The Broomfield City Council approved a final plat and an urban renewal site plan for a QuikTrip gas station and convenience store at the northeast corner of County Road 7 and West 168th Place (900 W. 168th Place), voting 6–4 after a public hearing and debate.

The approved project will subdivide the parcel in Palisade Park into two lots. Lot 1 (1.39 acres) will contain a single-story 5,312-square-foot convenience store, a canopy with 14 detached fuel pumps and 35 parking spaces. The plan includes two direct-current fast EV chargers, four EV-ready spaces, two ADA spaces and two bicycle-parking spaces. The canopy height is proposed up to 18 feet, 6 inches and the building height 20 feet, consistent with the Palisade Park PUD.

Planning staff and the Land Use Review Commission had recommended approval, and city planners told council the use is permitted by the 2006 Palisade Park PUD and complies with required design and parking standards. Deputy Director of Community Development Lynn Merwin summarized staff findings and noted the project’s compliance with code, including the municipal requirement that new gas stations be 1,000 feet apart; staff said no other active gas-station proposal lay within the required 1,000-foot radius and the nearest existing station (Murphy USA) is roughly 2,000 feet to the east.

Developer and site details

Jonathan Knott and Garrett Baum, representing QuickTrip and developer Urban Frontier, described work they said they had done since a concept review in February, including changes to accommodate city requests. “When the mayor and city council asked us to do something... we did it,” Baum said, citing prior development commitments in Palisade Park including the amphitheater and previously negotiated uses that allow a convenience store at this location.

Engineer Danielle Prescott of Kimley-Horn described site constraints and new design features added after the concept review: the project team said they had incorporated two fast DC chargers and infrastructure to enable additional EV charging later. “These fast charging stations... will charge your cars within an hour,” Prescott said, explaining that the fast chargers are Level 3 and would count toward the site’s EV parking requirements.

Concerns raised by council and nearby residents

Several council members opposed approval. Council Member Lim said the gas-station use would “create or should mitigate to the extent possible negative impacts on the surrounding property,” and said gas stations encourage low-density, car-dependent development rather than the mixed-use density planners and transit proponents seek for the Highway 7 corridor. “I am voting against this application tonight,” Lim said, citing municipal review standard 16-16-110(A).

Council Member Wynne similarly criticized the project’s implication for long-term corridor density and walkability and said other uses would better support public transportation and community interaction.

Council questions also probed environmental and transit impacts. Council asked the applicant for technical detail on vapor-control systems for the underground fuel tanks; the engineering team said the site uses standard closed-loop stage-1 vapor-recovery and piping systems and that a consultant’s emissions modeling showed concentrations well below EPA and California thresholds at a 500-foot radius. Council members also asked staff and the applicant whether the proposal would impede the planned bus-rapid-transit (BRT) corridor; staff said the applicant coordinated with city and CDOT planning and that the applicant had participated in corridor planning meetings, and staff noted that the planned stations near Palisade Park remain viable.

Urban renewal and tax flows

Staff also told council that the development is within the North Park West urban renewal area, and that much of the new property and sales tax revenue from the site will be pledged to URA financing for area public improvements. Staff estimated the parcel would generate roughly $80,000 annually in Broomfield tax revenues but said those receipts are largely pledged to the URA’s projects.

Votes and next steps

Two separate council actions were required. Resolution 2024-143, approving Palisade Park filing No. 1, replat E, Lot 1 — QuikTrip final plat and site development plan — passed 6–4 (mover: Council Member Leslie; second: Council Member Wynne). The separate urban-renewal site-plan resolution, 2024-168-UR, also passed 6–4 (mover: Council Member Lehi; second: Council Member Wynne). The Land Use Review Commission had previously recommended approval.

What remained on the record

Staff noted the project had completed required neighborhood outreach (the applicant said two attendees spoke in favor at the public meeting). Council directed staff to continue coordinating the design with BRT and pedestrian connections and to confirm technical environmental controls during permitting. The applicant said they will continue to work with city and CDOT plans on frontage improvements and transit coordination.

Ending

Council approved the two URA and plat/site-plan resolutions after splitting the meeting on policy grounds: proponents emphasized the property’s long-standing PUD entitlement and the developer’s site adjustments (including EV chargers), while opponents said the gas station is inconsistent with the corridor’s desired transit-supportive density and raises environmental and revenue-allocation concerns.