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Opinion: Kevin Gallagher--Rogers Road

When the citizens of Rogers Road appealed the Longmont Planning & Zoning Commission approval of the HMS Mountain Brook development on Rogers Road, we were delighted that the City Council voted to send the plat back to planning with conditions for the transportation, drainage, and wildlife reports to be completed, and until FAA approval is received to build so close to a runway approach.
Typewriter opinion
Photo by Alexa Mazzarello on Unsplash

This content was originally published by the Longmont Observer and is licensed under a Creative Commons license.

Dear Citizens of Longmont, 

When the citizens of Rogers Road appealed the Longmont Planning & Zoning Commission approval of the HMS Mountain Brook development on Rogers Road, we were delighted that  the City Council voted to send the plat back to planning with conditions for the transportation,  drainage,  and wildlife reports to be completed,  and  until FAA approval is received to build so close to a runway approach. 

We were encouraged to learn we will still have a chance to have our concerns addressed, afforded to us in the Land Development Code and Envision Longmont 

But then something Mayor Bagley said stuck with me. He voted in the affirmative for our appeal, and mentioned bringing it back next week for reconsideration when Bonnie Finlay is back.  Today I learned that only those who vote in the affirmative can bring a motion to reconsider.  So as early as next Tuesday, the council may vote to reconsider the appeal vote and our voice in the development process will be lost without any resolution of our reasonable concerns for:  traffic impacts of 300 new neighbors on a rural  street with less than 30 homes, the widening of Rogers Road that will take our property and put many of our front doors within feet a major street, the drainage impacts in a High Impact flood zone with a high water table, and the fact that they want to build so many homes under an airport approach which we feel will create a hazardous situation for Longmont.  Please call or write Mayor Bagley and ask him not to do this to us. We are also prepared to appeal any reconsideration to Colorado state district court, which is our right.  

I also contacted the City Attorney to inquire about filing an ethics complaint against Council Members Waters and Martin, who admitted that they were meeting with HMS Rogers Road LLC’s Kevin Mulshine, the lead developer in the Mountain Brook Plat, on the day we filed our appeals.   In a vote of 4-2, Waters and Martin were the two council members who voted against our reasonable appeal.  With even the appearance of a conflict of interest, Waters and Martin should have to recuse themselves from any future matter related to this project’s approval if they truly believe they are an open, honest and transparent government. Unfortunately, recusals in Colorado are voluntary,  so please write or call them and ask them to recuse. The city attorney’s office replied they could not help me.    

In our appeal we also were very concerned that Rogers Road, in every plan submitted, is shown with a  70’ Right of Way, twice its current width.  We thought the developers did this, but I learned that the city quietly annexed Rogers Road from the county last year and added the 70’ Right of Way. So sneaky.  They drew lines across our property and never told us.  And at the hearing said we were misinformed, when it is their job to inform us.  

This is not a NIMBY case. No one is opposed to the plan or disputes the city’s right to do it, just to the way our concerns have been ignored throughout the development applications and review process. 

We have had the same unaddressed issues of concern for the several annexations of the land north and south of Rogers Road for five years and now believe that Longmont’s Planning and Development Services, by their actions, operate solely for the needs of multi-millionaire developers and see us as lots in their way.   Please call or write to them and ask to behave in an ethical manner for all stakeholders and stop setting us up to take our property against our will.  Your property could be next. 

Thank you,

Kevin Gallagher
Longmont