Group sues to block distribution center land annexation, rezone

LOVELAND — A group called Workers for a Safe Larimer County sued the city of Loveland, its city council and city council members to block and redirect a land-annexation and rezoning process aiming toward the development of a large distribution center by Trammell Crow Co.

The issue involves 152 acres of unincorporated Larimer County land near Northern Colorado Regional Airport. The city’s effort to annex and rezone the land moved through a series of planning commission and council votes over the past several months. Some meetings including a neighborhood informational “town hall” type event via Zoom, saw little public or official discussion.

Recent city council actions had focused on exterior design questions generated by a potential three-story, 2.4 million-square-foot building to be developed by Texas-based Trammell Crow. These were satisfied in a second-reading vote by the city council in September. The planning commission had OK’d it in August.

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The project is widely understood to be intended for an Amazon.com Inc. distribution center.

Lawsuit

The plaintiffs, including the group and two individuals, Jacob Kucera and Shannon Zitney, allege that the city council erred in approving annexation without a state-required Annexation Impact Report. An AIR is required by Colorado Revised Statutes section 31. Some of the CRS focus is on effects related to schools.

Plaintiffs “want to make sure any development done is done in the proper way,” said Randall Weiner, a partner in the Boulder law firm Weiner & Cording. Weiner and Annmarie Cording represent Kucera, Zitney and Workers for a Safe Larimer County. The three plaintiffs are in Berthoud, according to the lawsuit.

Weiner & Cording is a trade name for the Law Offices of Randall M Weiner PC. Weiner said he has 30 years in environmental law, including arguing before the Colorado Supreme Court.

The “recently formed” group includes people who made written comments on the proposals and spoke publicly at the city council’s first reading of the annexation and zoning measures Sept. 7, Weiner said.

The lawsuit alleges and Weiner reiterated that plaintiffs’ assertion that the city council improperly waived an AIR and that the Larimer County Board of Commissioners needed to be involved, by also waiving the impact report.

Weiner and the lawsuit said Loveland relied on a 2004 waiver by public officials at the time. “A 2004 city council can’t waive that” for today, he said.

An AIR needs to be prepared and approved by city council and county commissioners, the lawsuit said.

“Loveland shouldn’t be looking for shortcuts,” Weiner said.

The plaintiffs filed the lawsuit Oct. 20 and are now “waiting for a response from the city of Loveland.”

A city spokesperson said via email, “We are aware of the lawsuit you referenced below and in accordance with our standard practices, the city does not comment on matters of ongoing litigation.”

The Larimer County District Court case, Workers for a Safe Larimer County; Jacob Kucera; Shannon Zitney v. City of Loveland, Colorado; the City Council for the City of Loveland; et al, is 21cv30767.

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