Louisville leaders to consider next step of Redtail Ridge approval repeal

LOUISVILLE — An ordinance that would turn back the approval of the Redtail Ridge development plan is set to make its return to Louisville City Council on Tuesday. 

The Louisville City Council, on a 4-3 vote, approved an ordinance two weeks ago on first reading that would roll back their approval of Denver-based developer Brue Baukol Capital Partners LLC plans to build as many as 3 million square feet of office, industrial and flexible-use buildings at the long-vacant, former Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) site off U.S. Highway 36. 

A second reading and public hearing on the matter will be held at this week’s regularly scheduled City Council meeting.

The council, which has a slightly different makeup than it did prior to the November election, had previously approved the project with the same 4-3 margin. 

Mayor Ashley Stolzmann joined council members Kyle Brown, Maxine Most (a new councilwoman) and Chris Leh in favor of repealing approval earlier this month.

Council members Dennis Maloney, Deborah Fahey and Caleb Dickinson voted against the move.

The vote prolonged an already nearly two-year long approval process that Brue Baukol has endured in an effort to get Redtail Ridge off the ground. 

After more than a year of hearings and several iterations of the plans, the project was approved by the Louisville City Council in late September.

Throughout the city’s development-plan approval process, which was put on hold last year after city leaders balked at the scope of the ambitious proposal at the roughly 400-acre site that formerly housed the Storage Technology Corp. headquarters, concerns have been raised both by officials and residents about loss of open space, economic viability, traffic congestion and environmental degradation. 

The City Council placed a series of conditions on approval of the plans, such as a 3-million-square-foot cap on development, increased public-land dedications and a minimum of three megawatts of solar power on site.

While these conditions were enough to initially win over the support of a majority of the council, some in Louisville remained unconvinced. 

Almost immediately after the project was approved, opponents began circulating a petition seeking to overturn the decision.

The petition garnered more than 700 signatures, nearly double the amount required by the city. 

A second reading of the ordinance to repeal the Redtail Ridge approval is tentatively set for Dec. 21. A public hearing will be held prior to a vote on second reading, and a final vote on the matter will be held early next year.

Should the ordinance pass, Redtail Ridge’s developers will be sent back to the drawing board. 

Brue Baukol, which purchased the roughly 400-acre property in December 2020 for $34.93 million, “is committed to restoring this abandoned site into a sustainable space that can meet the needs of Louisville’s residents and businesses for generations to come,” company co-founder Geoff Baukol said this month in a statement provided to BizWest.

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