Conservation Easement Preservation Society (formerly KARES)

Keep Airport Road Environmental & Safe ("KARES")

Sponsored by the Conservation Easement Preservation Society (CEPS)

ARE YOU AWARE… 

…of the proposed annexation of the Kanemoto Estates Conservation Easement and the planned development's negative impact on surrounding neighborhoods and traffic congestion across SW Longmont, including the entire Airport Road corridor?

...and that, as reported in a recent CDOT meeting, CO 119 already has the highest number of vehicle crashes in Boulder County?

...and that Boulder County continues to terminate inherently perpetual Colorado Conservation Easements?

ARE YOU CONCERNED? Will you help us fight?

If so, we invite you to join the KARES support community by donating to our sponsor, the Conservation Easement Preservation Society (CEPS), a Colorado tax-exempt nonprofit. 100% of donations to CEPS support the KARES Legal Fund.

KARES is a coalition formed of Longmont citizens (renters and owners have equal voices) who primarily reside in the Clover Creek subdivision and oppose the proposed development.

OUR BELIEFS ARE THAT:

1. Kanemoto Estates is a poor location for a mixed residential neighborhood because the proposed zoning is high density and is far from amenities, activity centers, and public transit. It also impacts our already crowded schools.

 2. Approving the annexation and development of protected agricultural land in a conservation easement wastes environmental resources and will negatively impact property values and homeowners’ sentiment.

 3. The annexation and proposed development pose traffic and safety hazards on Airport Road, Clover Creek, and surrounding neighborhoods.

 

STEPS KARES HAS TAKEN SO FAR:

• We have retained an attorney to represent our case against Boulder County, and if necessary, continue our legal challenge with the State of Colorado and the City of Longmont Planning Division.

• On September 12, 2023, KARES filed a lawsuit in Boulder County District Court contesting the Boulder Commissioner's decision to terminate the CE and on February 26, 2024, the judge issued a rare grant of Legal Standing allowing KARES to move forward with the merits of our case. The case is currently ongoing.

• We have raised over $50,000 to cover our initial legal response. An additional $20,000 is required to fund legal representation for the upcoming court case.

 

HOW YOU CAN HELP MODIFY THE ANNEXATION AND DEVELOPMENT:

• By raising additional money needed to fund our legal objectives. Donate here or write a check and message us for pick up. Join the KARES support community by donating!

• By making KARES’ voice heard by emailing:

- The Longmont Planning Department

- Longmont City Council

or fill out the form https://cityoflongmont.wufoo.com/forms/m1l3awga0l4ia65/

- Boulder County Commissioners

 

* Be sure to include “KARES” in the subject line of your email for maximum impact.

 

• By donating your time:

 - Spread the word and more. Download a printable version of this information here.

 - Please message us to share your ideas and let us know how you can support KARES and your community.

10/9/22 Update: City Council Election, November 8, 2022

For those who are unaware, there is a vacant at-large Longmont City Council position open. There are three candidates running.

KARES attempted to engage all three candidates in a public discussion.

Upon their request for additional information, each candidate was directed to the KARES GoFundMe page. Of the three candidates, two have not provided any follow-up communication. The one remaining candidate assertively supports the KARES objective -- Gary Hodges. Gary visited Clover Creek, spent a few hours in the neighborhood, and went to view the Conservation Easement. Gary has also added the Protection of Conservation Easements as his third campaign issue (and mentions Kanemoto Estates Conservation Easement), and because he has done so, it has gained more notice from the public and groups that have been interviewing him.

We have never had a political sign in our yard, but we thought putting one of Gary's signs in our yard made sense at this time.

Gary has followed up with KARES several times since our first meeting. If you would like more information about Gary or would like to put a sign in your yard, his web page and his contact information is below. Please contact him directly.

Hodges4council.com

Fb: “Gary Hodges for Longmont City Council”

Joe Stasiak & the KARES Team

9/10/22 Update: KARES Status, Answers, & Action Needed

We'd like to provide another update following recent inquiries into KARES and important actions by KARES.

