BROOMFIELD, Colo. — A plan to develop vacant land along Broomfield's Interlocken Loop near Highway 36 is facing backlash from some people living nearby.
The landowner and applicant, JP Colorado Land, shared a concept plan with Broomfield City Council on Tuesday night during a study session.
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The plan seeks to rezone two plots of land at 100 and 115 Edgeview Drive from retail and office space to residential use for townhomes and apartments. The landowner argues that demand for office buildings has dropped because of the pandemic and the rise of artificial intelligence.
Andrea Fetchko, who lives in an apartment in the area, reached out to Denver7 with her concerns about the concept plan. She said she and other residents want to see the open space remain undeveloped and said she doesn't believe more housing in the area would benefit residents.
"It just doesn't seem necessary," Fetchko said. "We just had a new apartment complex go up over there. We have a ton of apartment buildings and town homes down the road."
She said the pace of construction has not translated into lower costs for renters.
"It felt like they were building just to build, and my rent has not gone down at all. It's only going up," Fetchko said.
The City of Broomfield's webpage that lets residents engage with city and county projects shows 17 comments in response to the concept plan at Interlocken Loop, all of which oppose the rezoning. Some of the comments say, "in the event this land actually does get approved for development, my family & I will be moving" and "the area surrounding these lots has already been developed to the point where there is too much land use, dwindling open areas, traffic congestion and noise. Please, no more development in this area."
In the concept plan presentation shared with council members Tuesday night, developers said rezoning the property would transform an underutilized area into a property that generates revenue. The applicant said leaving the property vacant generates little value for the city.
The concept plan said if the land is developed into housing, the city would see around $3 million in immediate revenue between building use tax, service, permits and plan review fees. Developers said the project would generate more than $5 million in property taxes for the city over 25 years.
When asked by city council during Tuesday's discussion, developers said they do not yet know how much the potential housing would cost residents or if it would be offered as affordable housing or at market rate.
Some Broomfield City Council members appeared skeptical of the rezoning plan and directed developers to come back with a plan that better outlines how more housing would benefit neighbors.
"We've been kind of picky about housing. We don't need a lot more housing, necessarily. We've got like 5,000 units approved and 2,700 under construction. A lot of them on the high end," Todd Cohen, who represents Ward 5, said.
"I'm not opposed to this, I just want to see how it benefits us, you know, other than the fact that its not developable in any other way,"Heidi Henkel, who represents Ward 5, said.
The Broomfield Housing Alliance said the most recent Housing Needs Assessment showed a significant gap in housing for people earning below 60% of Area Median Income, which is someone making $60,480 or less in Broomfield. The alliance said affordable housing remains critically undersupplied while middle-income rentals are seeing higher supply with increased competition and higher vacancies.
The concept plan review is the first step in the land development process and allows the applicant to receive feedback from city leaders and community members before submitting a formal application.
