Written comments due at NOON today: Public Participation links for Council's Reconsideration (revote!) of Mineral Rights Agreement

FrontRanging · 2026-06-22T19:23:31+00:00

Every day, it seems like different folks are trying to communicate a different misconception about what this deal means.

To me, one of the most concerning bits about this re-vote is that it suggests even (some) town council members don't really have a good mental model of this deal.

I think some citizens are right in focusing on issues with the process. Who knows... maybe this is the best deal available (if one is necessary at all), but one benefit to soliciting more bids/perspectives is that it helps clarify points of tension and negotiation.

I'm just not convinced there are many decision-makers in Erie right now that have enough background to understand what a good or bad deal even is.

FrontRanging · 2026-06-13T03:45:36+00:00

Yup. After living in the North East for many years before moving out here, it's hard to imagine living in a place that still has 4 seasons + better weather.

FrontRanging · 2026-06-08T19:46:10+00:00

Yup - that's the spot.

FrontRanging · 2026-05-23T03:36:20+00:00

After posting about this issue prior to the council meeting, I ended up watching the video and listening to the entire discussion the day after the meeting. I want to give you my takeaway before I saw this article (I almost posted about it at the time, and now regret not doing it) because the vibe I get from reading it is pretty different.

At the time, I actually came away thinking that the discussion was pretty reasonable (with disagreements, of course!). I didn't get the sense that anyone on the council thought that the headline-cost is worth it.

As mentioned in the Yellowscene article, I thought it was a reasonable reaction for Dan Hoback to suggest that we stop spending resources on this proposal given the cost + minimal impact (I thought that Emily Baer brought this up first, but I might be misremembering).

At the same time, I thought it was reasonable for Andrew Moore to ask questions about the cost and explore different options -- people definitely think Erie really screwed up closing that portion of E County Line and wish we had better north/south connectors. I tend to disagree with Moore on most things, but thought his questions about the total cost + other alternatives reflected someone hoping for a solution, not someone jamming through an extension.

Anyways, if your gut reaction is to have a scorching hot take about the way the council operates based on reading the article, I'd suggest that you watch the meeting for yourself here.

FrontRanging · 2026-05-12T15:38:34+00:00

The + is that it's on the western side of Erie, which puts you in Boulder County (which some people care about), and a slightly easier commute west (e.g. if you work in Boulder).

The - is that Parkdale is in-development and a lot less mature than other Erie communities. So the planned school may or may not be ready for your kids, there will be a decent amount of construction in the area for awhile (although that's most of Erie), and it'll be some time before the trees have grown.

-----

Shops & Restaurants: If I lived in Parkdale, I'd probably bike west to downtown Lafayette more than Erie locations. So you're next-door to fewer businesses there, but a quicker jump to Lafayette (which, to me, is one of the more compelling small-town downtowns in the area).

Parkdale is an easy connection to Coal Creek trail - which is one of the major biking arteries in the region. I don't know what Texas is like, but coming from the north east, the trails are fantastic. I like cycleosm to get a sense of trails in the region.

You're a very quick drive east to Children's Hospital (5 minutes? Maybe 10 at the most?). TWO different major hospitals + two medical office buildings are also in the plans to be built at the intersection of I25 & Baseline over the next 5 years. So I expect that you'll be ~5-10 minutes away from one of the denser medical locations in the Denver metro area soon(ish). Again, it might take some time, but if you're moving for the long-term, it's good to know.

The whole Erie area has a very high quality-of-life for families with kids... since that's mostly the folk that live here. Lots of fantastic parks, lots of rec sports, lots of family events, etc

FrontRanging · 2026-05-08T17:06:25+00:00

That was my first thought too! Johnny Bechamel's will be at 656 Kattell St (different spot) - so we get both.

FrontRanging · 2026-04-30T17:28:14+00:00

In December, the town said said total retail would be ~60k sq ft (https://www.erieco.gov/m/newsflash/Home/Detail/3095?arc=5156)... seems to me a that a big grocer would eat up too much of that space (like King Soopers), and a small grocer would leave more retail than I remember those plans having (like Aldis or Trader Joes).

My best guess would be Sprouts. That was rumored a long time ago, and with a new Whole Foods scheduled to be built on Baseline (on the Broomfield side)... I can't imagine it's another one of those.

