Arvada City Council Votes Against Proposed Amazon Facility

ARVADA, CO — The Arvada City Council voted 5-2 early Tuesday morning to reject the rezoning and annexation of land in west Arvada to allow for the development of a new Amazon delivery site. The high-stakes City Council meeting, which began at 6 p.m. Monday, lasted nearly eight hours, with proposal site presentations, community feedback, a rebuttal period and a council question session.

The Protect Maple Valley Park group brought to the meeting a petition with around 9,800 signatures from residents who oppose the Project Indiana development. Many community members said they believe that the Amazon site developer, Scannell Properties, was under-projecting the facility's environmental and quality-of-life impact on the area.

Linda Brown, a Maple Valley resident, spoke at the City Council meeting.

“Nothing that is done on this project site will remain confined to this property," Brown said. "Water will flow … along with oil, grease and pollutants.”

Brown, who has a PhD in environmental biology, said Scannell provided no studies on the environmental impact of the proposed site.

Dozens of other Arvadans also spoke at the City Council meeting, and addressed concerns about the proposed site's impact on their quality of life, pedestrian safety with higher traffic, Amazon facility growth, the company's reputation as an employer and whether the company is being honest and transparent with its studies and predictions.

Matt Boone, a development manager with Scannell Properties, gave an overview of the Amazon facility project at the meeting. He said the project would not impact Maple Valley Park, and that the site would fulfill the city's comprehensive plan, which allows the land to be developed for industrial, office and retail space.

Key points in Boone's presentation:

• A nearly 8-acre landscape buffer would be built between the Amazon parking lot and the park, and it would block park-goers from seeing the facility
• More turn lanes, thru-lanes and traffic signals would be added along Indiana Street
• The Amazon facility would be lower-impact than many other types of commercial facilities, such as shopping supercenters and mixed use developments
  
• Van drivers would be released strategically and would not be sent out during peak traffic hours
• Lighting fixtures would all be directed downward and not outside the property, and motion activating dimmers would also be used
• A noise model of the Amazon vans shows the noise pollution is below the city decibel standards
• Amazon has committed more than $2 million to the Arvada site to use electric delivery vehicles — their deployment would begin as early as 2023
• More than 800 trees would be planted on site, and a pedestrian trail would be added at Fig Street
• A stormwater management facility would ensure no runoff and flooding from the new site

Don't miss the latest news updates in Arvada: Free Arvada Patch Newsletters and Email Alerts | Facebook | Twitter

The new center, which would include a 1,100-space parking lot, would bring more than 1,000 jobs to the area, with a starting wage of $15 an hour, Amazon representatives said. But the proposed facility would also bring more than 1,300 daily delivery trips to the area, the company said.

The Ralston Valley Park Coalition said Scannell Properties made last-minute changes to their site design before the City Council meeting, but representatives with the coalition were still able to make the following points:

• Scannell Properties has not provided the coalition with the noise study the firm has cited (the study was subsequently provided to City Council during the rebuttal period)
• Amazon has not accounted for all the personal vehicles coming into and out of the site
• Scannell defines one vehicle trip as a “round trip;” however, the coalition said that wording is not defined in the land use code
• The traffic along Indiana Street isn't the only concern — the site will impact many other roadways and neighborhoods on the way to I-70 in the area
• The proposal has failed to account for holiday traffic, which can be around three times higher

The coalition said the proposed Amazon center would be a “heavy industrial use” facility, not a “light industrial use” facility, as Scannell Properties says.

Larry Barker, Arvada Chamber of Commerce chairman, also lined up with residents to speak at the meeting. He said that the city’s adherence to its local zoning laws is imperative to drawing new businesses to Arvada.

Barker also said the new facility would bring increased business taxes, more employment and a much-needed financial boost to the city.