FoCo Observer

Fort Collins’ independent local news

Thursday, October 29, 2026 · Fort Collins, CO · Free

Thu, Oct 29 · 1 item

Article

Council work session covers housing plan, homelessness response, tobacco retail rules

Fort Collins' city council spent its October 27 work session on three staff presentations: the city's housing action plan, the homelessness response system, and a proposed licensing program for tobacco retailers. All three were discussion items; the council took no votes. The housing action plan focuses on affordability, diversity of housing types, and accessibility. Strategies staff laid out include monitoring how land use code changes affect housing, evaluating new develop…

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Updated Oct 29, 10:11 PM

Fri, Oct 23 · 1 item

Article

URA Board Approves $1 Million Loan for 112-Unit Bristlecone Affordable Housing Project

The Fort Collins Urban Renewal Authority board voted 7-1 on Thursday to approve a term sheet for a $1 million loan supporting the Bristlecone Apartments, a proposed 112-unit income-restricted housing project on a 3.7-acre site between Bristlecone Drive and Red Cedar Circle in the North College urban renewal area. The loan would be interest-only at a 3% rate, with the full principal due as a balloon payment at the end of the 18-year term or upon a refinance or other liquidity…

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Updated Oct 23, 6:58 PM

Wed, Oct 21 · 1 item

Article

Fort Collins council to hold first reading of data center moratorium Tuesday

The Fort Collins City Council voted 7-0 Tuesday night to approve Ordinance No. 147, 2026 on first reading, establishing a temporary moratorium on new data centers two weeks after directing staff to bring the measure forward. The ordinance stops the city from accepting or processing land use, permit, or other applications to construct or operate a data center as a principal use, or as an accessory use with a proposed peak electrical demand of more than 10 megawatts. It define…

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Updated Oct 21, 8:30 PM

Thu, Oct 15 · 1 item

Article

Fort Collins council weighs natural gas franchise fee hike for court, grocery rebate, human services

Fort Collins City Council is weighing an increase to the natural gas franchise fee Xcel Energy pays the city — from 1.07%, where it has held since 2018, to as high as 3% — to shore up three programs in the 2027-2028 budget: the municipal court, the grocery sales tax rebate, and human services grants. Staff presented the option at the council's Oct. 13 budget work session as one way to cover $250,000 a year needed to fully fund the grocery rebate under its current design and…

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Updated Oct 15, 9:58 AM

Wed, Oct 7 · 1 item

Hiking trail Horsetooth Reservoir Fort Collins Colorado

Article

Fort Collins Council Votes 5-1 to Halt New Data Center Applications, Moratorium Due Oct. 20

The Fort Collins City Council voted 5-1 Tuesday night to direct city staff to present a temporary moratorium on data centers at its October 20 meeting, and to stop accepting new development or permit applications for large data centers in the meantime. Resolution 2026-117 covers data centers proposed as a primary use, as well as accessory data centers with a proposed peak electrical demand of more than 10 megawatts. Staff will propose a six-month moratorium, which the resolu…

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Updated Oct 7, 8:54 PM

Sat, Oct 3 · 1 item

Old Town, Fort Collin, Colorado

Article

Urban renewal board funds study that could expand College and Drake plan fivefold

The Fort Collins Urban Renewal Authority board voted unanimously Thursday to spend $100,000 studying roughly 150 acres around the Drake Road and College Avenue intersection — the first step toward expanding an urban renewal plan whose anchor redevelopment project has fallen through. The study is the legal prerequisite for adding land to the College and Drake Urban Renewal Plan. Under Colorado urban renewal law, the authority can only bring new property into a plan after a st…

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Updated Oct 3, 1:40 PM

Sat, Sep 19 · 1 item

A Skydio X10 drone hovering above its rooftop dock at dusk.

Article

How the City of Fort Collins uses its Drone as a City Resource Program

New: The Observer's live Fort Collins drone log tracks these flights as they show up on the radio. The Fort Collins Drone as a City Resource Program launched in February 2026. Since then, we've heard a lot about its success from city leaders. However, the public does not have easy access to when, where and why drones are being used on a daily basis. The Observer is trying to address that gap.

