Vincent Village Metropolitan District is officially part of the Fort Lupton landscape.
City council voted 4-2 to create the district and approve a service plan Sept. 15. Mayor Zo Stieber and Councilwoman Shannon Rhoda cast the “no” votes.
The district’s borders are the Coyote Creek Golf Course, the Safeway business park and some single-family homes. Two business, a 7-Eleven store that is open, and the soon-to-be-open and newly relocated Dale’s Pharmacy, are in the district. Officials don’t expect to add other businesses in the future.
One thing developers added to the district was single-family homes. Bob someone with the district said those would be the only homes in the district.
“So if they are CHAFA (Colorado Housing and Finance authority) projects, are they exempt from paying district taxes?” Stieber asked.
“They will pay taxes,” said Bob Leino representing Fuller Real Estate.
“It’s one of the questions that has come up. Now, we are putting in low-income houses. We are putting the cart before the horse, and your attorney isn’t aware,” Stieber said.
Rhoda asked if the district’s plan needed to be amended to add the housing piece. City special counsel Jennifer Tanaka said no.
“The overall service plan complies with city code,” she said. “I’ve seen it (a change in submitted district plans) before. It’s not the most common way to proceed with a service plan. But it’s not unusual.”
“If we put in low-income housing, that will tack on a huge levy. And the cost will go down to the people who rent those apartments. Keep that in mind,” Rhoda said.
Leino said the new development was not low-income housing.
“It’s still an extra cost passed down to the people who rent those apartments,” Rhoda said. “That’s the only point I was trying to make.”
Later in the meeting, consultant Claud Hanes, who was the city administrator in Fort Lupton, updated council about another new development, the Cottonwood Project, a single-family residential development north of Ninth Street and east of the Fulton Ditch. Council approved three filings with 184 lots.
“I like the variety of builders,” Stieber said.
“Hopefully, we’ll see these numbers continue,” Hanes said. “There is a lot of potential. There are annexation plans. We’ve gotten busier. It’s cool to see this transition.”
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In other business, council approved a resolution to allow the Fort Lupton Public & School Library to use Kristel Acre and Abigail Renner of Re/Max Nexus as a real-estate broker. The library is looking at three areas of town to relocate. One area is behind the Safeway store northeast of Fort Lupton High School. A second is across the street from Safeway. A third spot is near the Cannery.