The Lafayette City Council convened on February 3, 2026, to conduct public input, approve routine items, and hold a sketch plan review for the proposed "Range at Lafayette" mixed-use development. The meeting featured extensive public testimony regarding traffic, water resources, affordable housing, and land use character, followed by in-depth staff and developer presentations. Councilors provided non-binding feedback on zoning, height variances, housing diversity, and public land dedication.
Clerk Beck, could we please get a roll call? Mayor Tapia Vega. Here. Mayor Curtem Barnes. Councilor Bolier. Here. Councillor Friedman. Here. Councillor Gallegos. Good evening. Councillor Gianova. Here. And Councillor Jensen. Here, Mayor, we have a quorum. Thank you so much. And I know Mayor Proton Barnes is stuck in some traffic, so he will be here shortly. We'll begin tonight with public inputs. And just as a reminder, we will have a public hearing later on. But this is public input. We will. Well, if you want to speak, please fill out one of the speaker request forms in the back or through the glass doors there and hand it to our amazing city clerk. You will have five minutes to speak. We will begin tonight with Karen Norbeck. Karen Norbach, 800 East Genesio. Good evening. I'm here to give a couple of shout-outs to city staff tonight. The first one is for the changes to the development review process. Later tonight, you will be the first council to experience that change as you weigh in on a sketch plan at a point in the process where you can truly give feedback that can make a difference. Years ago when 40 North was first in motion, residents from Anna's Farm in Indian Peaks filed an appeal of the planning commission's decision on the project to the council. Watching how that council came to life and engaged with the developer and the neighbors to provide input early on in the process was enlightening. Ever since I've wanted to see that become part of the process. Twenty-six years ago, I started talking to former city administrator Gary Klepaki about trying to save some of the land in the Domenico farm across the street from the Thomas Farm as development plans were being discussed. There was an article in Organic Gardening Magazine about something called a CSA or community supported agriculture. It was a new concept at that time. I took it to Gary and started painting a vision of incorporating it into the plans for the Domenico property. Later there was an article about chefs growing their own produce for their restaurants. And since there was a commercial component plan for the entrance to Anna's farm, just east of the Domenico property, I added that to the vision. I asked Gary, what if this area could become a vibrant community center, which would also help save some of the farmland. It could honor generations of Lafayette farming families while providing organic produce for the community, educational events, and perhaps the potential for other opportunities not yet envisioned. Gary, being a Minnesota farm boy, was intrigued. However, the plans for the Domenico property were eventually backburnered, and so was this idea. Today those plans are back on the table and are called 40 North. The land that is now the Thomas Farm was planned for housing. It was once part of the farm of Anna Wanica and her husband William Thomas. Anna was the daughter of homesteaders Adolph and Anna Wanica. William died in a mining accident, leaving Anna with nine children. She was later married Frank Greenley and had two more children. She divorced him ten years later and raised her 11 children alone on that farm. In 1995, when development of her farm was imminent, Doug Connero and his wife Dana Caulfield pulled off a last-minute rescue of Anna's house that was slated for demolition and moved it across town near the Rothman Open Space, where they restored it to its former glory. In 2002, neighbors successfully lobbied the city to purchase a property as open space.