$30 Land Deal Court Ruling: What It Means
By Arvada for All the People
The Colorado Court of Appeals agrees with Arvada for All the People.
In a ruling delivered Thursday, May 14, 2020, the Arvada grassroots citizen's group garnered a favorable decision from the Court on the controversial $30 Land Deal apartment project.
The effect of the decision is that developer Trammell Crow will have to start the development approval process as a new applicant – the city council's March 2018 approval is void.
The lawsuit was filed over the Arvada city council's interpretation of the Land Development Code that Arvada for All the People believed was wrong and excluded public participation.
The original plan called 'Olde Town Residences' contemplated the construction of a six story structure consisting of a two story parking garage topped with four floors of 256 luxury apartments that would have loomed over Wadsworth Bypass.
Especially controversial was Arvada Urban Renewal Authority's (AURA) plan to sell the nine acres of public land – then valued by the Jefferson County Assessor at almost $6 million – to developer Trammell Crow for $30. The developer was also to get $13 million in taxpayer subsidies through a sales and property tax rebate until 2034.
The development was rejected by the city council in January 2018, but subsequently approved in a 'reapplication' the following March. Arvada for All the People filed a lawsuit in April 2018 objecting to the city council's tortured reading of the law for reconsidering an already disapproved project and AURA's efforts to railroad the development.
The Jefferson County District Court decided against Arvada for All the People in March 2019. This decision was appealed to the Colorado Court of Appeals.
The victory at the Court of Appeals does not necessarily stop the project. Trammell Crow could make a new application for the very same plan or one substantially the same.
Make no mistake this is a project incompatible with Olde Town and is unpopular with many Arvadans.
- Blatant corporate welfare and manipulation of the free market.
- Destroys the 'grand view' from Arvada's historic Grandview Avenue.
- Increases traffic congestion on already congested Wadsworth Bypass
- Would provide apartments unaffordable to most people.
- Basic services are not available in the area.
However, a newly adopted revised Land Development Code could fast track this bad project and once again we could see it railroaded to approval – this time with no public input whatsoever.
Arvada for All the People believes that the honorable and honest thing for the city council to do is direct that a new application for the same or a similar Trammell Crow project for this location be heard by the Planning Commission and the council, itself.
Arvada for All the People, of course, has the right to again consider legal action if it appears that City Hall is trying to inappropriately grease the rails for Trammell Crow and Arvada Urban Renewal.
There are always choices to be made by people in government. If Arvada Urban Renewal and unelected functionaries at City Hall try to once again ram this project through with minimal input from Arvada residents, that will be an insult and a slap-in-the-face to so many who care passionately about this city's history and traditions.
The land in question has much potential to add to the economic base and the quality of life in Arvada. It would be commendable if the citizens' voices were heard about compatibility with the Olde Town area and it would be better if the free market were allowed to function as it should.
Arvada for All the People has been at the forefront of wanting a free market process to work in this situation. The standards and history of Olde Town Arvada can be respected while enhancing the prosperity of our community.
Looking south; the project would destroy the 'grand view' from Grandview Avenue
Looking north; the government subsidized project will create a massive wall that is incompatible
with the character of Olde Town ArvadaConceptualization photos courtesy of Blade Four Productions
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