FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Fort Collins City Council approved the master plan for a massive new 4,000-home development on Tuesday, greenlighting the project to move forward.
The Montava development has faced controversy as neighbors who live nearby fear the city does not have the infrastructure needed to handle the influx of new people and cars.
While the developer said it would bring new opportunities to an area that currently sits vacant, critics said the homes would bring traffic and infrastructure problems the city is not prepared for.
More than a dozen people lined up at the council meeting Tuesday night to voice their opinions on how fast and in what ways the city should grow.
"I can only hope that the Fort Collins City Council and staff use foresight and not hindsight when approving Montava as much seems to be lacking like a clear approved plan for water and sewer for this project," said Fort Collins resident Paul Navar at the council meeting Tuesday night.
The developer plans to build nearly 4,000 homes on 850 acres. The homes will go in off of Country Club Road on land near the Anheuser-Busch factory. Council said with each stage of the development, the city will conduct a traffic study to determine how the new homes impact the area.
"We ask the city council to support and approve the Montava master plan because it advances Fort Collins long term goals and objectives, it further advances the plans and policies of the city," said councilmember Carolynne White to the developer.
In previous council meetings on this topic, hundreds of people showed up to speak out against the development.
On Tuesday, there was talk from councilmember Ross Cunniff to postpone the vote, but other members did not agree.
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