Commission favors LaPorte housing development

By Ani S. Delmont
North Forty News

A scaled-down version of a once-controversial housing development to be erected on land near LaPorte got a qualified thumbs-up from the Larimer County Planning Commission on Oct. 21.

The new plan chips down the portion of the former Holcim Inc. property to undergo development from 569 acres to 317 acres between Curtis Lake and North Taft Hill Road.

While praising the project's minimal impact on wildlife and open space, planning commissioners criticized the proposed shared septic system for the waterfront lots on the Lake at Bighorn Conservation Development, given the flood-prone clay soil along Curtis Lake and the complication of overseeing several leach fields. A special district would have to be created involving county health and planning departments, in addition to homeowners.

"This kind of system could become an administrative nightmare," planning commissioner Gerald Hart said.

The 31 lots of one acre to two and one-half acres leave 80 percent of the property free from development, a popular feature with neighbors and commissioners alike. Developers are considering an option to set aside a special management area for homeowners' horses, given the limited space on individual lots.

"We may prohibit horses if it becomes an issue," added Patricia Kroetsch, president of the civil engineering firm Northstar Design Inc. of Windsor.

Use by people outside the development is another unanswered question.

Residents said they would like to continue to use the undeveloped portion of the acreage.

"It's a beautiful piece of property with lots of wildlife," remarked Lyn McCormick, who leases Dale Squire's property at the site's north end. "I was hoping it would be kept as a conservation area where people could walk their horses and dogs. It would be a nice buffer zone, a green space."

Squire, in turn, told the planning commission he'd like for the public to maintain access to the open area. "It's a good place to ride," he said. "There are various scenery aspects. I would like to be able to continue to ride horses there. It's part of the rural lifestyle."

Neighbors of the proposed development appeared enthusiastic about the new, uncluttered design, saying it wouldn't make LaPorte look like southeast Fort Collins. Many emphasized they would like to see horses there, preferably on lots larger than one acre to suit the area's character.

"If we bring in a lot of people who aren't allowed to have horses, they wouldn't be rural people," commented Mark Loader, a lifelong resident and member of the Boettcher Farms Estate Association, formed when Holcim closed its cement plant and auctioned off 3,000 acres in 2005. "I'd like to see that the people who move to this area are compatible with rural society."

Squire, who owns property off County Road 19, told the commission he'd rather that Lake at Bighorn offer 10-acre lots. "One-acre lots is more like a city," Squire said. "We don't want to make it into a city neighborhood."

"Let's keep north Fort Collins looking like north Fort Collins," agreed Rene Suazo, who owns a parcel just south of the proposed project.

Some pointed to the need for LaPorte to increase its density.

"These are the kinds of developments we need out there," said Tim O' Hara, who lives off County Road 56. "LaPorte citizens like things to stay the same. But if things stay the way they are, schools are going to close."

Commissioner Hart agreed with residents about spreading out the lots.

A traffic study should be conducted to determine the development's impact on the suggested access road, County Road 19, county planner Rob Helmick said, as well as concerns about noise generated by the cement company as it unloads railroad cars. Holcim continues to operate a distribution site there.

The planning commissioners told staff members they want sticking points such as the sewer issue resolved before the county commissioners hold their public hearing. County commissioners will hold their hearing on Dec. 7 at 6:30 p.m. in the courthouse offices building in Fort Collins.

"I think it's a reasonable plan," planning commissioner Nancy Wallace concluded. "I don't like to see it developed. I like the open land; we all do. But this is as good as it's going to be."