STUCK IN THE MIDDLE WITH YOU:

FOSSIL CREEK’S FIT WITH FORT COLLINS

by Kate Tarasenko

[Originally published in the Rocky Mountain Bullhorn (Fort Collins, Colo.),

Sept. 15-21, 2005, pg. 13]

"I want everyone here to know that we are doing our level best to stay away from Fort Collins." That defiant pronouncement came from
Mary Van Cleave, one of about 10 Windsor-area property owners whose land is scheduled to be annexed by Fort Collins.

The remark was aimed squarely at Ken Waido, chief planner for the City of Fort Collins, who represented the city at an open house held at the Poudre
Valley REA recently and attended by Van Cleave and several others.

According to a 1999 intergovernmental agreement between Larimer County, Windsor, Fort Collins and Loveland, Fort Collins intends to annex the
entirety of Fossil Creek, including the land which forms a north-south corridor along the interchange at I-25 and the 392 exit, what is considered
Windsor's "front door."

What was advertised as an opportunity to discuss the land use and zoning options for roughly 1,500 acres around the creek quickly assumed a
different agenda, and put Waido in the unenviable but all-too-familiar position of defending the city to the area's residents and investors.

The open house represented another in a series of contentious public exchanges where owners such as Van Cleave have repeatedly charged that Fort
Collins is promoting its "no-growth conspiracy," a hot-button issue that virtually decided the races of some city officials last November. In fact, the
invitation specifically stated that the meeting would "not be a forum for debate" on the question of annexation, but Van Cleave and her cohorts
would not be deterred.

"The City of Fort Collins has no intentions of developing the land because they have no intentions of investing in the renovation of the I-25
interchange," an expensive but necessary adjunct to any long-term viability for commercial development along the Windsor exit corridor, says
Jeff Couch. The consultant, business marketer and Realtor abruptly hijacked the Aug. 31 meeting as the spokesperson for Van Cleave and about 10
other property owners, focusing the discussion on the meeting's banned topic and ignoring the color-coded graphics on display that were the point of
the meeting.

Couch, the Van Cleaves and others in Fossil Creek are engaged in a joint effort to somehow either force Fort Collins to come up with a feasible and
realistic development plan, including wrangling financial commitments, or step aside and allow Windsor or Loveland to take the reins of the
operation, another admitted long-shot.

As Couch sees it, "Fort Collins' goals are to maintain that area as open space because they don't want the commercial competition. Keeping the 392
exit in disrepair will keep major businesses out of Windsor, and it will force people to keep driving north to Fort Collins, and that's where they'll
spend their money."

Waido admits that the projected $25 million it will cost to repair the exit, notorious for traffic delays and fundamental infrastructure problems, isn't
on anyone's radar yet, not even the Colorado Department of Transportation's, the key player for that phase of any proposed development. In spite of
recent Congressional approval of funding for the state, CDOT may face shortfalls in the immediate future, thanks to Hurricane Katrina and an
anticipated swift reallocation of federal funding that is being considered to rebuild the devastated Gulf Coast region.

"We're a long way from even thinking about pouring asphalt," says Waido, while agreeing that "the problem of development is a function of getting
the transportation issues addressed."

Waido also ventures that there is an "insufficient market" for certain businesses for Windsor, which he attributes to Loveland's powerhouse
Centerra development. Couch predicts that businesses at the Loveland Lifestyle Center will see a Christmas-fueled revenue increase approaching $8
to $10 million, which only stands to increase tenfold over the coming years. This projection, along with the recent announcement that Fort Collins
faces a $5 million revenue deficit and plans large-scale municipal layoffs, are further disincentives for the city to helm the commercial development
of the Fossil Creek annexation, according to Couch.

"There's a lot of distrust of the city," confirms Russ Legg, chief planner for Larimer County, which long ago handed off the development planning of
Fossil Creek to Fort Collins, saying that their staff and expertise are more suited to the project.

"Larimer County's priority," for Fossil Creek and for the county in general, "is for low-density conservation development," states Legg. The Fossil
Creek Reservoir, under county purview, is home to protected grasslands and a sanctuary for various migratory birds, not to mention resident humans
who take regular advantage of its scenic trails.

While there exists no actual timeline for breaking concrete or sod, Legg sees the whole process taking anywhere between the next 10 to 20 years,
an unacceptable premise for the many property owners who bought their land specifically for commercial development and potential turnover. But
bound by the IGA, which can't be amended or rescinded by any party till 2009, there isn't much that Larimer County can do to appease the area's
residents who feel hamstrung by what they see as Fort Collins' ineptitude at economic development, even within its current borders. Legg, Couch and
Loveland City Manager Don Williams all cite the failure of the Harmony Lifestyles Center as evidence of Fort Collins' slippery grip on bringing
commercial development through the planning phase to actual completion.

Further underscoring the property owners' frustration at any long-term plans, Legg adds, "Larimer County will probably not participate financially"
in the repair of the I-25/392 interchange, a nagging question that will go on begging, given Fort Collins' financial problems, Loveland's disinterest
in a region so far north (according to Williams), and Windsor's earnest but inadequate expenditure of $100,000 on the issue.

Nevertheless, Waido says that a study session held last Friday at the city yielded the most positive dialogue to date. "I felt a whole lot better
after that than I did after the Windsor meeting," he says.
With a December deadline to recommend a zoning option, Waido, Couch and others may have brokered a temporary detente. Waido says that they've
agreed to the zoning option which increases commercial land use for the exit's corridor by over 90 percent, with an additional undeveloped buffer
zone designated as a green-space transition for the Eagle Ranch residents who want to preserve the vistas and natural area surrounding their large
homes at the western edges of the annexation.

Still on the drawing boards are environmental impact studies, and potential bond issues which could allow commercial interests to help offset the
costs to repair the interchange after the fact. But Couch doesn't rule out a lawsuit against Fort Collins, which he charges is guilty of "land-taking."

Another public meeting of the city's Planning and Zoning Board on Oct. 20 promises more hoopla as all concerned parties will discuss, among other
things, ideas for a public-private partnership to get the project off the ground.

"Fort Collins is taking steps in the right direction," asserts Larimer County's Legg. "They're trying to be responsive, but it may take a long
time, and that won't improve the trust factor."

Loveland's Williams, a veteran of development wars who was taken for a walk over Centerra, offers his avuncular wisdom while maintaining a safe
view from the sidelines: "I honestly believe they can succeed if everybody would calm down."

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