Judge dismisses Costco lawsuit, plaintiffs ask reconsideration

LONGMONT — A district court judge in Boulder County has dismissed a lawsuit that a citizen group filed in order to stop or slow development of a Costco store in Longmont.

Judge Bruce Langer dismissed the case June 17, but the citizen group, Residents and Workers for a Safe Longmont, filed a motion for reconsideration a few days later. That motion has yet to be heard.

The lawsuit was originally filed March 14. The filers contended that the city failed to meet city code, the city comprehensive plan and zoning codes.

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The city, according to the lawsuit, is working in collaboration with Golden Farm LLLP and Aggregate Industries – WCR Inc., to bring Costco Wholesale Corp. to Longmont. The Costco would be built on land at least partially owned by the Golden aggregate companies located east of the Harvest Junction retail development and near the intersection of Ken Pratt Boulevard and South Martin Street. 

Longmont Planning and Development Services provided conditional approval for the Costco development plan on Feb. 14, 2022, as permitted by city code because the development was seen as a permitted use, according to the lawsuit.

Specifically, the lawsuit alleges that the plan violates the code because of the visual impact of parked vehicles, because planners permitted a reduction in landscaping and an increase in parking, and failed to take into account traffic flow in the area around the development.

The city in its response to the lawsuit said that the plaintiffs lacked standing.

The judge in his ruling said that while the plaintiffs raise valid issues for consideration by a governmental body, whether a development is in the best interests of a community is a political decision, not a legal one. He agreed with the city that the plaintiffs lacked standing to sue.

The motion for reconsideration filed by Residents and Workers for a Safe Longmont said that “the court’s decision that citizens don’t have standing to challenge their city government’s violation of city laws is unprecedented.”

They contend that “taxpayer rights, aesthetic values and the proper workings of government” are sufficient to establish standing to sue.

The case, filed in Boulder County District Court, is Residents and Workers for a Safe Longmont v. the city of Longmont, case number 2022cv30163.