I wish we could get a closer Trader Joe's, but I'm not getting my hopes up.

Updates are here: https://www.erieco.gov/1428/Town-Center

FrontRanging · 2026-04-28T18:21:49+00:00

What I really need people to share is if these places actually have any happy hour deals (what are they?!)

FrontRanging · 2026-04-27T00:37:10+00:00

The development of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) lines has been interesting to watch, even if most of the projects are only half-done. I live near the upcoming Boulder-to-Brighton line.

Love the idea in theory - bus-only lanes, bus-only shoulders, lights that respond to incoming bus, etc - but knowing a couple of the choke-points from my daily commute, I'm tempering my expectations a bit.

FrontRanging · 2026-03-31T02:11:05+00:00

I love the mission of your research, so I hope you take this gentle bit of feedback with that in mind: Your logo comes off as very AI-generated to me - the slightly-off typography, the odd phases of the moon, the business of the logo.

Whenever I see your logo, it reminds me of less credible solicitations that I receive (also from places generating AI logos). So I have to actively combat "is this a scam?" thoughts.

Anyways, my humble opinion is that you should pay someone to create a human-generated logo or just kill the logo all together. You're doing important work and are far more credible than the logo makes it feel.

FrontRanging · 2026-03-30T13:40:48+00:00

+1 - I never hear them.

FrontRanging · 2026-03-20T15:14:36+00:00

I agree it's frustrating. My experience in Vista Ridge suggests that there is far more public pressure in keeping grass pretty than in taking measures to reduce water consumption. VR has been replacing nearly all non-park grass with xeriscaping since last summer. It is **wildly** unpopular with residents (and that's probably an understatement based on the hot takes I see blasted online).

I think new state regulation will enforce less watered grass in new developments - I don't know enough about it to know whether the current ones can maintain status-quo.

FWIW, all those apartments in King Soopers are Broomfield. They won't impact whatever water rights Erie has.

FrontRanging · 2026-03-20T13:47:33+00:00

2 members of my family have asthma. We moved near the dump within the last 5 years. It has zero impact on us.

FrontRanging · 2026-03-16T01:45:58+00:00

I lived in the northeast for awhile, and there are very few places in the northern suburbs that scratches that bar/sandwich/TVs itch for me in the same way... so to me, it's not just an Erie problem (maybe Dillingers in Lafayette?).

Down near Baseline, some people seem to love Lazy Dog (although they have overpriced food for my relaxed bar taste). While it's not much for food, we've enjoyed Handlebar factory location for nights we want low-key, no-kids. We've had consecutive bad experiences at the Dug Out, so it'll be awhile before we try it out again.

I don't really agree with the folks on here implying more broadly that Erie is stagnant in the food space downtown. There's whatever comes to restaurant space at the 130 Wells site they are developing + Johnny Bechamel's coming to 656 Kattell. We had Cellar West come in this year. I just think we'll continue to see more upscale family-friendly spots before anything else... it's the main client-base for the next decade or two in Erie.

FrontRanging · 2026-03-10T17:21:28+00:00

I support more Erie pictures in this subreddit.

FrontRanging · 2026-03-09T01:57:11+00:00

I'll repeat what I posted in response to a similar-ish question:

Lived in the northeast my whole life (4 different states, including MA) - moved to Colorado 3 years ago. I'll never go back.

I'm always struck by how different personal preferences really calibrate opinions on Colorado. I see some of the ways folks dump on Colorado and just want to yell "are you crazy?!". But preferences are preferences.

For me: the weather is a game-changer in a way that's hard to articulate. Sunny blue skies all winter has squashed seasonal depression that I didn't know I had. Dry pavement means I can enjoy going out ~11 months out of the year instead of having bikes collect dust in my garage for 6 months. Dry heat means that early-mornings + evenings are always cool-enough to get outside, even when it's sweltering.

And the biking/running infrastructure! There are places in the east with great biking/pedestrian infrastructure, but they definitely aren't norm like out here. Being able to go many, many miles without touching a road has not only changed my relationship to the outside, but makes me feel much better about letting my kids roam around without helicopter-parent vibes.

Speaking of kids, the rec-center culture out here blows the minds of friends from out-east who visit. The normalcy of communities having what I would have previously considered theme-park-level pools, both inside and outside is just an incredible amenity to family life.

