Special parks district proposal in Greeley may be slowed down

By Trenton Sperry

Interim Deputy City Manager Becky Safarik told the city council Tuesday that Richmark Companies has reached out to city staff and indicated it’s OK with a slower approach to its proposal for a nearly 500-acre special parks and recreation district on the city’s eastern edge along the Cache la Poudre River.

The real estate development and oil and gas investment firm owned by the Richardson family in late January brought the proposal to Greeley City Council and requested a quick turnaround to allow it to create the unprecedented district (at least as far as city staff can tell).

Council on March 1 acquiesced to the first step by initially approving a uniform process for the creation of special districts within Greeley city limits. A public hearing and final vote on that ordinance are expected at council’s regular meeting Tuesday.

The pace of the changes has drawn pushback from prominent members of Greeley’s Latino community, including Stacy Suniga, a former member of council, and former Greeley-Evans School District 6 board member Rhonda Solis. Both criticized council and the developer for a lack of outreach to residents near the proposed park, which Suniga said threatens to gentrify east Greeley and push out vulnerable populations.

Ward I Councilman Tommy Butler, who represents the central and northeastern portions of Greeley, noted during a discussion of the ordinance Tuesday that most development in city limits requires notice to nearby property owners so they can comment publicly and help developers better craft their plans.

The ordinance council already has approved on first reading doesn’t require such notification for special districts, Butler said; only property owners within the area in question get any say, although council would get to vote on whether any proposals will ultimately be voted on by property owners within a given district, and the general public can comment on such proposals during regular council meetings.

Mayor John Gates made clear the Richmark proposal is not a metro district, a fact Safarik affirmed, but the language of the ordinance makes the process for creating special districts virtually identical. Once a proposal for a special district advances to the ballot box, it’s only property owners within the district boundaries who get any say about what transpires.

Safarik said Tuesday the city hasn’t yet reviewed how many property owners there are within the boundaries of the initial district proposed by Richmark. However, a NoCo Optimist review of Weld County Assessor records indicates there are three: Richmark, based in west Greeley; Varra Companies Inc. of Frederick; and Doeringsfeld and Aratas, a reference with little information other than that it shares a Frederick address with Varra Companies.

Varra Companies and Doeringsfeld and Aratas own the bulk of the property; assessor records indicate they each own about 230 acres within the proposed district. Richmark owns about 25 acres within the district, with the majority of that being an oil and gas facility. Safarik said, however, it’s possible land sales have taken place or are in consideration.

Varra Companies is a family-owned ready-mix concrete, sand, gravel and recycled materials supplier that serves both contractors and residential customers, according to its website. It operates two gravel pits, two recycled material locations, and three concrete batch plants, according to its website. Those sites are in unincorporated Weld County, Fort Lupton, Platteville, Longmont, Erie, and two locations in Greeley.

A NoCo Optimist review of Colorado Secretary of State records on Varra Companies indicates the registered agent of the company changed in December 2019 from Christopher Varra to Garrett Varra after Christopher Varra died in February 2019. Garrett Varra is vice president and District 1 director of the St. Vrain and Left Hand Water Conservancy District, which covers about 500 square miles along the St. Vrain River and Left Hand Creek in Boulder, Larimer and Weld counties. Both waterways flow into the South Platte River, which meets with the Poudre River just east of Greeley.

Garrett Varra is also referenced in a May 2021 story by Water Education Colorado about mining and gravel companies, including Varra, reclaiming sand and gravel pits, filling them with water, and selling or leasing the water storage to “municipalities, industry and agriculture.”

There still are many hurdles ahead for Richmark’s initial proposal. First, the property is not part of Greeley city limits, and it would have to be in order for council to consider it for a special district. That means the area would have to be annexed into Greeley.

Second, the proposed district may not meet the basic eligibility requirements for special districts should council give final approval to the ordinance under consideration Tuesday. One requirement within the ordinance is that districts be at least 1 square mile in size, “unless it can be demonstrated that the district can accomplish its goals with a smaller area,” according to city documents. The initial Richmark proposal is about three-fourths of a square mile.

Finally, one criteria council will be tasked with evaluating with regard to special districts is whether they are “in the best interests of area residents or (the) general public.” If initial reactions from Suniga and Solis are any indication, the proposed district could face criticism if and when it comes before council.