The number of residents signing the Petition as of today are as follows:

Total residents of Lafayette and surrounding communities - 835

Lafayette residents - 454.

This level of support is far more than we hoped for when we started the Petition!

Tonight’s City Council meeting begins at 5:30 and starts with Public Comment.  Anyone can arrive a little before 5:30 and fill out a very short form to request to speak for up to 5 minutes.  There is no need too stay for the whole meeting.

The address is:

1290 S. Public Road 

Hope to see you there!  Below is the text of the remarks I plan to make this evening.  Thanks very much!

Remarks of Preston Padden Before the Lafayette, CO City Council

February, 21, 2023

My name is Preston Padden and I live at 2389 Indian Peaks Trail.  My wife and I try to contribute to our community.  She is on the Board of the Indian Peaks Master HOA and has been active in removing water-needy plantings throughout the community, replacing them with River Rock, turning off the irrigation that previously served those plants and installing master valves to further reduce water usage.  I serve on the Board of the IP2 Sub-HOA.

I am here on behalf of 835 local residents asking Council to not annex the 36 agricultural acres in Unincorporated Boulder County at the Southwest Corner of Arapahoe and Highway 287 for the purpose of the proposed Lafayette Marketplace development.  10 days ago, my wife and I created an online Petition against this project hoping that maybe 100 people would sign.  It seems we hit a community nerve.  As of today, 835 local area residents have signed the Petition - 454 Lafayette Residents and 381 residents of surrounding communities like Erie and Louisville.

There are many reasons to not annex this property for a dense mixed-use project like Lafayette Marketplace.  The out-of-town developer is proposing 5 story buildings, 677 apartments and 84,000 square feet of commercial space.  The project is grossly out of scale and character with the surrounding Lafayette community.  Arapahoe Road already is a parking lot.  And, it has yet to try to absorb the impact of the nearly 1,000 new homes to be built in Silo and 40 North.  The last thing Arapahoe needs is all the cars from 677 new apartments and the proposed commercial businesses.  

Nearby elementary schools are at capacity with one of them adding portable classrooms.  And, of course, we have no water.  For the second year in a row, Lafayette, like many other Front Range towns, has advised residents to reduce water consumption.  The Colorado Gazette reports today that 88% of Colorado residents want local governments to be sure there is enough water for current residents before approving new developments.  While the Lafayette Marketplace developer claims to have a source of water, whatever that source is, it would be far better to use it to help serve current residents and businesses.

Because this land is not in Lafayette, the developer has absolutely no legal right to avail itself of Lafayette’s zoning and development approval process.  It’s only right is to seek annexation.  And your decision on annexation is “legislative” in character, not “quasi-judicial”.  That means that you have unfettered discretion to deny annexation.  And 835 local residents are asking you to deny annexation before even looking at a development sketch plan.

You might be thinking, if we don’t annex this land now, what will happen?  Will Erie grab it to build high rises?  But, because of the Inter Government Agreement expertly negotiated by City Administrator Sprague, Erie cannot touch this land for another 6 years.  That gives the City and the community time to work together on a far better use of these 36 acres.  Maybe the owner can be persuaded to take advantage of a huge tax deduction for making this parcel subject to a conservation easement.  Or, maybe over the next 6 years the City will find the money to buy this land for open space.

The important fact is that we have time and options.  Neither the City nor its residents need to view Lafayette Marketplace as the only option for that space.  Again, 454 of your constituents, Lafayette residents - along with 381 residents of neighboring communities - have lent their names, address and email address to a polite and respectful request that you not annex this land for Lafayette Marketplace.  We hope that the Council and City Staff will give careful consideration to the request of these hundreds of residents.

Thanks very much for your dedication to our wonderful City.