Broomfield council votes 8-0 to enter executive session on Eagle Trace Golf Course

Mayor Pro Tem Schaff moved and Council member Delgadillo seconded a motion Tuesday for the Broomfield City Council to go into executive session to discuss real property, give instructions to negotiators and receive legal advice related to Eagle Trace Golf Course; the motion passed 8-0.

The executive session was requested by the city and county manager and the City and County Attorney’s Office and cited Colorado Revised Statutes section 24-6-402(4)(a), (b) and (e) as the legal basis for a closed meeting. Deputy City and County Attorney Gilbert summarized the request on the record before public comment began.

Residents from the Eagle Trace neighborhood urged council to act after discovering that water rights connected to the course had been sold. Bruce Early, president of the Eagle Trace Homeowners Association, told the council that the community first learned in January about a sale that occurred the previous August and that the neighborhood has been exploring options for six months. “Frankly, the difficulty of buying back that much water access is, a $6,000,000 plus, prospect,” Early said, adding that about 500 homes could be affected.

Several speakers described the golf course and its ponds as a community asset and said they feared the reservoirs going dry, the property becoming an eyesore and potential development that would increase congestion near Old Town Broomfield and Broomfield High School. “I really think it's a community asset being right in the center of of Old Town Broomfield,” resident Dan Sonnison said. Lisa Hart, a member of the neighborhood task force, said the situation was “very emotional for all of us” and asked council to provide opportunities for more residents to be heard beyond task force representatives.

Other public commenters raised economic and environmental concerns. Eric Olmstead and other longtime residents described deterioration at the course and urged preservation of open space to protect property values. Frank Estevez flagged potential wildlife protections, saying, “there is a thing called the migratory bird treaty act,” and urged that legal implications for habitats and migratory birds be considered.

On the procedural record, Deputy City and County Attorney Gilbert told council that if approved by two-thirds of those present, members would convene the executive session in the conference room and that no formal action would be taken there. At one point Gilbert said, “At the conclusion of the executive session, council will adjourn the meeting and council will not be returning to reconvene the public meeting.” Later in the meeting, council staff clarified timing for the posted agenda and the mayor stated that council would convene immediately for the executive session and that staff would report out the results afterward; on that point the record contains both statements about whether the public meeting would reconvene.

Clerk-read language for the motion cited “Colorado Revised Statutes section 24-6-402(4)(a), (b), and (e)” and identified the purpose as discussing real property, instructing negotiators and receiving legal advice related to Eagle Trace Golf Course. Mayor Pro Tem Schaff made the motion and Council member Delgadillo seconded it. Council member Ward verbally recorded “I vote yes,” and council members Lim and Henkel also stated yes; the clerk displayed the result as passing 8-0. The council then adjourned the special meeting and proceeded to the executive session.

The council did not take any other public actions on Eagle Trace during the special meeting; the vote authorized only entry into a closed session for discussion and advice. Residents present were told nothing would be decided publicly that night and that council would report outcomes of the executive-session discussions to the community after those discussions occurred.