Department of Community Development
Reference: Bromley Farms Reimbursement Agreement
To: Mayor Gregory Mills and Members of City Council
Through: Michael Martinez, City Manager
Prepared By: Nick Di Mario, AICP, Senior Planner
Date Prepared: July 18, 2025
PURPOSE
The request before the City Council is for the approval of a reimbursement agreement (the “Agreement”) related to the Bromley Farms Subdivision Plan. The proposed Agreement is between the City of Brighton (the “City”), the Parkland Metropolitan District (the “District”) and Privateer Bromley, LLC (the “Developer”) (the Developer and District are collectively referred to as the “Parties”), and is in relation to the Bromley Farms Subdivision Plan that was reviewed and accepted by the City Council at a regular meeting held on February 20, 2024 and recorded with Adams County at Reception No. 2024000024883 on May 10, 2024 (the “Subdivision Plan”). The Property is generally located at the southeast corner of Bromley Lane and Chambers Road, south of the Bromley Farm / Koizuma-Hishinuma Farm (the “Historic Bromley Farm”) and the Brighton Oasis Family Aquatic Park (the “Oasis”), north of the Indigo Trails Subdivision, and west of the future S. 19th Avenue alignment (the “Property”). As is referenced in the Subdivision Plan, the Parties are requesting reimbursement for multiple off-site improvement obligations that are outside the impact and bounds of the Property. With the approval and acceptance of the Subdivision Plan, the Parties agreed to take on various off-site improvement obligations with the possibility of, but not the guarantee of, reimbursement for such improvement obligations. The Agreement before City Council details the off-site improvement obligations and how the City may choose to reimburse the Parties for such improvements.
PROJECT BACKGROUND
The Subdivision Plan was fully approved and accepted by the City in February of 2024. The Subdivision Plan details the entire geographical area of the Property and discusses the various off-site improvement obligations that are required of the Parties. Such improvements include the build out of Bromley Lane and Chambers Road, the design and construction of an off-site stormwater outfall, the design and construction of open space amenities and the design and construction of various parks throughout the Property. Among the improvement obligations are some that are either outside the bounds of the Property or are not solely driven by the development of the Property. To be more specific, some of the off-site improvement obligations were not recommended to be completed by the Parties, meaning their future residential development does not meet certain thresholds in order to be the responsible party to complete the improvements. However, due to the lack of unimproved infrastructure in the surrounding area, such as undersized roadways, missing drainage infrastructure, missing trail and pedestrian connections and lack of open spaces with amenities, the City felt there was a need to have these off-site improvements completed by the Developer. Henceforth, the Subdivision Plan details that these off-site improvement obligations do need to be completed by the Parties, and the Parties would have the opportunity to request reimbursement for such items at a later date. To be clear, the Subdivision Plan states the Parties could request reimbursement for such improvement obligations, but it specifically mentions that reimbursement for the items is not guaranteed. If the Agreement is not approved by the City, the Parties would still be responsible for the improvement obligations in order to move forward with their development as currently proposed.
SUMMARY OF THE PROPOSED REIMBURSEMENT AGREEMENT
As mentioned, the Agreement details which of the off-site improvement obligations the Parties will be reimbursed for, where the reimbursement will come from, and the timing of the reimbursement. The Agreement includes the following off-site improvements as reimbursable:
1.) The east-bound travel lanes of Bromley Lane and associated infrastructure east of the S. 15th Avenue,
2.) The extension of Chambers Road south of the Property and associated infrastructure,
3.) The traffic signal at S. 15th Avenue and Bromley Lane, not to exceed 50% of the design and construction costs (items 1-3 are referred to as the “Off-Site Roadway Improvements”),
4.) Drainage infrastructure and pipeline upsizing associated with serving the Historic Bromley Farm and the Oasis (the “Off-Site Drainage Improvements”),
5.) The improvements associated with the regional storm drainage outfall, excluding easement and property acquisition costs (the “Regional Outfall Improvements”),
6.) The off-site trail connection to the Oasis,
7.) The off-site pedestrian bridge adjacent to Chambers Road (items 6-7 are collectively referred to as the “Off-Site Trail Improvements”),
8.) The construction of a system of soft trails and a dog park within the dedicated open space (the “Open Space Improvements”).
