A Jefferson County district judge ruled last month that Arvada officials didn’t violate open meetings laws or abuse their discretion when they approved a revised plan for the controversial 252-unit Olde Towne Residences project last year.
The plan came under fire from some residents in 2017 when it was revealed that the city was selling 9 acres it owned in Olde Town to developer Trammel Crow for $30. The land is worth $6 million, according to a county assessment.
There was also opposition to the six-story height of the multifamily project and a perceived lack of parking at the site, which is next to the soon-to-open G-Line stop in downtown Arvada.
Advocacy group Arvada For All the People filed suit against the city and its urban renewal authority in April, claiming that the city didn’t wait a long enough time from when it first turned down the project in January 2018 to when it approved it two months later after some modifications were made.
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While city code says council must wait a year before reviewing the same development application, the judge said there are exceptions to that rule and the city was justified in its decision to take another vote on the project inside that one-year window.
The judge also rejected Arvada For All the People’s claim that an email sent by the city manager in February 2018 to City Council members asking whether they would consider rehearing the Olde Towne Residences application constituted an open meeting. In her March 12 ruling, District Judge Lily Oeffler said “no discussion of public business took place” in the email.
