The Cache moves forward in Greeley

GREELEY — City Council members voted unanimously Tuesday on several measures that advanced a proposed 788-acre metropolitan district west of the city called The Cache.

Actions Tuesday related mainly to parcels along Poudre River Road and the Poudre River, city planner Brittany Hathaway said. The Cache is on mostly undeveloped land north of 10th Street, south of County Road 62, east of 95th Avenue, and West of 83rd Avenue.

Measures approved involved annexation, zoning, rezoning, and a preliminary PUD. Greeley planning commissioners last month had unanimously recommended council approval.

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Unannexed acres were Weld County agricultural land. City land was rezoned from low-density residential under a PUD called Lake Bluff, according to one measure read into the record by Mayor John Gates prior to calling for a vote on it.

Lake Bluff is a metro district on the western border of The Cache.

The Cache then got approved for its preliminary PUD.

The metro district was one of eight the city moved forward in September on a 6-1 vote. At the time it was envisioned for as much as 1,046 acres, 3,705 housing units, and 240 acres of parks and open space.

Tuesday’s acts applied to 788 acres: 239 for open space, including 41 acres of bluff preservation; parks and ponds and seven miles of trails; 39 acres of commercial; and land for an elementary school.

Up to 3,741 units can be built on lots 1,200 square feet to 4,500 square feet, depending on density and with reduced lot setbacks, based on Tuesday’s votes. Native plants and limitations on landscaping and watering were also noted as part of Hathaway’s presentation.

The Cache will include $199 million of infrastructure and be allowed to sell up to $200 million in bonds to pay for it, its service plan presented in September said. Residents of The Cache repay bonds via taxes.

No Comment

Metro districts had become somewhat controversial in part because of this debt-and-tax approach and a state law this year mandated more transparency in forming special districts.

There were few comments or questions Tuesday from the council or the public, for either Hathaway or Todd Johnson, president of Englewood-based Terra Forma Solutions Inc., who appeared on behalf of developer The Cache LLC and its parent organization Orr Land Co., in Greeley.

Hathaway said some 70 property owners near the site received notice of the proposals, with one response.

Tuesday, the lone public comment from a city resident noted a prior overall planning process, Imagine Greeley, had brought calls for affordable housing and a focus on infill work.

Gates said The Cache was too big for the latter.

“While infill is important, this will not fit in infill.”

He said the repetitive motions of calling for comment, second, and votes on multiple measures hearkened to the movie “Groundhog Day.”

Johnson said it was “refreshing to work proactively with the staff” and said The Cache will be a “great addition to the city [which it] can be proud of along with us.”

The City Council vote was 6-0 on all measures, with one member absent.

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