A proposed annexation of land for a 310-unit housing development was presented before the Longmont City Council on June 17. The council did not approve the annexation of the land along QuailRoad, instead referring the project back to the annexation review process.
The 17.3-acre site is made up of four parcels located on the south side of Quail Road north of Clover Basin Drive, west of South Fordham Street, and east of Airport Road.
The land currently has an agricultural zoning designation in unincorporated Boulder County and is part of a larger county enclave. The requested zoning, should the site be annexed into the city, is residential-mixed neighborhood. The parcels were part of a previous annexation application that was withdrawn in February by the applicant, Atlanta-based Vista Residential Partners, prior to final action being taken by the city council.
The revised application, also by Vista Residential Partners, proposes the same density of 18 dwelling units per acre as before, but with a formal commitment to designate at least 15 percent of the total units as deed restricted and affordable for-sale units.
“We are trying to be consistent with the Envision Longmont plan, which is what we’re following,” said Ryan McBreen of Norris Design in Fort Collins, a company assisting with the planning, landscape architecture, and entitlements on the project.
The multimodal and comprehensive plan known as Envision Longmont was adopted by the city council in 2016 and is intended to provide strategic direction and guidance for the city.
On June 17, the city council did not approve the annexation, and instead referred it into the annexation review process. There will be additional neighborhood meetings and public hearings as part of the full development review procedure.
“What I think we can all agree on is that something’s going to be built here,” Councilmember Matthew Popkin said. “The question is, is this the highest and best use of this site? Highest, not in terms of height but in terms of planning terms.”
Popkin, along with Mayor Joan Peck, Mayor Pro Tem Susie Hidalgo-Fahring, and Councilmember Aren Rodriguez voted in favor of referring the annexation into the review process.
Councilmembers Diane Crist, Shiquita Yarbrough and Sean McCoy voted against it.
“I do have a problem with the density,” McCoy said. “I think the applicant is … literally disconnected with the reality of what the community was saying.”
The project’s previous application received significant pushback from community members who cited density and traffic concerns along with the fact that the vast majority of units would be for-rent instead of for-sale.