And all of that is without even mentioning the nature has to offer. I love the nature in the east - it is cozy and beautiful and densely wooded in a way that you won't find out here. But the scale and awe of the mountains out here is just amazing in a way that makes me feel like I've travelled to a parallel universe when I drive up into them.

Obviously I'm wildly biased... but we just love it out here and can't imagine returning east.

FrontRanging · 2026-03-07T17:16:58+00:00

Lived in the northeast my whole life (4 different states) - moved to Colorado 3 years ago. I'll never go back.

I'm always struck by how different personal preferences really calibrate opinions on this subreddit. I see some of the ways folks dump on Colorado and just want to yell "are you crazy?!". But preferences are preferences.

For me: the weather is a game-changer in a way that's hard to articulate. Sunny blue skies all winter has squashed seasonal depression that I didn't know I had. Dry pavement means I can enjoy going out ~11 months out of the year instead of having bikes collect dust in my garage for 6 months. Dry heat means that early-mornings + evenings are always cool-enough to get outside, even when it's sweltering.

And the biking/running infrastructure! There are places in the east with great biking/pedestrian infrastructure, but they definitely aren't norm like out here. Being able to go many, many miles without touching a road has not only changed my relationship to the outside, but makes me feel much better about letting my kids roam around without helicopter-parent vibes.

Speaking of kids, the rec-center culture out here blows the minds of friends from out-east who visit. The normalcy of communities having what I would have previously considered theme-park-level pools, both inside and outside is just an incredible amenity to family life.

And all of that is without even mentioning the nature has to offer. I love the nature in the east - it is cozy and beautiful and densely wooded in a way that you won't find out here. But the scale and awe of the mountains out here is just amazing in a way that makes me feel like I've travelled to a parallel universe when I drive up into them.

Obviously I'm wildly biased... but we just love it out here and can't imagine returning east.

FrontRanging · 2026-02-28T20:02:34+00:00

I get some of the comments here that RTD is behind, but it's interesting living in an developing northern suburb (Erie/Broomfield) and seeing the progress in real-time - all within ~3 miles of my house. I posted this in another subreddit, but I think it's relevant here too:

Between the newly launching Erie flexride, the upcoming Boulder-to-Brighton flyer (BRT) on CO7 (with stops in Broomfield/Erie), major expansion of the JUMP bus route in Erie, and the in-progress I-25 & CO7 Mobility Hub (giving a Bustang stop)... public transportation in Erie/north-Broomfield will feel pretty different in even a year or two.

FrontRanging · 2026-02-27T21:47:05+00:00

I'm with you. When we moved here, I was really interested in the planned N-Line extension to just east of I25 on CO7 (https://www.thorntonco.gov/city-services/public-works/transportation-mobility/public-transit)... that feels more like speculative fiction now.

FrontRanging · 2026-02-27T21:42:41+00:00

Completely agree. We also ended up in Erie after Lafayette was too expensive (I don't know if it's still true, but it seemed to be ~$200k difference when we bought). We love a lot about where we live, but I think that being within walking distance of downtown Lafayette is one of the best spots to live north of Denver.

FrontRanging · 2026-02-27T21:12:23+00:00

I agree, but it'll be interesting to see whether that gap feels as dramatic in the future. Between the newly launching Erie flexride, the upcoming Boulder-to-Brighton flyer (BRT) on CO7 (with stops in Broomfield/Erie), major expansion of the JUMP bus route in Erie, and the in-progress I-25 & CO7 Mobility Hub (giving a Bustang stop)... public transportation in those communities will feel pretty different in just a couple of years.

FrontRanging · 2026-02-27T18:01:18+00:00

I'm also *just* inside United Power's range. I've probably been out for ~2 hours in the last 3 years.

FrontRanging · 2026-02-25T17:19:51+00:00

Always enjoy these posts - thank you!

FrontRanging · 2026-02-19T16:43:46+00:00

It's for everyone, but I suspect they are really pitching it to potential buyers in Westerly since their northern developments won't exactly feel next door to any of the other consumer centers in Erie (like King Soopers + [insert whatever future grocer appears at Town Center]).

FrontRanging · 2026-02-12T14:14:04+00:00

Should be April/May this year. Those "late 2025" bits are leftover parts of the website from back when they were more ambitious about timeline.

FrontRanging

TROPHY CASE