This content was originally published by the Longmont Observer and is licensed under a Creative Commons license.
July 19, 2019
Dear Longmont Observer,
My name is Linda Gordon and I’m a homeowner in unincorporated Boulder
County that is finally getting absorbed into the city of Longmont. Rogers
Road runs east and west from Hover Street to Airport Rd. You may have
traveled this road while viewing the fireworks at the Boulder County
Fairgrounds. The conservative homes built between 1965 and 1985 are on
fairly large lots surrounded by agricultural lands and we all have wells to
arrogate. For many years, Rogers Road was just dirt and the homeowners did not mind. Today, Rogers Road is a two lane paved rural road with double yellow lines, devoid of curb and gutter, and no street lights. Needless to say, Roger Road has become very dangerous for our small community due to increased and unfriendly traffic.
Rogers Road also parallels the St. Vrain Creek to the south, and in 2011
the City of Longmont completed the St. Vrain Greenway with the Lykins
Gultch project. The contractor the city hired used my address for all
deliveries to that project as the farmer’s lane borders my home to the east
and was the entrance to that project. I watched them work for twelve months and the work looked like overkill to me. They drained the lake and brought in tons and tons of soil and rocks. The massive earth moving tractor moved this material to one side, and then to the other side until the contour was just right. It was also amazing how this project altered the ground water and the aquifers to our wells. Many in our community lost their water source; thus their wells to arrogate and we wondered if it was worth it. Then September 2013 happened. All that earth moving of material saved many, many homes on both sides of Rogers Road from complete disaster. Many of my neighbors pumped water from their homes for months after that as the water table is very high in this region.
Our small community is being impacted by an out of state developer that
wants to put in 400 plus houses in various sizes and shapes on the north
side of Rogers Road, with only access in and out of these homes via rural
two lane Rogers Road! If the developer is reputable, then they should
want to do this right, and we need to insist that they do it right. The
developer may not go home with as much money, but they can be proud of what they left. Our small community is not opposed to progress; however, we insist that the infrastructure to support this plan be as solid as the
Lykins Gultch project. This requires ground water assessments and more
roads on the south side of the project, or we wait.
As a Longmont native that is very attached to my Rogers Road community, I’m very proud and grateful for the beautiful St. Vrain Greenway and Lykins Gultch. I will always praise the City of Longmont and its council members for their careful planning that insured its success. Please consider our appeal in detail as the solution to ensure that the Rogers Road community is happy, the developer is happy, and that the city of Longmont can be proud of both sides of Roger Road long term.
Sincerely,
Linda Gordon
Longmont, CO 80503
Reference to: General Meeting, Tuesday July 23, 2019 at 7:00PM
* B. **Mountain Brook Preliminary Subdivision Plat Appeal *
*1. **Motion To Reconsider Remand By The Longmont
City Council To The Planning And Zoning Commission Of The Mountain Brook
Preliminary Subdivision Plat Appeal*
*2. **Possible Final Action Regarding The Appeal Of
The Planning And Zoning Commission Decision On The Mountain Brook
Preliminary Subdivision Plat*
