Neighbors in Colorado town of Louviers fight against proposed asphalt plant

Colorado neighbors in a town in Douglas County have spent years fighting against a proposed asphalt plant.

Louviers was founded in the early 1900s by the Du Pont Company, along with a dynamite plant that supplied explosives for mines and road-building in the West. Today that plant has long since closed, but the Village of Louviers remains and has been registered as a historic district.

However, now residents say a new plant that wants to move in threatens the character of their community.

A group of neighbors showed up outside the Brannan Concrete Plant on Airport Road at 5 a.m. on a recent weekday and stayed all day, counting passing trucks.

It was the latest effort by residents to keep a proposed asphalt plant out of their historic town.

"It's a really unique community. There's only 103 homes in Louviers," said Valerie Hays, who lives 2,500 feet from the proposed plant.

Douglas County has limited Brannan to 200 concrete truck trips daily, plus 800 if the asphalt plant is approved. Numbers neighbors say will clog up the main road into their town, and they believe the company is already exceeding.

"So we're out here today counting the trucks for ourselves. At only 12:30 we got to 200," said Hays.

But the neighbors say they counted 387 truck trips in one day. They've now filed a complaint with the county zoning board.

Brannan Companies said in a 2021 filing that the intersection of Highway 85 and Airport Road is already congested, and that having a local asphalt facility in Douglas County may reduce overall construction traffic.

"The noise starts at 6 a.m. and goes all day long," said Randy Johnson, who lives 2,000 feet from the proposed plant.

Neighbors also worry that disruptive noise and concrete dust from the existing plant will worsen.

"The concrete dust lands on everything. It's in my house; it's on everything outside," said Johnson.

They fear hazardous chemicals being released into the air, or nearby Plum Creek, a water source for parts of the county.

"It's going to affect our health. It's also going to affect our property values," said Hays.

Brannan has proposed various noise, odor and dust mitigation measures, and says they will comply with all Colorado air quality regulations.

The neighbors have spent years fighting the proposed plant, forming the Louviers Conservation Partnership, and regularly speaking at county meetings.

"Nobody wants to live 2,500 feet from an asphalt plant," said Hays.

Earlier this month, the Planning Commission appeared to listen, voting to deny Brannan's application.

"It gave our whole town hope," said Hays.

But Douglas County Commissioners will have final say at an August 13 public hearing. That will take place at 2:30 at 100 Third Street, Commissioners' Hearing Room, in Castle Rock.

You can also watch the meeting via live stream on the Douglas County YouTube Channel or by visiting Meeting and Agendas.

There will be public comment, and the Louviers neighbors plan to show up in full force.

Fred Marvel, P.E. Manager of Brannan Companies, shared the following statement about the proposal.

"Brannan is a valued and highly regarded community partner. State-of-the-art technology and award-winning environmental practices are central to our operations. The proposed site is not a vacant parcel of bucolic land. It is home to existing heavy industrial uses, surrounded by other heavy industrial uses, and directly adjacent to a heavy rail line that sees over 19 trains per day. It is nearly half a mile away from the nearest residential zoned property. Moreover, Louviers was zoned residential to house workers of the former dynamite factory located there. The former plant is directly adjacent to Louviers, and the property remains zoned for heavy industrial uses today. The proposed site is one of the few properties designated by Douglas County many years ago as heavy industrial. The zoning has not changed. Without facilities like the one proposed on these appropriately zoned sites, the added financial burden of transporting asphalt to build and maintain local roads falls on Douglas County taxpayers. We regret that despite our continued attempts, some neighbors have engaged in misinformation and fear-mongering rather than discuss ways that Brannan can support the needs of the community."