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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAIRPARK VILLAGE - ANNEXATION & ZONING - 16-05 - MEDIA - CORRESPONDENCEAirport Continued from Page Al Nibors, in an attempt to con- vince the city not to annex the airport area, a decision that po- tentially could have led to the closure of the airport if the CAA had not made the deci- sion itself. Pilot and Fort Collins resi- dent Jane Peters argued closing the airport would have impact on the cityes economy, jobs and local businesses. "It's a sad day for general aviation," Peters said, upon hearing the CAA's decision "We'll keep flying for as long as we can, where we can." After determining that the 148-acre property located in Iarimer County north of East Lincoln Avenue, south of East Vine Drive and west of Tim- berline Road is in compliance with state law and an intergov- ernmental agreement the city has with the county, the coun- cil voted to annex it into the city. Goff has the option to buy the airport's land. His redevel- opment plans may include a re- tirement community and a re- search -and -development park, which would consist of busi- nesses that study ways to han- dle future population and den- sity. As the project grows, we hope to find future solutions to America's addiction to oil right here," Goff said. "Would you rather Fort Collins be posi- tioned on the inside or the out- side of this vital research?" The project would encom- pass about 6 million square feet of land and could bring in 5,000 new jobs over the next 10 to 15 `If you go down to the airport on a Sunday or Saturday morning when people are flying and you see a man with his son or daughter and they're just standing there watching airplanes take off and land, that's the city of dreams.' Fort Collins resident David Nibors years, Goff said. Because the project would be built in phases over 10 to 15 years, Goff requested that the council classify the zoning area as an Employment Zone District to allow for residential development that would help support the overall costs. The council voted Tuesday evening in favor of making it SO. "The employment district meets a lot of the goals of the City," said councilwoman Karen Weitkunat. "It's intend- ed to provide a variety of work places. It includes that light in- dustrial and it includes re- search and development, which is an extremely impor- tant aspect in this area." Helicopter operators outside of the annexation area ex- pressed concern that allowing residential development would lead to complaints about heli- copter noise. "It will never meet your cur- rent zone requirements for decibels that come out of our machines," Bill Browder, presi- dent and CEO of Geo-Seis He- licopters told the council. Council members said they would tackle the noise issues as development occurred and many added they are sad to hear of the airport's closure. Jon Cermak, assistant man- ager at Young's Liquor on East Mulberry Street, said some of the businesses in the East Mul- berry Street area are anticipat- ing the development and are considering moving. "Economically, I think it will create tax revenue for the city of Fort Collins, but it may hurt some of the businesses over here," Cermak said. He added he would like to see the area used as a traffic bypass from Colorado Highway 14 onto East Lincoln Avenue. If the council approves the annexation again upon second reading on April 4, the annexa- tion will be effective 10 days later. Development plans for the area must be submitted and processed separately through the Planning & Zoning Board. Council also approved the new water rate system that re- duced the four -tiers to three. They included an amendment, however, that keeps the fixed charge at $12.72, which Mayor Doug Hutchinson said will Wti- mately save the typical home- owner money during the sum- mer months. WEDNESDAY March 22, 2006 FORT COLLINS www.coloradoan.com Today's weather Slight chance for snow showers High today: 31 t,,$A Low tonight:17 Details, Page A8 )owntown airport to close Airplanes sit on the runway Fuesday at ort Collins downtown ort. Stock- oers voted > close the port at the end of the year. 3h Heideman Coloradoan By LINDSAY RENICK MAYER LindsayRenickMayer@coioradoan.com The Fort Collins Downtown Airport is slated to close effective Dec. 31 of this year — and it has nothing to do with the fact that City Council took the first step Tuesday night to annex the Air - park Village into the city. Loren Maxey, board member of the Community Airpark Associa- tion, announced at the meeting that the CAA, the group of stock- holders that owns the airport, vot- ed to close the airport whether the pending sale of the airport to Den- ver developer Lloyd Goff goes through or not. "Financially it's no longer feasi- ble to continue the operation of the airport because we have to liq- uidate assets and we have no more assets to liquidate," Maxey said. While the CAA had made the decision in 2004 to contract out the property, many Fort Collins residents and even City Council members were under the impres- sion the airport would remain open if the contract didn't go through, said developer Mikal Torgerson. "If you go down to the airport on a Sunday or Saturday morning when people are flying and you see a man with his son or daugh- ter and they're just standing there watching airplanes take off and land, that's the city of dreams," said Fort Collins resident David See AIRPORT/Page A2 Fort Collins vine Dove Downtown Airport Mulberry Street Coloradoan stall