Items 1-8 are collectively referred to as the “Off-Site Improvements”.
Below is a description of the parameters of the Agreement.
Development Impact Fees:
The Agreement details that the design and construction of the Off-Site Improvements will be reimbursed by utilizing development impact fees. Development impact fees are paid at the time of residential building permit issuance. Development impact fees are collected and used to finance new capital improvement projects that increase the capacity of City services as needed to serve a growing community. Some examples of capital improvement projects funded by development impact fees include the Bridge Street widening project, the water treatment plant expansion, and the construction of Lutz Reservoir. The collected development impact fees are used to expand services that support our growing community and cannot be used to fund staffing or general operations.
In the case of this Agreement, the following development impact fees will be used to reimburse the Parties for their design and construction of the Off-Site Improvements: Community park impact fee, neighborhood park impact fee, transportation and multimodal impact fee and storm drainage impact fee. In reviewing and negotiating this Agreement with the Parties and members of the Development Review Committee, Finance Department and City Attorney’s Office (the “DRC”), it has been determined that the use of certain development impact fees to reimburse the Parties for their design and construction of the Off-Site Improvements is an appropriate and legal use of the collected development impact fees. However, the development impact fees used for reimbursement must have a nexus to the obligation they are reimbursing. By way of example, transportation impact fees can be used to reimburse for roadway improvements, but they cannot be used to reimburse for park and open space improvements. City staff has ensured that each obligation will only be reimbursed using its respective development impact fee.
Amount of Reimbursement Provided:
As detailed in the Agreement, the City shall reimburse the Parties for the cost of the design and construction of the Off-Site Improvements using the specific development impact fee collected from the development of the Property. Once the Parties have completed the construction of the Off-Site Improvements, and said Off-Site Improvements have received final construction acceptance from the City, the City will reimburse the Parties for their actual cost of design and construction of the Off-Site Improvements. Since development impact fees are only collected at the issuance of a building permit rather than paid lump-sum up front, the total amount of reimbursement provided at any given time shall not exceed the total amount of development impact fees collected. In no case will the total amount of reimbursement exceed the total amount of development impact fees collected, even if the cost to design and construct the off-site improvement exceeds the total amount of development impact fees collected. The City shall remit payment to the Parties within 45 days of receipt of the reimbursement request.
The following paragraphs will go into more detail on the Off-Site Improvements that fall under the scope of this Agreement.
Off-Site Roadway Improvements:
The Subdivision Plan required the design and construction of the Off-Site Roadway Improvements in order to have Bromley Lane and Chambers Road built to final condition, as well as obtain a signalized intersection at S. 15th Avenue and Bromley Lane. With respect to the improvements to Bromley Lane and Chambers Road, both portions of these roadways are adjacent to City-owned property. Requiring these portions to be constructed will allow for a more complete thoroughfare along the frontage of the Property, the Historic Bromley Farm, and the Oasis, directly pursuing the goals and objectives of the City’s Transportation Master Plan. With respect to the traffic signal improvements, the Parties will hold a portion of the financial responsibility, with the City reimbursing for everything beyond the Parties pro-rata share.
The Agreement details the reimbursement for the Off-Site Roadway Improvements, which will come from transportation and multimodal impact fees collected with each building permit.
Off-Site Drainage Improvements:
Resting between the Historic Bromley Farm and the Oasis is a regional pond intended to capture storm water runoff from surrounding roadways and properties. In pursuit of the City’s Overall Storm Plan (the “OSP”), the Subdivision Plan required the design and construction of the Off-Site Drainage Improvements in order to safely and appropriately convey storm water runoff to its ultimate end point. Furthermore, the Agreement details that the City will reimburse up to 6% of the total design and construction costs of the Off-Site Drainage Improvements. It was determined that the flows for the Oasis will only utilize 6% of the total capacity of the proposed infrastructure, the remaining capacity will be utilized by flows directly attributed to the development.
The Agreement details the reimbursement for the Off-Site Drainage Improvements will come from storm drainage impact fees collected with each building permit.
