Fate of northern Colorado TopGolf now in the hands of Timnath voters

Residents in the growing town of Timnath may determine the fate of a possible TopGolf location in their town before the company even purchases a property.

Residents successfully gathered enough signatures from their community to force a special election which would make building a venue like TopGolf nearly impossible within town limits. 

"Guide Our Growth," a local grassroots organization of Timnath citizens gathered signatures in an effort to change Timnath law to prohibit fences or netting from being built taller than 65 feet. Now that their signatures have been certified, residents will decide if they want to place that law on the books during a special election as soon as June.  

TopGolf typically builds nets for their locations that reach higher than 100 feet to protect nearby interstates, businesses and residents from golf balls.  

Some residents -- backed, in-part, by Colorado Parks and Wildlife -- argued the nearby Poudre River and other open spaces were home to wildlife that could be injured or killed by the netting of a business like TopGolf.  

Experts with Colorado State University told CBS News Colorado the high netting would pose a danger to nearby bald eagles and other raptors, as well as the regions native bat population. Not only would birds be possibly flying at lower altitudes due to their nests nearby, but those feeding along the Poudre River may be caught in the nearby netting during overcast days when they tend to fly at lower altitudes.  

Also, TopGolf typically operates well into the night, with bright lights lighting up their golfing venue. CSU's experts said the lights would draw in insects, then attracting bats toward the lights with little way to see the netting in-between. 

TopGolf has not purchased any land in northern Colorado or Timnath, nor have they ever submitted official proposals to the Town of Timnath for the property. However, the town confirmed to CBS News Colorado's Dillon Thomas that they had received inquiries from a company that offered golfing entertainment on what they would have to do to build a location at the southeast corner of I-25 and Harmony Road on the edge of Fort Collins.  

CBS News Colorado was there as volunteers with Guide Our Growth submitted their signatures to the town. The town certified 1,106 signatures, much more than the 651 they needed to force a special election. 

Those with Guide Our Growth said they expect ballots to be mailed out June 5 as of now.  

If Timnath residents create the law banning fences and netting above 65 feet, companies like TopGolf would still have the option to build in neighboring communities like Windsor, Loveland, Fort Collins and Johnstown, all of which have property lining I-25 in the busy areas of northern Colorado.  

Those with Guide Our Growth said they were not trying to prevent the land at the southeast corner of I-25 and Harmony from being developed, they only wanted to stop netting from being built so high for the sake of the nearby wildlife.  

"As we wait for the Special Election, scheduled for June 27, 2023, we will continue our annexation process. We will remove any specific zoning conditions related to Topgolf until the election results are known," explained developer Grant Nelson in a statement. "We think Topgolf would be a great addition to Northern Colorado, but if the people decide it's not in the cards, we will move forward with our project with another end user in that space."