Commerce City council votes to call up two Reunion Center plats for public hearings after resident pushback

Commerce City Council voted to call up two final-plats for the Reunion Center development to the planning commission and to council for public hearings, after several council members said residents had raised concerns about the administrative approval process.

The council first voted 5 in favor and 4 opposed to call up case S762-20-21-25 (Reunion Center, filing 1 amendment 1) for the public hearing process under the Land Development Code; later the council voted 5-4 to call up a related amendment file, shown in the agenda as S762-20-21-25-25. The motions place both plats on the planning commission and city council hearing track rather than allowing the city to complete an administrative final-plat approval.

The move followed questions from multiple council members about why residents had not been able to record objections in a public hearing and whether staff had completed the final-plat criteria review. City Manager Raj Rogers told the council that staff had prepared a March 11 memo with an “analysis on each of the specific criteria and an analysis of recommendation by staff,” and that no administrative final-plat approval decision had been posted as of the meeting.

Residents submitted roughly a dozen emails requesting hearings, staff said; planners told the council that notice rules allow property owners within 300 feet to request a hearing, but that many of the letters submitted were broad opposition to residential development rather than comments tied to the statutory approval criteria for a final plat. “The code basically says when property owner within 300 feet gets noticed, they can submit written comments … but comments that are related to land use or on things unrelated to the plat are generally not considered substantial comments regarding the approval or denial,” staff said.

Councilmembers who supported calling up the plats framed the vote as a transparency and accountability measure. “This is a chance to be able to either dispel misinformation or put in conditions within our reasonable means,” Councilmember Chacon said during debate.

Councilmembers who opposed the call-up said staff’s prior review and recommendation weighed against reopening the process. Councilmember Dukes said that delaying the administrative approval could slow delivery of the approximately 10 acres of commercial space the project includes and “communicates to not just our city, but folks who may want to actually lease and develop these commercial retail and amenities that you may not get dirt in the ground for another year, two.”

The council also voted unanimously 9-0 to enter executive session under Colorado’s open meetings law (CRS 24-6-402(4)(b)) to receive legal advice about the final plat approval process for Reunion Center filing 1, amendment 1 (S762-20-21-25). Mayor Pro Tem Noble made the motion to enter executive session and Councilmember Kim seconded it; the roll call vote passed unanimously.

Separately, the council approved a motion to invite Oakwood Homes to appear before council to discuss its future development plans; that invitation was amended to occur after the slated hearings and passed unanimously.

The call-up motions do not alter staff’s recommendation; they change only the procedural path so the plats will be considered first in planning commission public hearings and then in a council hearing, where conditions can be imposed or the council can deny approval.

Council members asked staff to provide the resident emails and the March 11 staff memo to council for review before hearings. Staff said they would provide the materials and that the memo included the vicinity map, the plat documents, notice dates and the staff recommendation.

Votes at a glance: - Call up case S762-20-21-25 (Reunion Center filing 1, amendment 1): Passed 5–4 on roll call (yes: Chacon, Kim, Douglas (Mayor), Noble, one other; no: Madera, Teeter, Dukes, Ford). The motion moved the plat to planning commission and council public hearings. - Call up case S762-20-21-25-25 (related amendment): Passed 5–4 on roll call with the same outcome. - Executive session to receive legal advice about the final plat approval process for Reunion Center filing 1, amendment 1 (CRS 24-6-402(4)(b)): Passed unanimously 9–0. - Invitation to Oakwood Homes to brief council on future development plans: Passed unanimously; scheduling to follow hearings.

Next steps: Staff will post the planning commission hearing date and provide council with the resident emails and the March 11 staff memo containing the staff analysis of approval criteria. If the council ultimately holds hearings and considers conditions, any imposed conditions would be governed by the Land Development Code criteria and legal limits discussed in the executive session.