Fort Lupton City Council approved a second extension of a metropolitan district’s service plan Aug. 4.
The extension pushes the deadline for the Cottonwood Greens Metropoiltan District to Dec. 31. City staff said the four-month addition would allow the district to “complete outdated information and bring the documents to satisfactory levels,” according to staff comments.
The development is near Weld County Road 31 and sits north of Ninth Street. The developer is The Ranch Estates General Partnership. Three filings totaling 169 homes have been approved.
Council approved a first extension of the deadline in October. Part of the developers’ concerns in October concerned a lack of city approval for the development.
“If we were to adhere to the deadline, the service plan amendment would be based off of these previously unapproved development plans, which were not accurate to what we believe the plans actually are at this time,” said a July 31, 2019, letter from attorney Matthew P. Ruhland to White Bear Ankele Tanaka and Waldron attorney Jennifer Gruber Tanaka. “If we were to submit a service plan amendment by the (June 1, 2020) deadline, an additional service plan amendment would likely be necessary to incorporate the purchaser’s updated development plans, once they are determined.”
The Aug. 4 vote was 5-2. Mayor Zo Stieber cast one of the “no” notes.
“While I’m generally not a fan of metro districts, I do understand that it is difficult for developers to obtain financing for a project without a clear means of repaying debt,” she said. “In the case of the extension on Tuesday’s agenda, my vote reflected that I’ve reached the limit of my patience with the project in question.”
Public Works Director Roy Vestal said special district counsel reviewed the request for a second extension and approved it. No one else on council spoke to the matter.