Lynn Clemens enjoys the blue sky and scenic views from her quiet Arvada home near Hyatt Lake.

But, she said, she may soon find herself staring at the backside of a warehouse and inhaling exhaust from idling trucks at the facility’s 144 planned loading bays.

That’s how Clemens — who is the president of Westwood Villas HOA — is framing the fight over a proposed 500,000-square-foot warehouse complex that Jefferson County officials are considering. While the development would not literally build a warehouse in her backyard, Clemons said it would mean a concrete wall within approximately 200 feet of her home.

The developer, meanwhile, described it as a well thought-out plan that will integrate well with the community, complete with noise and light protections for neighbors. The developer also insisted that, contrary to fears, it will not be a non-stop, “heavy trucking” center. Supporters also said the project would bring in jobs to the area, something that the county needs.

The warehouse

As envisioned, the Golden Technology Center involves the construction of three large warehouse buildings and moving a portion of a neighboring canal to accommodate the project.

The applicant, Constellation Real Estate Partners, defined the project in an Oct. 10, 2023, community meeting as a “master-planned business park” that would house multiple tenants in the high-tech manufacturing business, as well as “HVAC, marble, and hot tub and pool companies.”

“This is not going to be a high-volume trucking center,” said Scott Alexander a CREP partner during a public outreach last year.

The developer’s website states specifically that the Golden Technology Center project is “not a heavy trucking distribution or logistic center that will run nonstop.” The project’s vision, the company said, is to “integrate into the surrounding community with thoughtful placemaking, complete with enhanced noise, sound, and light protections.”

The site also touts the project’s strategic placement along the McIntyre Corridor, saying it will play a vital role in recruiting companies and creating new jobs.

McIntyre Neighbors United, a collective of 18 homeowners associations in the North Plains area of Jefferson County, has urged the county to delay approval  of the proposed project near Hyatt Lake, east of the intersection of McIntyre Street and West 60th Avenue, until a more in-depth analysis of its potential impact is conducted.

According to the group, the key issue is the project’s incompatibility with the current Jefferson County Master Plan. The group also raised worries about potential traffic, noise and environmental hazards, and pointed to multiple truck bays in submitted schematics.

“This (warehouse project) could not be built in Arvada,” said Anne Laffoon, a member of McIntyre Neighbors United. “This could not be built in Broomfield. This could not be built in Lyons and it could not be built in Golden.”

Laffoon said her group has asked the county multiple times to place a moratorium on constructing logistic distribution centers within 3,000 feet of homes until more studies and the current zoning code can be reviewed.

The county has rejected the group’s plea for a moratorium.

“We have thoroughly reviewed both proposed resolutions and will not be able to support either moratorium that you have requested,” County Manager Joseph Kerby wrote the group on June 11, 2023. “Jefferson County’s existing industrial regulations currently regulate industrial warehouse development in many ways, and the Board of Commissioners are (sic) not supportive of enacting a moratorium.”

Three years ago, Arvada residents stopped a similar project for very similar reasons.

E-commerce titan Amazon sought to expand its metro area operations with a 112,000-square-foot distribution facility and more than 1,000 parking spaces at the corner of Indiana Street and West 66th Place.

The Arvada City Council rejected two separate resolutions to annex and re-zone the land needed for the project.

However, no rezoning is required for the proposed Golden Tech Center, as the vacant property has been approved for light industrial use for more than 60 years.

Jefferson County Planning and Zoning Director Chris O’Keefe said the property is properly zoned to accommodate the project. He also disputed suggestions by McIntyre Neighbors United that the project’s timing is connected to the county’s decision to update its land use regulations or to the Together Jeffco initiative — the county’s two-year effort to revise many of its comprehensive plans and development regulations into a unified land use code.

The Denver Gazette reached out Constellation Real Estate Partners multiple times via email but has yet to receive a response.

In response to a request for comment, David Ebeling of Ebeling Communications, the public relations firm that represents Constellation Real Estate Partners, replied, “Unfortunately Constellation isn’t interested in commenting until this project is further into the process. Sorry.”

The jobs

The land where the three warehouses would be built was once home to multiple mining research labs that contaminated the ground between the 1950s and 1980s.

Residents said they are worried the construction will disturb possibly contaminated soil that has settled there over the years.

Official documents show the Environmental Protection Agency supervised a $25 million cleanup in the early 2000s, and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment signed off on the other approximately two years ago.

“It is not a ‘warehouse’ or ‘trucking’ project,” said Jeffco Economic Development Corporation President Jansen Tidmore. “We call these ‘flex industrial’ because they are buildings that are malleable to the needs of many businesses.”

Jansen said the beauty in the McIntyre project is that it can support the needs of multiple types of businesses, and that’s good for the local economy.

“Any opportunity to bring good jobs to Jefferson County is a positive thing,” Jefferson County Commissioner Tracy-Kraft Tharp said.

“It could be many types of companies that call it home and we, as a county, need this project among many more,” he said. “We still have a gap of over 40,000 jobs to residents that needs to be closed.”

“The application for this project has gone through a rigorous review process to address any red flags,” Kraft-Tharp said. “That process allowed county staff to ensure that the project aligns with planning and zoning standards, and is compatible with the current zoning. Myself and other county representatives have worked hard to keep an open dialog with the community.”

O’Keefe, the county’s zoning director, said the administrative process takes time.

“And because of that, they (the applicant) must go through an administrative process called the site development plan process, which requires them to meet all of the rules and regulations in our current zoning regulations,” he said.

O’Keefe said the process is a essentially series of checklists among county, state, federal and other agencies with an interest in this project.

Once feedback is received, the county compiles a response, highlighting areas where the proposal doesn’t meet requirements. Additionally, O’Keefe said the developer also considers comments from the community.

The developer then revises and resubmits until either all requirements are met or choose to stop.

This is where the Golden Technology Center project stands —  in a waiting game.

“The cornerstone to healthy community is access to quality jobs and we often forget to value the ability to create quality jobs for our neighbors,” Tidmore said. “That is what this project does — create opportunities for our neighbors to make an honest living, and we should all embrace that.”