Longmont, St. Vrain district renew cash-in-lieu IGA; funds may be used for safe pedestrian access across city

The Longmont City Council unanimously approved a fourth amendment to the 10-year intergovernmental agreement with the St. Vrain Valley School District on April 14 that governs fair contributions (cash-in-lieu, or CIL) for school sites.

Planning staff said the amendment clarifies two primary points: CIL funds can be used for safe pedestrian-access improvements and those funds may be transferred to the city to be spent as part of a capital improvement project; and funds need not be spent only in the specific high-school feeder boundary where they were collected but may be used anywhere within Longmont where the funds will benefit city students.

Jennifer Hwitt, principal planner, told council the change responds to frequent requests from the district to support pedestrian crossings and other horizontal infrastructure that benefit students but may lie off school property. "Because safe pedestrian crossings often sit off a school site, we wanted language that allows a joint process where the city leads the infrastructure project and the district can dedicate funds," district planner Brendan Willlets explained.

Council's questions focused on allowable uses (horizontal infrastructure vs. building upgrades), equity concerns about moving funds across feeder areas, and how ADUs and student-yield rates are treated for CIL calculations. Staff said CIL remains primarily for land acquisition and horizontal site improvements; vertical building projects and programmatic uses generally fall outside the CIL scope and would require other funding sources.

Council Member Marcen asked for clear annual reporting so the city can track where funds are collected and how they are spent; staff agreed to include transparent reporting in future updates. The resolution to adopt the amended IGA passed unanimously.