The most important thing to know is that to activate the next phase, we have a 2-week deadline of September 23, 2022, to reach at least $7,700 of the $50,000 needed for the KARES legal fund law firm retainer. The KARES core team and initial members have been directly paying the majority of the KARES legal expenses from their own pockets, prior to, and outside of the GoFundMe fundraising.

Please, we need your donation, no matter how small. We have stalled the road access into Clover Creek but we have not completely prevented it. We are currently investigating whether the development change to a proposed emergency road will actually become a utility corridor leading to road construction down Fountain Court and Clover Creek Drive.

Please also contact your friends, family, co-workers, and acquaintances to donate to the GoFundMe now.

For those who want more detail, here is a quick summary of work to date:

For the past 24 weeks, an average of 35 hours per week has been invested by the KARES team to spread the word/inform/outreach, investigate, fundraise, leverage legal resources, partner with allies, and interact with government entities. The KARES team has also attended county commissioner meetings, CDOT meetings (Airport Road & CO-119 changes, safety issues, etc.), and City of Longmont planning meetings. Please forward KARES any emails and responses you have sent to the city, county, etc., so we can factor the content into the KARES initiatives.

KARES has completed an extensive investigation into case law, legal proceedings, and related research to understand not only where initiatives similar to KARES have failed but also where initiatives similar to KARES have succeeded.

KARES has contracted with the professional law firm of Weiner and Cording. The senior attorney has assumed management of our case. Our attorney will continue directing our concerns to legal resources that may have a Statewide impact. The goal is to prevent both the Kanemoto development and any further municipal abuse of the Landed Treasures of Colorado, our Conservation Easements.

Since the KARES initiative helps Clover Creek, Airport Rd, the surrounding areas, and potentially the entire State of Colorado, please send this email update to friends and family outside Clover Creek so they may also consider donating to the cause.

We understand that you are busy - so are we. It's not too late to get involved.

This is not a done deal.

The money is not going into a black hole – legal resources have stated that KARES has minimized all legal costs.

If you can help fundraise or donate to the GoFundMe, please do.

It is in KARES best interest to refrain from emailing our legal strategy; however, if you need to understand more about our strategy in order to feel comfortable donating, fundraising, and/or taking on tasks, please contact KARES and we will arrange an in-person discussion.

Thank you,

Joe Stasiak & the KARES Team

KARES (Keep Airport Road Environmental & Safe)

July 22 Update: Keep Airport Road Environmental & Safe (KARES)

The KARES team is working to oppose the annexation, removal of the conservation easement, and the proposed development of Kanemoto Estates.

We are happy to share that KARES’ efforts resulted in the developer removing his plans for the public access road adjoining Clover Creek with the new development. This would have generated large amounts of traffic driving through our neighborhood. However, it appears the developer is still pursuing a gated road to be used as a possible utility corridor. Since this green area is an HOA asset, we will continue to challenge any plan to compromise our property.

KARES raised funds to hire attorneys who submitted the first official comments of opposition to the City of Longmont on our behalf and are continuing these fundraising efforts for future legal costs.

All neighbors in Clover Creek (south of Pike) have received information about KARES, with many signing up to receive email updates from us, and several households have donated towards the cost of the attorneys as we move forward into the next phases. In addition, neighbors have been sending their comments to the City of Longmont to amplify the voice of KARES.

As we continue our work to modify the development, here are some things you can do to help:

If you know of people that disagree with Boulder County's willingness to sell conservation easements to developers, please forward our information to them.

Send us an email if you would like to be more involved with our efforts to oppose the development. We have a number of different teams.

Look for continuing follow-up emails from KARES with defined opportunities to send emails to the city, county, and other entities at significant points in the proposed annexation and development processes.

Share the KARES pamphlet and GoFundMe site with family, friends, co-workers, etc to increase our coalition's effort to oppose the Kanemoto Estates annexation and development.

Donate through our GoFundMe site to help defray our costs.

Thanks for your support as we work hard to oppose the annexation of the conservation easement for development purposes. This conservation easement land was set aside to be protected for the residents of Longmont throughout the generations and we are marshaling all our efforts to ensure it remains that way.

The KARES team