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Updated Sep 19, 7:12 AM

Fri, Sep 11 · 1 item

Article

Fort Collins Community Survey: Affordability the Weakest Area, 6% Positive on Quality Housing

Affordability was the weakest area in Fort Collins's 2026 community survey, staff told city council at its September 8 work session, with a 6% positive rating on quality housing. Staff framed the survey as a "report card" that feeds strategic planning and budgeting. Growth management registered as stable, and Fort Collins continued to draw positive ratings as a place to work. Overall perceptions of quality of life remained strong, with ratings for the city as a place to live…

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Updated Sep 11, 4:36 AM

Fri, Aug 28 · 1 item

20120720-NRCS-LSC-0392

Article

Fort Collins may approve apartment projects without public hearings

Fort Collins City Council takes up a land use code change on Sept. 1 that would let apartment and mixed-use projects be approved by a single staff member, with no neighborhood meeting and no public hearing. The city's own Planning and Zoning Commission voted 5-0 on Aug. 20 to tell council not to do it for the largest ones. City planning staff described the effect plainly to the commission. Multi-unit and mixed-use dwellings would move to Basic Development Review, an administ…

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Updated Aug 28, 9:09 PM

Fri, Aug 14 · 1 item

Old Town Square, Fort Collins, Colorado

Article

Council Hears InnoSphere Update, Weighs Downtown Parking Fixes

Fort Collins City Council heard an economic development update from InnoSphere and reviewed a downtown parking optimization update during an August 11, 2026 work session. The Economic Development Director introduced InnoSphere's CEO, who presented on the organization's activities — including its real estate projects and funding opportunities — framed around regional economic prosperity and the NSF ASCEND Engine initiative spanning Colorado and Wyoming. Councilmembers asked q…

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Updated Aug 14, 7:06 AM

Sun, Aug 9 · 1 item

Cache Poudre Valley, Rocky Mount N.P 8-12

Article

Poudre School Board to Pick Director F Successor, Rule on Expulsion Appeal; Lobbying Records Close Out District's Year at the Capitol

The Poudre School District Board of Education will choose who fills its vacant Director District F seat — a pick that decides who holds the seat for more than a year before voters get a say — and rule on a student expulsion appeal when it meets Tuesday, August 11. The board declared the District F vacancy on July 20 under the state law that requires school boards to fill their own empty seats, C.R.S. § 22-31-129(2). Applicants submitted written applications, and the board pl…

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Updated Aug 9, 9:09 AM

Sat, Jul 25 · 1 item

On Mountain Avenue, Fort Collins, Colorado

Article

Council Advances Housing, Clean-Fleet, and Well-Plugging Grants at July 21 Meeting

Fort Collins City Council met in regular session on July 21, 2026, with all seven members present, and moved a slate of state and federally-funded grant measures, according to the meeting's action agenda. The meeting opened with a proclamation declaring July 2026 Disability Pride Month. Council adopted on second reading Ordinance No. 080, appropriating $792,434 in Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) grant revenue through the Transit Oriented Communities Infrastructur…

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Updated Jul 25, 1:48 PM

Thu, Jul 23 · 1 item

Article

Colorado Legislature Enacts Two Early-Childhood Education Bills on Reading Evaluation and Vision Screening

The Colorado General Assembly has enacted two education measures aimed at early childhood development: House Bill 26-1352, which revises how the state evaluates its early-literacy program under the READ Act, and House Bill 26-1193, which extends vision screening to pre-kindergarten students. HB26-1352 changes the required independent evaluation of READ Act spending from an annual to a biennial requirement. It also directs the Colorado Department of Education to post an annua…

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Updated Jul 23, 10:32 AM

Mon, Jul 20 · 1 item

Hiking trail Horsetooth Reservoir Fort Collins Colorado

Article

Housing grant, ADU program and orphaned-well waiver on Fort Collins council agenda July 21

On the discussion calendar, councilmembers will consider a $792,434 state grant from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs for infrastructure supporting Switchgrass Crossing, an affordable housing development. They will also consider appropriating $157,000 in Department of Local Affairs grant money, plus $83,000 from the 2050 City Climate Tax, for an accessory dwelling unit program covering ADU design plans and eligible fee waivers. A third item would waive Basic Developm…

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Updated Jul 20, 9:45 PM

Wed, Jul 15 · 1 item

Article

Council Unanimously Approves BEAD Grant Agreement, Receives Budget Updates

At the 5:45 p.m. special meeting, the council adopted Resolution 2026-091, authorizing the City Manager to sign the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) grant agreement, on a 7-0 vote with no staff presentation and no public comment. This action was the separate authorization needed to sign the grant agreement, as the council had already appropriated the BEAD funds. Following the special meeting, the council held a 6 p.m. work session, which took no formal action.…

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Updated Jul 15, 7:36 PM

Sat, Jul 11 · 1 item