Battle over proposal to develop Westminster farmland comes to a head amid protests, opposition

A proposal to build hundreds of homes and thousands of square feet of commercial space on century-old farmland with prized views to the mountains took center stage Monday night, with a newly seated Westminster City Council ready to decide the fate of a project that has spawned vigorous opposition and spurred organized protests from neighbors for years.

The hearing on the Uplands project, with up to 2,350 homes slated for 233 acres around the intersection of West 84th Avenue and Federal Boulevard, drew more than 200 residents both to council chambers and online. The meeting was expected to go late into the night and Mayor Nancy McNally said the hearing would likely continue on Wednesday.

Around 20 protesters showed up before Monday’s meeting to denounce the project.

The Uplands project has been pilloried by opponents as an overly dense development that doesn’t match the surrounding neighborhood and is stingy with the amount of open space it is willing to dedicate to Westminster for parks and green space.

“The developer is coming in and wants to do less than the minimum public land dedication,” said Karen Ray, a leader of the Save the Farm community group. “People want open space and open space doesn’t mean five-story apartment buildings — it means views and wildlife that is allowed to be wild.”

To wit, she says, of three tax measures that voters in Westminster considered during last month’s election, only the one to fund open space purchases passed. A Change.org petition opposing the Uplands development has garnered more than 10,200 signatures — proof that people don’t want to see a farm dating back more than 100 years go away in a metro area that has seen relentless growth in the last decade, Ray said.

Opponents also wonder how wise it is to bring online tens of thousands of square feet of additional retail space in a part of Westminster that has struggled to keep existing commercial space filled.

“Wouldn’t it be better to revitalize existing space in the city rather than taking pristine farmland to put in commercial space we can’t fill now?” Ray said. “It’s a treasure to have a working farm in an urban area — if they allow this to happen, this will be another faceless suburb with a view of nothing.”

Much of the focus on the Uplands project, which would be spread over five parcels of varying sizes, is directed at a 150-acre centerpiece plot bounded by Federal and Lowell boulevards and West 84th and 88th avenues. The property, owned by the Pillar of Fire church, is most recognizable by the 1890s-era Westminster Castle building that sits at its southwest corner.

The church has allowed the land to be farmed for decades but decided a few years ago to sell the property.

Jeff Handlin, president of Oread Capital & Development and a principal in the Uplands project, said the company’s blueprint dedicates 47 acres to parks and open space — land that neighbors will actually be able to touch and feel rather than just look at from afar.

In the central parcel, that will amount to two 10-acre parks that will be open to the public. And design plans, Handlin said, call for building heights to decrease the farther west they go — from five stories to two stories — allowing views of the mountains from the parks to remain intact.

While Westminster’s planning rules require 12 acres of public land dedication per 1,000 people — equating to around 65 acres in the case of Uplands — Handlin said the city permits some cash in lieu of land dedication. Uplands is proposing to reduce its open space dedication at a cost of $5 million to $8 million.

Handlin said public parks are scarce in the area and Uplands’ plans, as currently envisioned, would provide for residents several parks that don’t exist now.