Government & Politics  October 10, 2008

Timnath, Fort Collins inch toward cooperation

FORT COLLINS – With Timnath’s annexation of a 268-acre mixed-use project on Fort Collins’ doorstep seemingly a fait accompli, city officials are crafting a response to Timnath’s overture for a revenue- and cost-sharing proposal covering the tract.

A series of meetings between the mayors and chief administrators of the communities were once focused on Fort Collins’ objections to the annexation of land on the southwest corner of Harmony Road and Interstate 25, a parcel that lies within the city’s growth management area established 26 years ago. The most recent meetings, though, have turned toward exploring how mutual interests can be maintained once the annexation gets final approval from the Timnath town board as expected on Oct. 29.

“We’re working on the issue actively,” Fort Collins City Manager Darin Atteberry said. “I intend for the council to have some statement or counter offer on the 14th of October. I fully expect the council to respond one way or another.”

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Timnath’s offer, in the form of a town board resolution passed Sept. 17, would give Fort Collins a 20 percent share of sales tax revenue generated by Riverwalk, a project that Fort Collins developer Jay Stoner, president of Stoner Co., is proposing. Riverwalk could include more than 3 million square feet of retail and office space along with 4,000 residential units.

The town’s proposal also provides that Timnath would get a 20 percent share of sales tax revenue from a 25-acre portion of Riverwalk that lies within the Fort Collins city limits.

Another part of the plan calls for Timnath to share in the costs of roadway, drainage, park and trail projects located within the Fort Collins limits that total about $15 million.

Top officials meet

A potential framework for an agreement between the two communities might have had its origin in a two-and-a-half-hour meeting that Atteberry, Fort Collins Mayor Doug Hutchinson, Timnath Administrator Becky Davidson and Mayor Donna Benson had in early September. Together, the four explored their differing interests in Riverwalk, from the project’s role as a community gateway, as a tax-revenue generator, and as a standard-setter for community design.

“What we found was that the gateway question was No. 1 on our list, and that the revenue issue was No. 1 with Timnath,” Atteberry said. “Second on our list was design, and third was revenue.” Davidson and Benson said design standards ranked second among the town’s priorities, and the gateway role third.

“There is opportunity there,” Hutchinson said. “We talked about joint development standards, since we all have an interest. I know that all of us believe in regionalism.”

Stoner said that opportunities for collaboration between the two communities had already been demonstrated, most recently during a September meeting that brought trail and open space representatives from Fort Collins, Timnath, Windsor and Larimer County together to discuss how the regional trail system would integrate with the Riverwalk project.

“Everyone brought in a piece of the puzzle,” Stoner said. “It was a great meeting. We talked about connecting trails through Riverwalk, and people were really engaged and enthusiastic. That’s the sort of collaboration I think is possible here.”

Benson and Davidson said they saw cooperation with Fort Collins as imperative, a fact that was reflected in the 5-0 vote by the Timnath board to send the proposal to Fort Collins.

‘Positive option’

“I think what we’re offering here is just a real positive option,” Benson said of the revenue/cost sharing proposal. “This is a really cool plan. The question is, how do we make it for the benefit of the entire region?”

The Fort Collins portion of Riverwalk is subject to the land-use regulations set forth in the Harmony Corridor plan, rules that say primary employment rather than retail development is required. Benson and Davidson said that should sweeten the town’s offer, since it makes the 20 percent tax revenue share that Fort Collins would give up almost irrelevant.

Stoner said he was negotiating with a potential user for the Fort Collins piece of the Riverwalk plan, a financial services company that would build more than 200,000 square feet of office space there. “It’s not something we can disclose yet,” Stoner said. “But it’s real.”

Stoner said he hoped that the two communities could arrive at an agreement that would be mutually beneficial and fair to each. He said the project would provide regional benefits no matter what the outcome of the talks between the city and town.

“We’re excited about doing a quality project that all of Northern Colorado will appreciate as an asset and an amenity,” Stoner said. “We’re so close now to having everything worked out with Timnath. It’s a good environment to get things done.”

FORT COLLINS – With Timnath’s annexation of a 268-acre mixed-use project on Fort Collins’ doorstep seemingly a fait accompli, city officials are crafting a response to Timnath’s overture for a revenue- and cost-sharing proposal covering the tract.

A series of meetings between the mayors and chief administrators of the communities were once focused on Fort Collins’ objections to the annexation of land on the southwest corner of Harmony Road and Interstate 25, a parcel that lies within the city’s growth management area established 26 years ago. The most recent meetings, though, have turned toward exploring how mutual interests can be maintained…

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