Weld County commissioners voted 4 to 1 last week in favor of vacating a portion of the right-of-way for Weld County Road 41 to the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Company (BNSF).
KUNC 暗黑爆料 has looked into the development in the past. The vacated area, which is planned along Interstate 76 between County Roads 4 and 6, would help BNSF build a new intermodal facility to aid with transfers from trucks to trains. It will also include an estimated 20 million-square-foot logistics center, which would have a massive impact on the communities of Hudson and Lochbuie.
KUNC reporter and host Emma VandenEinde spoke with BizWest editor and publisher to learn more.
鈥淚t's expected to generate billions of dollars in economic impact over time,鈥� Wood said. 鈥淥ne economic development official told me that it's likely to be the biggest economic development project in the state.鈥�
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But not everyone is celebrating, and there are several disputed annexations and allegations to be sorted out before the project moves further. Wood Commissioner Lori Saine said she was 鈥減articularly alarmed when I hear things like, 鈥業t sounds like we鈥檝e already made a decision.鈥欌�� She has also said 鈥渁ny type of appearance of collusion would be really bad.鈥�
鈥淪aine and officials from Hudson said the timing of the actions was concerning, saying she hoped there wasn't a thumb on the scales at Hudson's expense,鈥� Wood recalled. 鈥淗er comments drew some angry exchanges with other commissioners.鈥�
BNSF submitted three annexation requests to Lochbuie on May 4, totaling more than 2,300 acres. Lochbuie鈥檚 Town Council gave initial approval to the annexations on May 6.
鈥淭he vacation of right-of-way could have a bearing on a flagpole annexation and process by Hudson for land south of BNSF,鈥� Wood said.
But now there鈥檚 three annexation cases in Weld County District Court, and the rulings on those are still undetermined. Hudson also wants a county judge to determine that Lochbuie鈥檚 annexation of the BNSF land violates a court ordered stay on annexations.
鈥淔or the first of those cases, the two towns can't even agree on who should vote,鈥� Wood said. 鈥淟ochbuie argues that only Weld County, as an entity that owns a right-of-way, should vote, given that it owns the right-of-way. But Hudson argues that property owners along the right-of-way should have a say.鈥�
Some Hudson and Lochbuie residents are happy about the potential of an intermodal facility and the tax revenue it could create over time, but Wood said it鈥檚 still a debated issue.
鈥淚n unincorporated Weld County, it鈥檚 been controversial, as BNSF used 11 eminent domain cases to acquire part of these land holdings,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t's absolutely going to change the way of life there in what's now a rural part of Weld County.鈥�
BizWest reports an attorney representing BNSF said the vacated area was necessary for the company to meet its timeline for the development, but that timeline is still not public. Wood said a BNSF representative told him via email, 鈥淟ochbuie is well positioned to meet the project's infrastructure demands鈥� and will 鈥渉elp the railroad keep pace with future customer growth.鈥�
