WEEK OF JUNE 12, 2025
VOLUME 80 | ISSUE 34
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Thornton opts out of land use lawsuit Thornton still supports plaintiffs in their fight for local land use control BY MONTE WHALEY MONTE@COTLN.ORG
The Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keenesburg is a refuge for a variety of wildlife. COURTESY
Housing proposal at odds with Wild Animal Sanctuary Sanctuary supporters downplay threats of violence by fans BY MONTE WHALEY MONTE@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
An attorney representing two landowners in Weld County is accusing the supporters of an iconic wildlife sanctuary of issuing death threats against the two women for resurrecting plans to put a housing development on 40 acres of land adjacent to the facility. Jeremy Brett Daz Fletcher also says that recent comments made by Pat Craig – executive director of Wild Animal Sanctuary near Keenesburg – via social media posts criticizing the development could be libelous and are interfering with an earlier contract between the sanctuary and landowners. The death threats have also been fielded by real estate agents handling the sale of the eight home sites, said Fletcher
in his letter to Craig. “As we have expressed in our earlier statement,” Fletcher states in the letter, “we were saddened and disheartened that you chose to proceed in the manner you have. That statement remains true.” Craig rejected the claims about death threats from backers of the sanctuary and an offer from the development group to sell the acreages to the sanctuary for $4 million. There is no proof anyone has threatened the two owners – Sherry Boris Wigaard and Velois Smith – nor their agents, said Craig, who opened the 33,000-acre sanctuary over 31 years ago. “Who really thinks someone is going to travel to Florida and try to find these ladies to hurt them? Our core demographic is women 45 and older, with most having
VOICES: 9 | LIFE: 12 | CLASSIFIEDS: 15
Masters or PHD’s and (who) are wealthy. Is that the kind of crowd that threatens to kill other women?” Craig said. Craig said via email that Fletcher has not acknowledged the two women refused to communicate with the sanctuary for nearly seven months. “Everyone seems to skip over this important fact. Had they been willing to keep the lines of communication open we would not be in this position today,” Craig said. He also termed the buyout offer as ridiculous as the owners - who live in Florida - are not trying to cover their expenses or even the projected sales of the sits. They originally offered the land to the sanctuary 10 years ago for $2 million. “We couldn’t afford that either,” Craig said. SEE SANCTUARY, P8
The City of Thornton is not joining six other home rule cities in a lawsuit that claims new state laws and Gov. Jared Polis are usurping their authority over local land use issues. Thornton is still backing the cities in their efforts to keep local control over decisions related to growth within the boundaries of those cities, Mayor Jan Kulmann said recently. “Thornton fully supports the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, and we will continue to evaluate how we can best help their effort,” Kulmann said via email. “City Council believes it’s important to sustain the rights of our residents to be able to have a voice in land use decisions in Thornton. “We also oppose the Governor’s effort to preempt Colorado’s Home Rule Authority laws in ways that take away cities and towns’ power to make decisions on how their communities are affected by development,” she said. Challenging an executive order
Westminster, Greenwood Village, Arvada, Aurora, Glendale and Lafayette filed the lawsuit in Denver District Court targeting two land use bills passed last year by the Colorado General Assembly. The first – HB 24-1304 – prohibits local governments from enacting or enforcing minimum parking requirements on multifamily housing developments located in transit areas, according to the plaintiffs. The second – HB 24-1313 – requires 32 local governments in the Front Range to change their SEE LAWSUIT, P2
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