The fight over the Rivertown development near Roger’s Grove in Longmont is not over, say local activists.
The City Council in January approved the annexation of the 21-acre Rivertown parcel, located at 21 S. Sunset Street, south of the St. Vrain Creek and is currently zoned for industrial uses in unincorporated Boulder County. The property is also east of Roger’s Grove and Fairgrounds Lake, extended along the St. Vrain Greenway.
The real fight over Rivertown will be over a detailed concept plan, in which the developers are expected to lay out their ultimate vision for the parcel, activists say.
Rivertown LLC — which is part of the Golden-based Confluence Companies — wants to put a four-or-five story apartment complex abutting Roger’s Grove and St. Vrain Creek, the most ecologically sensitive areas of Longmont, said Sharon Malloy, a member of Stand with Our St. Vrain Creek.
“It will be an abomination on our St. Vrain Greenway,” Malloy said.
Rivertown LLC bought the land in 2013 and aims to clear out the discards of a former concrete batch plant for 334 high density residential units and 20,000 square feet of commercial space.
The plan is to invest roughly $100 million into the Rivertown development and provide Longmont with badly needed housing, Tony De Simone, owner of Confluence Companies, told the city council in January.
“Currently, we’re seeing 50,000 people a year move to Colorado “ De Simone said. “We’re not building enough housing to satisfy that demand.”
He said a recent market study indicates Longmont will absorb as many as 25,000 new residents over the next 13 years. Rivertown, De Simone told the council, could help Longmont achieve more attainable housing for workers.
De Simone could not be reached for comment last week.
Council members asked the developer not to build access roads on the property’s open space and that a vegetation buffer surround the property.
The concept plan should be produced in 18 months. Mayor Joan Peck said she hopes the developers will scale back on the project’s density and offer more “for-sale” condos.
Peck — who met with Stand with Our St. Vrain Creek last week — said the city is limited to what it can demand out of Rivertown LLC because it does not own the land. “The city is not going to buy that land at market value for such a tiny amount of open space,” Peck said.
The city, she added, also needs the housing Rivertown provides.
“I think we made some good comments to the developers and we got the developer to protect as much as we can to protect the riparian areas there,” Peck said. “To do more would be unfair to the developer.”
Resident Jamie Simo said via email that Rivertown will chase off local wildlife while not adding to the local housing stock.
Roger’s Grove, Simo said, is relatively quiet at night and wildlife moves at night.
“Once you add a few hundred apartment buildings and condos, you’ll now have a bunch of people coming home in the evenings from work and want to grill or have parties and play loud music or take a stroll or maybe even shoot off fireworks for Independence Day,” Simo said.
The noise will cause a chilling effect on the wildlife, Simo said. Most nesting species will nest elsewhere and migration through the area will experience a bottleneck. Also, having a four-or-five story building with hundreds of glass windows will cause more bird strikes and light pollution, Simo said.
The housing the city is allowing will be mostly apartments, of which there is no shortage in Longmont, Simo said. “You can’t earn equity from renting,” Simo added.
