FIRESTONE — Hope that all the fiery rhetoric surrounding an annexation battle was easing between this growing community and neighboring Longmont died last week. Now it may be up to voters to decide who gets a coveted right of way along Colorado 119. Last month, Firestone made plans to flagpole annex land bordering Longmont, so the southwest Weld County community could expand and control development in and around its town limits.
But Longmont officials bristled at the prospect, saying it wanted to remain a free-standing community surrounded by green pastures.
To ensure that, the Longmont City Council voted last week to annex city-owned open space as well as the right of way along Colorado 119, effectively blocking Firestone’s development plans.
Firestone Mayor Mike Simone shot back Thursday night with some choice words on Longmont’s efforts to keep its eastern border development-free.
“They’ve had years to purchase this property, and they’ve done nothing,” Simone said. “They’ve let landowners out there hang out to dry. You don’t get a free buffer. You have to pay for it.”
The mayor also said the Longmont council’s decision not to bring LifeBridge Christian Church’s massive commercial and retail development — also proposed along Colorado 119 — into the city showed a clear anti-religious bent.
“The Longmont council doesn’t have the guts to voice its true intent . . . they have an anti-LifeBridge, anti-church, and some say anti-God, platform,” Simone said.
LifeBridge officials withdrew their annexation request to be brought into Longmont last January after a citizen petition drive forced an election on the issue.
After Simone’s views were aired Thursday night, the Firestone Town Board voted to begin annexing the same right of way along Colorado 119 all the way to Fairview Street, which butts against Longmont city limits.
The plan would essentially bring into Firestone the planned Firelight Park, placing the 74-acre housing and commercial development next to Longmont’s eastern city limits.
Plan likely to go to voters
The dispute over which municipality can annex the right of way could be decided in an election, according to papers filed last week in Weld County District Court by Longmont City Attorney Clay Douglas.
The Firestone board also agreed to consider bringing the LifeBridge development into its borders in another flagpole annexation.
The LifeBridge plan calls for the construction of 300 to 700 homes as well as 680,000 square feet of commercial development.
Firestone officials say the developers of both Firelight Park and LifeBridge came to them after being discouraged or rebuffed by Longmont.
“We are certainly not out there begging property owners to come our way,” said Thomas Cooper, a member of Firestone’s planning board and a candidate for the Town Board.
Cooper said Firestone was careful not to extend over the boundaries of other communities when it recently completed its master plan for future growth. Firestone, Cooper added, also wants to make sure growth is orderly, which hasn’t happened in the past.
“These property owners will develop whether or not we annex them,” he said. “Our master plan is simply a way to keep an eye on the future.”
Longmont “comfortable” with buffer
That same future means keeping Longmont’s stature as one of the few remaining free-standing communities in the metro area.
The city is surrounded on the south, north and west by open space and prefers to keep the same buffer to the east.
“It’s our history and culture to be surrounded by open space. We are very comfortable with that,” Longmont Mayor Roger Lange said.
Police officers attended the Longmont meeting over worries that violence could erupt. Longmont council member Karen Benker hopes tempers over the issue will subside.
“It’s time for cooler heads to prevail,” Benker said. “That cycle just needs to stop.”
Longtime Longmont resident Dale Lanan hopes the city sticks to its plan of keeping development away from city limits.
“Open space is so important, not just for wildlife, but it reflects on how people think,” Lanan said.
But Bob Hajek, owner of Hajek Chevrolet, said business development helps pay for open space. The problem is that Longmont is not all that friendly to businesses, which is why he wants his dealership to remain just east of the city in unincorporated Weld County.
“(Longmont) puts so many restrictions on car dealerships that you can’t do business,” he said.
Monte Whaley: 720-929-0907 or mwhaley@denverpost.com
