Council to consider more opioid funds

Second vote on north Loveland zoning change also slated for Tuesday’s meeting

The city of Loveland is eligible to receive another six-figure payout, after five additional opioid manufacturers and distributors agreed to settle with state and local governments in a nationwide class action lawsuit. On Tuesday, Loveland City Council will vote on whether to participate in settlement agreements with the new defendants in exchange for releasing future claims against them.

Council voted to participate in the initial settlement in November 2021. In that agreement, the state of Colorado will receive approximately $400 million from drug distributors Johnson & Johnson, Amerisourcebergen, Cardinal Health and Mckesson over a period of 18 years.

The state will in turn distribute 60% of that money to county and municipal governments organized into 19 regions. Larimer

County and its municipalities comprise region 2, and are slated to receive a total payout approaching $15 million. About $1 million of that will be coming to Loveland, starting with a $106,000 payment received earlier this year.

Participating in the new agreements could add $11.4 million to Larimer County’s share of that yearly total, of which $759,958 is Loveland’s. If City Council declines to sign the agreements, Loveland will retain the right to sue these defendants in future opioid litigation.

In other business, City Council will take a second vote on a proposed zoning change that could bring up to 405 new housing units to the Green Valley Ranch addition in northwest Loveland. On Feb. 21, City Council voted 7 to 2 to approve the move, but strongly

suggested revisions to the plans related to vehicle access and wildfire mitigation before final approval.

The 89-acre Green Valley Ranch property lies east of North Wilson Avenue between West 50th and 57th streets. It was originally part of a 154acre parcel annexed by the city in 2002 for a mixed-use development that never materialized.

In 2013, Loveland Parks and Recreation purchased approximately 60 acres of the property for use as a future regional park. The property owner is now hoping to turn the remainder into a residential development, but first needs an update to the parcel’s zoning document.

City planners and the Green Valley Ranch development team will be back before council on Tuesday to address concerns voiced by council and neighbors during the first vote. They will be presenting an updated traffic count for major roads surrounding the property and additional analysis of their proposed access configuration.

In response to concerns about wildfire mitigation, the developer has also agreed to drop its request for a modification to setback requirements that would allow it to build housing units closer together. The team will also discuss additional fire protection measures that will be implemented for the new development.

How to participate

The council will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the council chambers at the Municipal Building, 500 E. Third St.

Comments from members of the public will be accepted in person as well as over Zoom.

Those wishing to join by Zoom can use the ID 975 3779 6504 with a passcode of 829866, according to the meeting agenda.

The meeting will be broadcast on Comcast Channel 16/880, Pulse TV channel 16 and streamed through the city’s website at lovgov.org/tv.

Tuesday’s agenda packet can be found through the Loveland City Council’s website at lovgov.org or at cilovelandco.civicweb.net.