Some Colorado residents object to new home development at former school site

Colorado residents filled a room at the Standley Lake Library in Westminster Wednesday night to question a developer who has a plan to put 40 homes at the site of the former Zerger Elementary School in Westminster's King Mill neighborhood.

Cardel Homes has a deal with Jeffco Public Schools, which owns the property, to tear down the school and build 40 single-family homes on the property.

"Unfortunately, the school district can't use this building anymore," Jeff Keeley, a development consultant working for Cardel Homes, told the crowd. The school system has been selling off some of the schools it has closed as enrollments have declined. After Zerger closed, it served for a time as a charter school that is no longer operating at the site. The building is unused, but locals frequent the green space.

"Listen to us and stop these sales. Stop these closures and do your job," said Gary Bland, talking about the school district. Bland, who distributed a survey to local residents, said 97% of those who answered don't like the current plans for the property. Many want the City of Westminster to create a park on the property, but the city did not make a bid for the property when JeffCo Public Schools put it up for sale.

"You lose the character of the neighborhood," said Kent McBride about the proposed development, who lives on a street that abuts the property. McBride said his wife, who suffers from Alzheimer's Disease, can walk over the property. 

"One of the last things physically she can do is just walk," he said. "She walks, but she doesn't feel that she gets lost because she has the school as a point of reference."

Keeley declined an interview request, but answered questions along with other representatives from Cardel Homes. When residents said they feared what might be dug up when soils were stirred in construction in the area not far from Rocky Flats, he told the crowd the company would not build if the property was found to be contaminated.

Zoning for the property is appropriate for housing development, said Westminster planning director John McConnell. But the city council will have to sign off on a change to the city's comprehensive plan, giving the council a chance to weigh in on the developer's plans. That timeline is not yet shaped.