Longmont City Council, Tuesday night, began the process of providing the land for the development of the 150,000-square-foot Costco retail store and fueling station in southeast Longmont.
By a unanimous vote, the council scheduled a group of public hearings on July 13 for the comprehensive plan land use amendment, rezoning and concept plan amendments for the Irwin Thomas property. The parcel is located north and south of Colo. 119 between Martin Street on the west and 119th Street on the east.
The proposed land use changes to the Irwin Thomas property would make way for the proposed Costco warehouse and regional center and add a mix of affordable housing, according to a city staff report. The changes would also add a collector street designation to the north-south Harvest Moon Drive between Colo. 119 and Quail Road and mitigate the gravel mining on the remainder of the property, the staff report states.
The amendments and rezoning will facilitate a public/private partnership with the property owners and Costco to bring commercial development, new jobs and more affordable housing to the city, the staff report states.
Last December, the city council approved 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.
The “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 the city council last year.
Longmont also will acquire 9 acres for future affordable housing, according to the staff report.
The planned rezoning has drawn the ire of residents along Quicksilver Road, a dirt road that would generate noise and dust because of heavy trucks hauling gravel.
City Manager Harold Dominguez told the council the intergovernmental agreement between Boulder County and the city says, in part, that the city will provide dust control on Quicksilver 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.
Costco expects to open no later than July 2024, according to the staff report.
.jpeg;w=120;h=80;mode=crop)
.JPG;w=120;h=80;mode=crop)