Wood: Will Hudson and Lochbuie end their war?

Hudson and Lochbuie have battled all year over annexations around BNSF Railway Co.’s planned intermodal facility and logistics park.

The massive, 2,400 acre project could generate billions of dollars in economic activity over the coming decades as it’s built along BNSF tracks on the east side of Interstate 76 in southeast Weld County.

Both communities — Hudson, population about 1,600 and Lochbuie, population about 8,300 — have initiated annexation proceedings on various parcels, leading to a flurry of annexation lawsuits filed between them.

Disputes have multiplied with each meeting of the respective town boards. Though meetings on annexation proceedings have been largely formulaic, underlying tensions have been apparent. One can almost hear railroad warning bells and see flashing red lights as each annexation is approved.

It got so bad that Hudson erected a “Welcome to Hudson” sign along one disputed right of way on Weld County Road 45 north of Weld County Road 4. Lochbuie asked a Weld District Court judge to order the sign removed.

But, after months of acrimony, a faint whistle of compromise can be heard in the distance. Both communities on Aug. 20 filed stipulated motions to stay five active lawsuits over the annexations.

A stay would temporarily halt all legal proceedings, allowing the two towns to negotiate a compromise. The positive signs come after a second round of court-ordered mediation occurred Aug. 8.

Lochbuie town administrator A.J. Euckert told BizWest that “there’s been some progress” in negotiations between the two communities.

“We are continuing to discuss settlement of global issues with Hudson related to the areas on the east side of I-76 surrounding the BNSF project in Lochbuie,” Euckert said. “I’m encouraged by the conversations we’ve been having, and I’m hopeful that we’ll come to a long-term agreement that we can restore some planning-area boundaries and just focus on economic development in each of our communities and kind of just get back to the business of doing what we do.”

Both communities will be profoundly affected by the BNSF project. In addition to the intermodal facility itself, a logistics park could develop with as much as 20 million square feet of industrial and distribution space for companies seeking easy access to the intermodal assets.

One economic development official told BizWest that the BNSF development could be the biggest economic-development project in the entire state.

Compromise could include some form of intergovernmental agreement through which the communities would share in tax revenues generated by the project. It’s a strategy that’s been employed by many communities in the state as a means to end battles over annexations.

Time will tell whether the Hudson/Lochbuie negotiations will result in such an agreement.

But their agreement to stay the ongoing cases represents the first sign that progress is possible, and that the faint whistle of compromise might become louder.

Christopher Wood can be reached at 303-630-1942 or cwood@bizwest.com.

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