Commerce City Council calls up Reunion Center final plat for public hearings after resident pushback

Commerce City on March 5: Commerce City Council voted 5-4 to call up the Reunion Center final plat (case S762-20-21-25, Reunion Center filing 1, amendment 1) for a Planning Commission hearing and a subsequent public hearing before council.

City Manager Raj Rogers told the council staff had prepared an analysis and a March 11 memo from city planner Nick Berry that reviewed the approval criteria and contained a staff recommendation, and that an administrative approval had been set for May 25 but no formal decision had yet been made. "In order for it to be posted for approval, it would have to establish those criteria," Rogers said, describing the routine staff review. He added the council retains discretion to call up a final plat and send it through the public hearing process.

The call-up followed council discussion about a wave of resident emails and public concern. Staff said they had received about "a dozen" written comments from property owners within the 300-foot notice area; city staff characterized many of the letters as raising general opposition to residential development rather than addressing the final-plat approval criteria. Rogers emphasized that comments unrelated to the statutory approval criteria are not generally considered substantial grounds to deny a final plat.

Councilmembers were split. Councilmember Chacon and Councilmember Kim pressed that residents deserved an opportunity to speak publicly and have their concerns entered into the record; Chacon said calling up the plat would increase transparency and allow fresh review beyond staff recommendations. Councilmember Dukes and others said staff and the city's traffic engineers had already reviewed the technical criteria and worried repeated call-ups could slow development and undermine trust in professional staff recommendations. "I won't be supporting moving us through the Planning Commission," Dukes said, citing a need to avoid unnecessary delay.

Before the council voted to call up the first amendment, the council entered an executive session to receive legal advice under Colorado Revised Statutes 24-6-402(4)(b) concerning final plat approval. The executive session passed 9-0; after returning to public session the council voted 5 in favor and 4 opposed to call up case S762-20-21-25.

A separate, related motion later on the agenda to call up a second amendment for the same development (listed as S762-20-21-25-25) also passed by the same 5-4 margin. The council additionally directed staff to coordinate public notice and the scheduling of Planning Commission hearings.

Staff noted a March 11 memo with an analysis of approval criteria is available to council and that residents who wish to be heard should provide written or in-person comment during the forthcoming hearings. The city emphasized that administrative approval remains an option if council does not override staff, and that final plat approval would hinge on the statutory criteria in the Land Development Code.