Longmont delays decision on Distel‑Tull land swap, adding uncertainty to Boulder County compost plans

The Longmont City Council has tabled its decision on a proposed land swap that could open the door to a Boulder County composting facility, creating new uncertainty in the effort to build a local solution for organic waste.

The council had been scheduled to weigh the Distel‑Tull land exchange on Aug. 12. The vote would have determined whether 65 acres of the Distel property — a patch of land in southeast Longmont where gravel is still being processed — would move from the city’s open space program to its utilities department.

But on July 29, councilmembers voted unanimously to table the proposal, citing “ongoing legal negotiations” with Amrize, the company formerly known as Holcim, which has long run gravel operations on both Distel and Tull. The proposal has faced vocal opposition from residents and wildlife advocates, who warn of noise, truck traffic, groundwater contamination and impacts on bald eagles if a facility is built.

“We appreciate all of the input from the public and the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, but at this point we are deferring our decision,” Mayor Joan Peck said in a statement. “We need to ensure we are making the best decision for our community.” 

Boulder County has been evaluating Distel as a possible site for a regional composting facility, with results expected in September. While county officials say other locations are being considered, none have been publicly named. Distel remains the leading option. Officials have been searching for a closer alternative to hauling compost 50 miles to Keenesburg, and a local facility, they say, could eventually handle food scraps and yard waste if it is no longer protected open space. Longmont city officials are also looking to use Distel for composting, but say they’re  considering other municipal uses such as a fire training center. 

The council said the swap will return to its agenda once negotiations with Amrize are resolved, but no timeline has been set, leaving the future of the deal in limbo for now.

A complicated trade

Under the proposal, the Utilities Department would take over roughly half of the 115‑acre Distel property, with the rest staying protected as open space. A small portion of the open space — around 8 to 10 acres — could eventually house a composting facility, while the majority would remain a green buffer. Gravel work by Amrize would continue on the land shifted to utilities.

In exchange, the city’s Open Space program would gain portions of the Tull property, an ecologically sensitive parcel along Boulder Creek. Both properties will one day need reclamation. 

City staff had framed the deal as a win-win: Distel, scarred by decades of gravel processing, would be difficult to restore as open space but parts could be repurposed for municipal uses like composting. Tull, by contrast, has more ecological potential and under the swap could be rehabilitated into riparian habitat that strengthens Longmont’s open space buffer. Longmont is also considering building water storage ponds on Tull. (The county has said it would be open to composting on either site, but Tull would likely draw even more opposition.)

Officials also touted side benefits. The swap could speed up Distel’s cleanup, restoring 50 acres of the non‑gravel‑processed land near the St. Vrain within about five years instead of by 2033. 

At a June Parks and Recreation Advisory Board meeting, Chris Huffer, Longmont’s assistant director of water and waste, said the swap was about which city department manages which land — not approval of a composting facility or any other future use.

“The proposed land exchange … is a change in city funds that hold ownership of certain properties,” Huffer told the board. “What it is not is an approval of any future city uses on Distel and Tull or any other properties.”

But it’s also clear the future of a county composting facility is bound up in this decision. 

Why Distel, and why now?

Boulder County has been searching for a local compost site for years. Today, compost is hauled 50 miles to a facility in Keenesburg run by A1 Organics, which recently tightened what it accepts. 

County Commissioner Ashley Stolzmann said that Distel’s current industrial state made it a promising candidate for reuse.

“If you look at the [Distel] site currently, it is heavy industrial mining, and everything that has been proposed will benefit people and the environment over what is currently happening,” Stolzmann told Boulder Reporting Lab. 

She also encourages anyone concerned about the land swap to visit the Distel and Tull properties. “They’re imagining a pristine piece of property, but neither property has been restored or reclaimed yet.” 

County studies have found that a regional facility could likely handle yard debris, coffee filters and food scraps but would not accept single-use compostable packaging, biosolids or animal carcasses.

If the facility is built on Longmont land, Commissioner Stolzmann said city residents would likely get some form of compensation, such as lower composting costs. Specific terms would be negotiated once a site is chosen.

Rising opposition

Earlier this summer, Longmont’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Board voted 3‑2 against the swap, arguing it could weaken the city’s open space protections and didn’t demonstrate the “net benefit” required under Longmont’s municipal code.

“We’re not stopping it, we can’t stop it. But we can give voice,” board member Brandi Bradshaw Reyes said. “It’s us saying, ‘Hey, maybe slow down a little bit, this is feeling rushed.’”

Some residents near Distel have raised concerns about noise, truck traffic and contamination risks. Critics say soil and groundwater testing should happen before the land is swapped, not after.

Environmental advocate Ethan Augreen, who serves on Longmont’s sustainability board, has been particularly vocal about the lack of testing at Distel given its long history of gravel processing. He points to a geotechnical report showing groundwater just two to nine feet beneath the surface and warns that could pose risks if a composting facility is built. 

“Aside from compost leachate into groundwater, which is strictly prohibited by Colorado solid waste regulations, we have to think about the structural stability of the site,” Augreen said, warning that groundwater could rise once Amrize stops actively dewatering the property.

Wildlife advocates have also urged caution. They’re worried about what more development could mean for migratory bald eagles that roost nearby each winter. Dana Bove, lead researcher with Front Range Eagle Studies, has documented a slow but steady decline in the number of eagles gathering at “confluence roosts” along Boulder Creek, including one near the Distel site.

His research shows eagles often abandon these communal roosts when nearby land is developed, and that can force them into other habitats, causing crowding and competition for resources.

“You’re creating conflict in these other nest territories,” Bove said. “None of this happens in a vacuum.” 

He adds there’s little research on how compost facilities affect bald eagles, particularly roosts that are already shrinking.  He and others have urged Longmont and county officials to commission more studies before making any decisions. 

The debate has also sparked confusion about whether this would mark the first time Longmont has “disposed” of open space.

Longmont established a formal procedure for disposing of open space in 2011. The process has been used at least once — in 2013, to dispose of nearly six acres for a street extension. A land swap counts as a form of disposal, though an exchange of this size appears unprecedented, making Distel‑Tull one of the most high‑profile tests of the policy to date.

What’s next

Assistant City Manager David Hornbacher said Longmont “remains dedicated to working with Amrize and Boulder County” on composting solutions.

Stolzmann said the Front Range will likely need several compost sites to meet demand.

“The thought has always been to try to create a regional solution,” she said. “Exactly where those solutions go is complicated.”