Regional Outfall Improvements:
The Subdivision Plan requires the design and construction of the Regional Outfall Improvements, from the Property westward past Sable Boulevard, in pursuit of compliance with the OSP. The Regional Outfall Improvements will provide a vast regional improvement that will benefit not only the City in meeting the standards and intent of the OSP, but will also benefit nearby landowners if and when they choose to develop in the future. Reimbursement for the Regional Outfall improvements was broken down as percentages for different sections of the improvements based on pipe capacity. Reimbursement will only be for the remaining capacity that is not utilized by the development.
As mentioned, the Agreement excludes costs associated with the easement and property acquisition related to obtaining the necessary easements across private property. As the Regional Outfall Improvements extend into properties not included in the Subdivision Plan or the final plat for Bromley Farms, the Parties were required to obtain easements for the construction of the Regional Outfall Improvements. This Agreement excludes any costs associated with easement and/or property acquisition related to the Regional Outfall Improvements.
The Agreement details the reimbursement for the Regional Outfall Improvements will come from the storm drainage impact fees collected with each building permit.
Off-Site Trail Improvements:
The Subdivision Plan requires the design and construction of the Off-Site Trail Improvements in order to provide a complete pedestrian pathway from the intersection of Chambers Road and 144th Avenue to the Oasis. Currently there are dead end trails at the south end of the Oasis parking lot and along Chambers Road adjacent to the Indigo Trails subdivision. While the Parties are required to design and construct a trail along the Fulton Ditch and said Fulton Ditch trail is wholly the financial responsibility of the Parties, the Parties have agreed to design and construct the missing links at the before mentioned location. Said missing links include a pedestrian bridge adjacent to Chambers Road across the Fulton Ditch and finishing the connection point of the trail at the Oasis to the Fulton Ditch trail that will be built by the Parties. At the final build out of the Property, there will be a fully connected trail connection from the intersection of 144th Avenue and Chambers Road to the Oasis and beyond.
The Agreement details the reimbursement for the Off-Site Trail Improvements will come from the neighborhood park and community park impact fees collected with each building permit. City staff determined that use of neighborhood park and community park impact fees to reimburse the Parties for the Off-Site Trail Improvements is an appropriate use of the beforementioned fees as the Off-Site Trail Improvements will provide more cohesive and regional trail connections to nearby parks and open spaces.
Open Space Improvements:
The Subdivision Plan requires the design and construction of the Open Space Improvements in order to activate the open space that will be dedicated to the City by providing the regional improvements. The Open Space Improvements will provide an activated open space, meaning useable open space, for all residents of the City.
The Agreement details the reimbursement for the Open Space Improvements will come from the neighborhood park and community park impact fees collected with each residential building permit. City staff determined that the use of neighborhood park and community park impact fees to reimburse the Parties for the Open Space Improvements is an appropriate use of the beforementioned fees as the Open Space Improvements will provide recreational amenities within City-owned open space.
Term of the Agreement:
The Agreement will terminate seven years from the date of the release of the first development permit associated with the Property, or when the full reimbursement of the Off-Site Improvements has been satisfied, or the development impact fees have been exhausted, whichever comes first. If the Parties desire to extend the Agreement, an extension shall be subject to review and approval by the City in a similar manner to the original adoption.
STAFF FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS OF THE AGREEMENT
As noted, the review and negotiation of the Agreement was done in consultation with the DRC. Furthermore, City staff and the Parties have met on many occasions to discuss the parameters of the Agreement.
As the Off-Site Improvements are regional in nature and intend to serve more than just the Property, the DRC agrees that the use of the mentioned development impact fees for reimbursement is an appropriate use of said fees. Furthermore, the Agreement has been drafted in a form acceptable to City staff and the DRC
OPTIONS FOR COUNCIL CONSIDERATION
The City Council has four (4) options when reviewing this Agreement. City Council may:
1.) Approve the Resolution as drafted;
2.) Approve the Resolution with modifications;
3.) Not approve the Resolution; or
4.) Provide further direction to staff.
ATTACHMENTS
● Draft City Council Resolution
● Developer Contribution Pages from Bromley Farms Subdivision Plan
● Draft Construction and Reimbursement Agreement
● Aerial Map by City Staff
● Website Notification
● Draft Staff Presentation