Longmont City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved six measures that will usher in the development of a 150,000-square-foot Costco retail store and fueling station in southeast Longmont.
The measures include intergovernmental agreements and incentives to bring in Costco, which will create more than 300 jobs and $4.06 million in new sales tax in the store’s first full year of operation, according to city officials.
The city’s package of incentives to Costco is more than $12.99 million, according to city staff.
“Location of the Costco retail warehouse … within city limits represents a significant economic development opportunity for Longmont community members to enjoy a diversification of retail opportunities locally as well as stemming the leakage of sales tax dollars from the city,” according to a staff report to council.
In the deal with Costco, Longmont also will acquire 9 acres for future affordable housing, according to the staff report.
Speakers at Tuesday’s virtual public hearing, however, said Costco and associated development could leave a huge, unwanted footprint in Longmont.
Resident Holly Cook said there was a lack of green and park space surrounding the Costco store, east of the existing Harvest Junction South retail and residential development south of Ken Pratt Boulevard.
Cook and Michael Gunderson, both residents of Quicksilver Road, lamented the heavy truck traffic the road will draw as the approved haul route for eventual gravel mining on the Irwin-Thomas property. The agreement calls for the development of a 48.66 acre site within the Irwin-Thomas parcel for the Costco site, according to the staff report.
“This road is not paved and not rated for heavy truck traffic,” Cook told council.
Gunderson also urged council to find a new route for gravel hauling, which he said will endanger his and his grandchildrens’ health.
“I am begging you not to use this road to transport all of this dirt,” Gunderson said.
Their concerns prompted Mayor Brian Bagley to ask whether the city should further review the Quicksilver Road piece of the Costco agreement.
“I feel we are about to bully families that do not want this,” Bagley said.
City Manager Harold Dominguez told Bagley the intergovernmental agreement between Boulder County and the city outlines the maintenance of Quicksilver Road. The agreement says in part that the city will provide dust control on the road and the work will be done by Aggregate Industries.
Longmont also will provide “appropriate traffic control measures at the intersection of Quicksilver Road and North 119th Street to provide a higher degree of safety for vehicular and pedestrian traffic commensurate with the use of this intersection by vehicles entering and exiting the mine site,” according to the agreement.
Longmont also is responsible for ensuring that up to $360,000 is offered to residents ($180,000 to each) residing on Quicksilver Road “in order to mitigate the alleged impacts caused by the increase in truck traffic,” the agreement states. In exchange, Quicksilver Road residents will sign a waiver and release any and all claims against Boulder County, Longmont and Aggregate Industries, according to the agreement.
City council members said development of the Costco site will be reviewed by city agencies and boards over the next several months. Costco expects to open no later than July 2024, according to the staff report.
