A group of Longmont residents begin today to try to block a massive church-sponsored housing and retail development they claim will tarnish the city for generations.
They hope to collect 4,021 valid signatures in 21 days in an effort to overturn the LifeBridge Christian Church’s 348-acre Union project. The City Council approved the annexation and development of Union on Aug. 14.
But if enough credible signatures are presented to the council by the end of September, council members must either repeal its earlier approval or put the church’s plan before voters in a special election.
“Longmont has never really had a successful referendum, but at the least, we are hoping the City Council notes what we’re doing here,” said Jen Gartner, a petition-drive organizer.
Gartner said there still are too many unanswered questions about the Union project, including its tax-exempt status, because much of its development will be church-related.
“We simply want answers to a major real-estate deal that will change the face of Longmont forever,” she said.
The 348-acre parcel is north of Colorado 119 near Union Reservoir. LifeBridge proposes building 300 to 700 homes – some valued at up to $2.5 million – townhomes and apartments on 142 acres. Plans also call for 57 acres of civic and religious uses and 40 acres for mixed-used development such as shops, offices and lofts.
Developers say Union will eventually employ 2,000 people and generate $200,000 in revenue for the city. City leaders, meanwhile, say the project will be an important eastern gateway for Longmont.
“This project has been in the public process over the past 2 1/2 years, and the city and city staffers have put a tremendous amount of effort into reviewing it,” said Martin Dickey, a spokesman for the project and the church.
The City Council, Dickey said, represents the Longmont community and it had the final say over whether the project will be good for the city.
“We’re moving forward … and we’ll be announcing soon who will be our development partners,” Dickey said.
Besides the project’s tax-exempt status, other worries include the traffic and environmental impacts caused by Union’s growth, Gartner said.
“People would be far less concerned if the City Council had just let Longmont know what it’s getting into with this project,” Gartner said.
Staff writer Monte Whaley can be reached at 720-929-0907 or mwhaley@denverpost.com.
