Packed Chambers as Lafayette Reviews 448 Unit Development

The council chambers in Lafayette were packed Tuesday night, with overflow crowds filling the City Hall lobby after seats inside ran out. The unusually large turnout reflected the stakes of the evening’s agenda, which was dominated by discussion of The Range, a proposed development at Arapahoe Road and U.S. 287.

Currently located in unincorporated Boulder County, the plot is one of the last major undeveloped areas within Lafayette’s Urban Growth Boundary. The land would be annexed by the city as part of the Range’s development.

Debate over the 38 acre parcel, one of the last major undeveloped tracts in Lafayette, stretched across most of a six hour meeting and drew sharp criticism from residents, repeated calls for decorum from Mayor Tapia Vega, and pointed questions from City Council.

For the first time, City Council held a quasi judicial public hearing on a sketch plan for The Range, forwarded by the Planning Commission. The hearing was not a final vote, but an opportunity for council members to ask questions and issue comments on the proposal.

The project is being developed by Kensington, a firm specializing in mixed use and retail developments. The current sketch plan proposes 448 apartment units in buildings up to 60 feet tall, along with 156,000 square feet of commercial space.

Under Lafayette code, developers are required to dedicate a portion of their project to public use. The Public Land Dedication in the sketch plan is limited to walking paths along Arapahoe and 287, and the land around the detention pond, but not including the detention pond.

One corner of the site was left undefined in the sketch plan, marked only as To Be Determined. Council members and residents alike flagged the lack of detail as a major concern. Kensington requested that the land be rezoned from agricultural to residential and or commercial alongside the rest of the property. The Kensington representative also noted that this corner sits at the highest point on the property and is included in the proposed height increase to 60 feet.

Council Member David Fridland questioned the placement of a pedestrian path so close to a busy highway, prompting audible hoots from the crowd inside chambers.

Resident Tyler Johnson Remarking on The Range proposal

Public opposition intensified during the second public comment period, with residents repeatedly criticizing the scale and design of the project.

Speakers described the plan as “Short sighted,” and “A copy and paste look at what is across the street in Erie.”

One resident likened the proposal to “Concrete boxes next to concrete boxes with concrete parking spaces in between.”

Richard Binzel, a resident of the nearby Stonehenge development, held up a recent photograph of the parcel and pointed to the unobstructed mountain views. He noted that the view mirrors the imagery used in Lafayette’s city logo and warned that the proposed 60 foot buildings would permanently block it.

When council members weighed in later in the meeting, several echoed the sense that the project still needed significant work.

Mayor Pro Tem Tim Barnes acknowledged improvements Kensington has made since discussions began in 2022 but said the plan still falls short. “We haven’t hit the flow […] I don’t think we’re there yet,” Barnes said.

He also returned to the unresolved corner of the site. “I’m not comfortable moving out of sketch without knowing what [this land] is [for],” he said.

Council Member Kyle Beaulieu was more direct, calling the proposal “astronomically far away from core aspects of our comp plan.” He added, “It’s almost like you designed it with spaces where people don’t get to know each other.”

Following the City Council meeting, a preliminary plan for the Kensington development will head to the Planning Commission.

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