Karen DeAguero
22 thg 10, 2025
Council Approves Comprehensive Plan Change Despite Strong Public Opposition and Environmental Concerns
The Arvada City Council voted 7-0 on Tuesday, October 21, 2025, to change the comprehensive plan designation for a former landfill at 6800 Kilmer Street from "mixed-use residential" to "industrial office"—reversing their 6-1 vote from November 2024 that had denied the same request. The property, operated as a county landfill from the 1930s-1970s, contains asbestos, arsenic, and generates methane gas.
The reversal appears driven by concerns about a potential "takings" lawsuit that City Attorney Rachel Morris estimated could cost the city over a million dollars in damages and legal fees. Despite strong public opposition citing environmental safety concerns, contamination risks to Ralston Creek, and lack of substantive project changes since the 2024 denial, council members reframed the issue as a technical zoning correction rather than a land use compatibility decision.
The comprehensive plan change allows any light industrial use on the property, not just the proposed RV/boat storage facility.
Read more at www.arvadavoices.com/post/6800-kilmer-st-landfill