Black‑led Frontline Farming urges council to investigate abrupt lease termination at Majestic View

Representatives of Frontline Farming, a Black‑led nonprofit that has operated on Majestic View land since 2019, told the Arvada City Council on May 19 that the city terminated their lease without giving the organization a meaningful opportunity to remedy cited concerns.

"After years of operating in good standing, we received a lease termination notice before being offered any meaningful opportunity to remedy concerns," said Jessica Couette, Frontline Farming’s business operations director. She said the group has invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in soil, irrigation and infrastructure and last year grew more than 19,000 pounds of food and donated more than 11,000 pounds to local charities.

Couette said the organization documented repeated breakdowns in communication, shifting expectations from new Majestic View leadership, and hostile interactions. She asked council to investigate how a seven‑year partnership delivering community benefits reportedly deteriorated without transparency, mediation, or meaningful accountability.

Multiple speakers—including residents who stressed the farm’s role in food access and education—asked the council to retain Frontline Farming’s lease and attend a community town hall at the farm on June 2.

Why it matters: Frontline Farming provides community food production, educational programming and donated produce; the organization said the city’s process produced displacement rather than collaborative remediation, and it asked for council oversight.

Council response: In the transcript, council did not take immediate action; staff and council members listened and the organization said it would hold community events to press its case.