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Neighbors press council over development plans for contaminated 14‑acre site on Kilmer Street
Summary
Residents and the Friends of Ralston Creek Neighborhoods urged the council to require cleanup, change zoning and reject an RV storage proposal for a 14‑acre former landfill at 6800 Kilmer, citing methane plumes and geotechnical warnings.
Multiple residents and members of Friends of Ralston Creek Neighborhoods urged the City Council on Sept. 16 to oppose or condition development of a 14‑acre parcel on Kilmer Street that former speakers described as an unremediated landfill with a methane plume and longstanding subsurface instability.
Karen Gerbache, speaking for Friends of Ralston Creek Neighborhoods, said the site at 6800 Kilmer has been a contaminated landfill for almost a century and that prior geotechnical reports from 1982 and 1992 warned against development without full cleanup. She said the current developer, named in the remarks as Chelten, bought the property for back taxes in December for a low amount and that a 2023 Terracon geotechnical report commissioned by Chelten cautioned that flatwork on unimproved landfill debris “will move significantly and will likely require frequent observation and maintenance in addition to full replacement multiple times over the development.” Gerbache noted a methane plume mapped under much of the site and said adjacent uses include Ralston Creek, the trail, the Colorado Tap House and residences.
Other residents addressed alternatives and community impacts. Sharon McCarthy suggested repurposing the site for a solar farm, pickleball courts or a family‑oriented golf complex, saying those uses would provide year‑round activity and be more compatible with nearby businesses and neighborhoods. Elaine Fitzgerald, who lives directly south of the parcel, said buyers should have expected the landfill-related mitigation needs and urged the council to consider residents’ quality of life.
Speakers repeatedly referenced the Terracon 2023 geotechnical report and earlier technical warnings; they said proposed RV storage would require an inadequate detention pond and roadbeds engineered to carry 85,000‑pound fire trucks over unstable landfill debris. Gerbache asked the council to change the Land Development Code (LDC) to a mixed‑use Planned Unit Development (PUD) to better match the comprehensive plan and limit incompatible uses.
Ending: Residents asked the council to step in and direct zoning or code changes and to require thorough cleanup before any large‑scale development is approved; staff did not present a developer application at the meeting and no council action on the parcel was taken that evening.
