brian Bagley when he became mayor last year, Russ Lyman, did not attend. Ward 1 comprises the majority of Longmont east of Main Street.
