City council, Tuesday night, indicated it will back the construction of a composting plant in Boulder County but will stay away from endorsing the facility’s proposed location south of Longmont.
Councilmembers voted unanimously to send a letter of support to the Boulder County Commissioners supporting the composting center. The center will accept truckloads of manure and other waste products and convert it to compost for local farms and homes, according to Boulder County.
The letter will leave out the proposed site of the composting plant, since it is a focus of a lawsuit by three nearby landowners, said Councilmember Aren Rodriguez. The county wants to build the facility on the 40-acre abandoned Rainbow Nursery parcel located between Lookout Road and U.S. 52.
The landowners claim the county used sales and use tax proceeds to create a conservation easement for the parcel saying it was “prime agricultural land.” Their lawsuit says the sales and use tax funds can only be used for agricultural or environmental preservation.
But the county changed direction in 2018 and decided to convert the site into a industrial-sized composting plant that would attract truckloads of manure, human waste and rotting food along an already crowded Colo. 287, the lawsuit claims.
Boulder County has put the composting plant’s special use review application on hold, said county spokesperson Barb Halpin in an email. The county also wants the landowners’ lawsuit to be dismissed by a district judge since the project is on hold, Halpin said.
“...When/if the planning process is begun, there will be ample opportunities for members of the public to voice their opinions, be heard before multiple hearings and even consider litigation if a decision is made to move forward with the facility,” Halpin said.
Erie trustees last week sent a letter to the Boulder County Commissioners to formally withdraw the compost facility proposal, citing concerns over the odor and traffic the facility would attract.
Supporters say the compost plant would help reduce waste from going into local landfills and fight greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality.
The city council letter is scheduled to be presented for a formal vote next week.
