Citizens and civic leaders weigh in on the Land Development Code
People experienced in the workings of city council and city policies are endorsing the goals of Preserve Fort Collins.
Concerned civic leaders and citizens include:
Doug Hutchinson, former Mayor
David Roy, former Councilmember
Eric Hamrick, former Councilmember
Gerry Horak, former Councilmember and Mayor pro Tem
Gina Janett, former Councilmember and Mayor pro Tem
Marty Tharp, former Councilmember
Ross Cunniff, former Councilmember and Mayor pro Tem
Here is what former Mayor Doug Hutchinson has to say:
One major reason that Fort Collins is a world-class city is a rich history of good governance and citizen involvement. Both of these time-honored principles have been shunned with passage of the Land Development Code. Sign the petition so Fort Collins can get back on the right track and create a plan that truly reflects the unique values of our community. That means regulations and a plan for our future that is transparent, well thought out and—most important—is based on extensive citizen involvement through public meetings, discussion, and debate. Sign the petition.
Doug Hutchinson
Mayor of Fort Collins, 2005-2011
Furthermore, citizens are beginning to recognize that they need a voice in the Land Development Code process. Here are a few comments:
I had only one day’s notice before City Council made it legal to build an apartment building next to my house. How about you? There are some good things in the recently adopted Land Development Code, but changing the fundamental fabric of neighborhoods by allowing multi-unit apartment buildings just about anywhere in Fort Collins is not one of them. In attempting to address affordable housing, Council has rendered single-family neighborhoods unprotected from speculators and developers eager to profit from replacing existing homes with luxury townhomes and expensive multi-family housing. Let’s repeal this ordinance and try again, but this time with input from you and your neighbors.
Michael Spearnak, Architect
Former Director of Planning, Design, and Construction for the Poudre School District
For many years the City of Fort Collins was nationally recognized as a leader in the area of public engagement. Major changes to policies and codes included significant community outreach and input. The way residents learned about the changes to the Land Use (Development) Code was a noteworthy departure from this standard. Equally concerning is the dismissive response from 5 Council members to requests from constituents to delay adoption of the ordinances to allow input from a broader representation - beyond developers and housing entities. Housing affordability is a real issue in Fort Collins. However, multi-family, high density/in-fill of existing neighborhoods is not the solution. This ordinance will NOT accomplish its stated goal, and instead will negatively impact the character and charm of our city. Please join me in signing this petition to repeal these ordinances. With community input, this update to the Code can be revised to reflect the values of the entire community.
Wendy E. Williams
Retired Assistant City Manager
City Employee for 36 years
I am expressing my support for the citizen initiative to repeal and revise the newly adopted Land Development Code. There are many reasons for repealing and revising the Code, but I am going to focus on electric utilities.
My career included working at the City of Fort Collins Light and Power Utilities for over twenty –five years; I am familiar with the existing electric infrastructure. The electric utility simply does not have infrastructure in place to accommodate multi-family buildings on lots that had been designed for a single-family home or duplex.
Furthermore, the fees required to extend or augment increased electric capacity only include a small portion of the cost of main feeder lines from a substation to the lot. Therefore, if new main feeder lines need to be added, the utility is going to recoup a small part of the actual cost. The only way to fund the remaining balance is through electric rate increases to its customers. This ill-advised plan to allow up to a six-plex will come with a high price tag that will be left to the rate payers to subsidize. I am not as familiar with the capacity of the water, sewer or gas lines, but I imagine a similar scenario is in place.
Please join me in signing the petition to repeal and revise the code so that we can get it right.
Virginia Purvis
Retired Senior Electrical Engineer
City of Fort Collins Utilities