Baseline/North Park: Development Agreement and Urban Renewal

The Baseline Community is generally located in north Broomfield, west of I-25 and south of Colorado 7.
(Note: While the community is referred to as "Baseline," the property is subdivided as “North Park” and certain official documents use the North Park name.)

Project Type: 
Consideration of: the North Park master development agreement, new and amended urban renewal areas for the development, property increment revenue agreements with special districts, and a vesting agreement.

Public Hearings: 

April 13, 2021 - Regarding the development agreement, urban renewal plans, revenue agreements, and First Reading of the vesting agreement, see the staff report using this link.  

 April 27, 2021 - Second Reading of the vesting agreement, see staff report using this link. 

Project Description:
The Baseline community is an approximately 1,100-acre master-planned, mixed-use development allowing just over 9,000 residential units and anticipating an estimated 7M square feet (sf) of commercial development. (Zoning allows up to 17.2M sf of commercial development.) The buildout of this community is anticipated to occur over a 30- to 50-year period.

Please visit the document library (upper right corner) to view additional information regarding these amendments.

Applicant: McWhinney

Long-Range Financial Plan:
The proposal is consistent with land use assumptions in the Long Range Financial Plan.

Status of Development:

2009
In 2009, the Broomfield City Council approved the North Park PUD Plan and Supplemental Binder which collectively established the mixed-use vision and customized land use details (zoning) for the overall property. Broomfield also approved a development agreement and an urban renewal area for the property at that time. These documents are the:

• North Park Managed Growth and Development Agreement (MGDA) and
• North Park Urban Renewal Plan (URA)

2020
In 2020, Broomfield approved an amendment to the PUD Plan and Supplemental Binder. In order to address the changes in the development scale and density approved in the 2020 zoning updates, McWhinney is proposing to amend the related MGDA and URA. 

Summary Description:
The following briefly describes the development agreement and urban renewal amendments. 

Proposed Development Agreement (MGDA) Amendment:

The MGDA updates the responsibilities, timing, costs, and financing mechanisms related to the development and funding for certain public improvements within the Baseline development. Public improvements may include streets, water, sanitary sewer, stormwater detention, open lands, and certain public parking.

Proposed and Amended Urban Renewal Areas (URA):

Most of the Baseline property was included within the existing North Park URA approved in 2009. Since then, certain properties have been developed and bonds have been issued on those properties to support their development. McWhinney is proposing to separate the Baseline property into two urban renewal areas: 

• An amended boundary area for properties subject to existing bonds and 
• A new urban renewal area boundary for properties that have not yet developed and are not yet subject to bond financing. 

Urban Renewal Area (URA):
An urban renewal designation provides the opportunity for a portion of the taxes generated in the area to be retained for use in the area to support the construction of certain eligible public improvements such as roads, sanitary sewer, water, and open lands. This financial tool is referred to as tax increment financing (TIF). TIF is not a new tax.  Rather, it allows for the growth in incremental revenue generated in the designated area to fund development projects in the urban renewal area, through a variety of mechanisms, including bond financing, project loans, or development reimbursements for improvements that might typically be constructed by the city and county. Designation of a new urban renewal area allows for the developer and the city to restart the “TIF clock” so newly generated revenue can be collected and used in the area for up to 25 years. 

Notice of a combined public hearing will be provided a minimum of 30-days in advance in accordance with state statute. A copy of the notice will be posted in the document library for review after publication.