Greeley moves ahead on unprecedented special parks district code change, drawing criticism as some call the move ‘gentrification’

By Trenton Sperry

The Greeley City Council on Tuesday approved the first step by one of the city’s most prolific developers to create a 470-acre park and recreation district on the city’s eastern edge.

Council approved the first reading of an ordinance that would apparently make Greeley the first city in Colorado to create a special parks and recreation district. The language largely mirrors the legal framework for metro districts, which have a dubious reputation in Colorado.

Though the specific proposal for the east Greeley park crafted by Richmark Companies – a real estate development and oil and gas investment firm owned by the Richardson family – is not yet under consideration by council. But the council’s efforts Tuesday are the first step for the city  to complete the legal framework for special parks and rec districts and formalize the language in Greeley’s municipal code.

Interim Deputy City Manager Becky Safarik made clear that the approval of any proposals for a parks district, including the one proposed by Richmark, will not be automatic if the council puts the legal framework into city code.

Richmark in late January requested the council complete a complicated series of maneuvers on a tight timeline so it can “take advantage” of a special election cycle in June. The short window in which council appears ready to work drew the ire of prominent members of Greeley’s Latino community Tuesday night.

Stacy Suniga, a former member of the council, raised the specter of the gentrification of Greeley’s northern and eastern areas, where the majority of the city’s minority population have lived for generations. She said she worries the project could result in the wealthy pricing out the city’s less affluent residents.

“We’ve seen it in Boulder,” she said. “I’m just asking council to slow down this process, delay a vote on that so there can be some research and consideration for that part of our community.”

Her pleas were seconded by former Greeley-Evans School District 6 board member Rhonda Solis, who noted the city needs thousands of housing units in order to be considered affordable. If the city’s less affluent residents get priced out of their homes in north and east Greeley, she said, they have nowhere else to go.

Solis made clear she’s not against all development in the region; grocery stores and restaurants would go a long way toward improving the area, she said. But she criticized Richmark and the city for not asking the region’s residents their thoughts about the creation of a sprawling park and the potential for about 250 new homes in a neighborhood which likely would be developed using a metro district.

The seven-member city council, Solis noted, does not include a person of color in a city that according to the 2010 U.S. Census is about 35% Latino. Demographic data from the 2020 Census are not yet available.

Mayor John Gates said he’s heard during his entire tenure on council that the northern and eastern portions of the city are “disregarded,” and he said he thinks the Richmark park would in fact be a boon for the area.

“To Stacy and Rhonda’s points, I would rather have affordable housing in this spot, too,” he said. “But that’s not up to me.”

There was sparse discussion by council of the special district ordinance Tuesday, although Ward I Councilman Tommy Butler – who represents the central, north and east portions of the city – did request a slowdown of the process down and a discussion of the changes during a work session before voting on the ordinance.

“I think we should talk about what parks and recreation districts could look like,” Butler said. “The past talk we had was about a specific proposal, but this would be about any and all parks and rec districts.”

Council ultimately approved the ordinance on first reading by a 6-1 vote, with Butler the lone opposition. Butler did convince council to discuss special parks and rec districts generally at council’s next work session, March 8.

The ordinance is set for a public hearing and final reading March 15. The timeline for when the Richmark proposal for east Greeley would come before council is not yet known.