IntenseDebate - Alex

11 years ago @ Daily Camera.com: - Lafayette lifts cancel... · 0 replies · +4 points

Lafayette has some very senior water rights. Filling Waneka has nothing to do with the last 600 acre-feet in Lafayette's water budget. The weakest link is storage, as far as I recall - it is a problem, but the city is addressing it.

11 years ago @ Daily Camera.com: - Lafayette pushes forwa... · 1 reply · +4 points

New clarification: I've just been following the articles in the Camera. This forced me to watch replay from the meeting...

1. The franchise agreement must be referred to the voters. I was unclear on that critical point, not having read Charter 14.2 in a while (to say the least).

2. The testimony was equivocal, including proponents of alternative energy. Worst-case has already happened in Berthoud, though apparently there is some sort of freedom in not receiving Xcel's fees and potentially kicking residents out of various incentive programs.

As a resident who tries to pay attention but can't follow every detail, it is concerning how confusing this will be on the ballot. But I guess watching the meeting helps me understand why the City is writing two referred measures.

11 years ago @ Daily Camera.com: - Lafayette pushes forwa... · 0 replies · +1 points

Actually, I'm not really sure I know what it is, so the "potentially" was deliberate. The gist of it is that Xcel generates baseload from fossil fuels, which people don't like, so that the Lafayette franchise agreement becomes a target for...??? I'm just not sure what is accomplished if the City is supposed to be negotiating without clear goals. I guess replace a 20-30 year agreement with a tax?

My comment is more about assuming that every vocal citizen is capable of passing direct legislation. I understand the desire to do it right or not at all, but I also think preemptive action may lend more merit to a ballot issue than it necessarily deserves. Let the advocate make the case - and in this case it doesn't sound like the council is convinced.

11 years ago @ Daily Camera.com: - Lafayette pushes forwa... · 4 replies · +4 points

One of these years the strategy of putting a "lesser of two evils" referendum in front of a potentially ill-conceived citizen initiative will end up backfiring.

12 years ago @ Daily Camera.com: - Audrey Rose Zapp - Bou... · 0 replies · +1 points

Audrey Zapp was certainly an unforgettable presence at Lafayette City Council (and Open Space, and Planning Commission) meetings. Her enthusiasm and spirit for the environment will never die.

13 years ago @ Daily Camera.com: - Consultants describe v... · 1 reply · +1 points

I am reserving judgment on any specifics of the current proposal until I can actually see it. Last night had some decent vignettes, but you couldn't really see the text or read it.

Whatever the spark may be, the engine is private capital. As I understand it, many of the concepts regarding URA assistance and public-private partnership are seeing the light of day in this iteration.

I do beg to differ on whether "the City," the amorphous blob of officialdom over the years, has cared about Public Road. My impression is that has received an inordinate amount of attention, because it is just such a handy political football. But it has been the physical/urban planning efforts, and following through on the recommendations or lessons learned therein, that have actually caused anything to change in the political sphere.

13 years ago @ Daily Camera.com: - Consultants describe v... · 1 reply · +3 points

Well, Public Road resurfacing had only been on the bond extension plan for three years prior...

13 years ago @ Daily Camera.com: - Consultants describe v... · 0 replies · +3 points

I was one of those people that left early (but only due to need to be in three places at once - talk about making snap judgments @Ellipse), but my understanding is that the presentation last night was essentially a progress report. The final report is not done, so the reaction here is limited to the 50 (that was my read on numbers, give or take) people qualified to give a first-hand report on progress and what was reported in the Camera's story.

While it is easy to criticize these or past consultants - e.g., things that are painfully obvious to anyone who lives here take weeks and months to realize, and are then presented as a great epiphany - this study, including its methods and focus, is the direct outgrowth of all the past efforts. It was a specific recommendation of the most recent, the Community Revitalization Program report.

What is clear is that there is a market out there, and Louisville caught fire almost overnight. This effort needs to be given a fair chance to succeed. It is a small cost for the potential gain. And, from what I saw last night, it might contain the spark(s) that are needed in Lafayette.

13 years ago @ Daily Camera.com: - Lowe\'s had low proper... · 0 replies · +5 points

Once again, I don't have time to read all the dissertations, but maybe a couple facts would help: First, the property was annexed and zoned C-1 as a result of the special election in 2007. Second, I'm not sure who had an expectancy that the property would be assessed as developed before it was actually developed. Long-standing law in Colorado is that classification for assessment is based on actual use.

It seems to me that what this story points out is that, four-years after the special election, there is still plenty of room to disagree what the vote was all about.

13 years ago @ Daily Camera.com: - Lowe\'s backs off plan... · 1 reply · +2 points

If you care for a discussion of philosophy, or of public policy in anything but retrospective view of what's already happened, you have my contact information.

I hear the criticism that Lafayette promotes sprawl and ignores infrastructure needs, and that Public Road "continues to deteriorate." These are subjective pronouncements, at best, and I don't happen to agree with any of it. However, what I really fail to see how this argument relates to the economic development agreement with WalMart (before my time on council) or my personal record. By the way, the WalMart and King Soopers incentives will both be retired within the year from what I recall.

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