Greeley City Council annexes Arroyos del Sol property

GREELEY — Greeley’s newest natural area is now officially a part of the city.
The Greeley City Council Tuesday approved the annexation of the 999.72-acre area generally northwest of Colorado Highway 257 Spur, west of Weld County Road 19, and south of the Cache la Poudre River. The annexation includes two parcels and adjacent rights-of-way, excluding the parcel containing the Missile Silo Park in west Greeley.

The City unveiled the project in 2024, after working 20 years to acquire the pieces. The plan is to develop Arroyos del Sol into a natural area with an extensive series of biking and hiking trails, an adventure play area, a pavilion and terrace, a bike skills course, and nature spots and interpretation areas

On Tuesday, the Council unanimously approved annexing the property and establishing conservation district zoning on the property with no discussion. The city’s Planning Commission likewise approved the project unanimously in July.

Windsor Mayor Julie Cline, who criticized the Council earlier in the evening for failing to work with Windsor on the Great Western Industrial Park annexation, lauded the Arroyos Del Sol project as long as it served an original vision of being a community separator and not “regional expansion.”

“I wanted to remind you of the shared vision of Windsor and Greeley established several years ago, to work together on the then-called Sureview property,” Cline said. “It was identified as open space, and Windsor contributed $250,000 toward the purchase because we believed in this shared vision.

“That partnership was regionalism in action,” she said. “We support this annexation if it supports the vision of shared open space. Honor the purpose behind the original partners, continue preserving meaningful open space between the community and protect the community separator we worked to create.

“We can grow together without growing into each other,” Cline said.

The original plan was to develop it in phases over several years at a cost between $22 million of $33.5 million. According to the City’s website, Speak Up Greeley, “Upgrades will happen in phases, starting with trails, parking, shade pavilions, and restrooms.”

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