Timnath Town Council reaffirms annexation of Connell land that's part of Ladera project
Timnath Town Council on Tuesday unanimously denied a motion to reconsider its Feb. 13 annexation of 188.5 acres owned by Connell LLC that is part of the 240-acre Ladera project.
Terra Resource Corporation, Timnath Lands LLC and Craig Harrison submitted a motion for reconsideration through their attorneys claiming the town failed to recognize that the required 50% of landowners in the area to be annexed — excluding streets and alleys — did not sign the petition to annex the land west of County Road 5 and north of Kechter Road, thereby invalidating it. Harrison is listed as the registered agent for both Terra Resource and Timnath Lands and lists the same address in Timnath.
The parties maintain the right-of-way on two segments of County Road 5 is 96 feet, which includes land owned by Terra Resource Corp. and Timnath Lands LLC.
Attorney Patrick Groom declined comment Wednesday on whether his clients would take the matter to court.
Groom told council members, if "landowners own any lands within the Connell annexation No. 3 boundaries that are not included within the boundaries of a public street or alley, at least two of those landowners must sign the annexation petition."
After dueling opinions from surveyors for Connell and Harrison on a century-old right-of-way on County Road 5 in Timnath yielded no new information, council members unanimously reaffirmed their original decision.
Council member Brett Hansen, whose term will expire in April, called the motion for reconsideration another tactic designed to "delay a business competitor from being able to develop their land."
Harrison has raised a number of different objections since December, including that people didn't know about Ladera and various assertions about the technical mining permits on the site that were later refuted, he said. "It seems to be his tactic to throw as many arguments against the wall to see what sticks."
Council member Robert Axmacher, Timnath's presumed next mayor as he is running unopposed in the upcoming election, said while council heard varying expert opinions "majority opinion is the land in question is part of the right-of-way. I believe council got it right the first time."
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Timnath Town Council reaffirms annexation of Connell land
