Loveland City Manager’s Calendar Changed to Remove Meetings with Developer McWhinney
EDITORIAL REPORTING
By Jessica Schneider
Editor of The Loveland Voice
June 6, 2023
It’s been a long three years for Loveland residents who are paying attention.
When the public learned in 2021 that Karen Garner was assaulted by officers from the Loveland
Police Department in 2020, the community of less than 80 thousand people expressed outrage
and demanded change in the structure of LPD and more transparency in local government.
When City Manager Steve Adams, who alone holds power over LPD, and in fact many facets of
our City, was charged in 2022 with criminal harassment of investigative journalist, Stacy Lynne,
in a Larimer County courthouse, trust was further eroded. When Adams was rewarded with a
raise and never put on leave during the investigation, in contrast to other City employees who
have been fired or put on unpaid leave for far less, things got worse.
In 2023, the Centerra South development proposed by McWhinney, was approved by the
majority of The Loveland Urban Renewal Authority Board (LURA) and City Council in just over
two months of review, despite Larimer County removing themselves from negotiations. In doing
so, this body diverted approximately 147.5 million dollars of tax revenue from the Loveland
general fund for at least 25 years.
Why did the County pause negotiations? Larimer County Commissioner Jody
Shadduck-McNally said, when she cast her “no” vote during the LURA Board meeting on May
16th, 2023, “I believe that this tool (URA) is being exploited... It doesn’t smell right, it doesn’t
look right and it doesn’t feel right. I cannot support this.”
Commissioner Shadduck-McNally also said during the meeting that she believes there is an
intent in the future to capture the County’s tax increment despite their pause in negotiations.
A Tale of Two Developments
If you drive East from Loveland’s City Center towards Centerra you will see, as of this writing,
Journey Homes development nearly built out south of Hwy 34. To the east of the Journey
development you will see an alfalfa field surrounding a red barn, a McWhinney legacy,
depending on who you are listening to... Or a “dusty old field,” as Loveland Economic
Development Director Kelly Jones described it to the Colorado House Agriculture Committee on
While it appears that McWhinney has been meeting regularly with City Leadership since 2021 (see below),
City Manager Adams stated during the May 16th LURA Board meeting that he has never met
with the Journey homes developers in person.
What’s Next?
In regards to how the finances will play out, and in regard to affordable housing, we don’t really
know, as the Master Financing Agreement is not finalized.
Is the Centerra South proposal a done deal? It appears that way, although a recent injunction
filed against the City by downtown business owner Bill Jensen, over lack of legal and proper
public notice, is a new case to watch.
That appears to be a disproportionate amount of work for a City to do on behalf of a single
developer. Further, upon examination of the Adams’ calendar and his vocal admission that he
has never met with Journey homes in person, it appears that the City is showing undue
favoritism to developer McWhinney, compared to other developers.
If we are dealing with City leadership favoring one developer over another, how does that
impact how our community develops?
The Affordable Housing Crisis
Loveland is dealing with an affordable housing crisis. People on fixed incomes, families and
young educated people are all making incredibly hard decisions about potentially being forced
out of their homes and the community due to rising housing costs. Homeowners are trying to
figure out how to deal with soaring property tax evaluations. Rents in Loveland have risen 33.3
percent in just one year, according to Fox 31 Denver.
LURA Commissioner Steve Johnson addressed this in his no vote for the Centerra South URA
proposal, saying, “Is there a clear, salient, important public good that justifies spending 147.5
million taxpayer dollars on that project?”
“One thing that would cause me to support this project would be a commitment to affordable
housing. We don’t see that. So I can’t support it.”
Contradicting Calendars: The Devil is in the Details
Under the Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) City Manager Steve Adams, the most powerful
and highly paid official in the City of Loveland was asked to release his calendar to the public.
This request was made twice. Once in 2021, and very recently in 2023. The calendar requests
were similar, and overlapped by a six week period between June and August of 2021.
The calendar dates during this six week overlap differ in a significant way: Several of City
Manager Steve Adams’ meetings with McWhinney representatives were erased or altered from
the second CORA request for his calendar.
Why were meetings released under CORA in 2021, deleted or completely changed in 2023,
despite all of the meeting dates being in the past?
We contacted Assistant City Manager Rod Wensing for comment, who asked that the Office of
Community Engagement respond to our inquiry. OCE then referred us to the City Clerk’s office
for comment. Sterling Wilson, Assistant City Clerk explained the purpose of redactions, but
when pressed about meetings specific to McWhinney and Kim Perry, said he did not know why
these items were changed or omitted between the time of the first CORA request in 2021 and
the second in 2023.
Is changing a public official’s calendar illegal? Or simply unethical? Where is that line?
Below is a sampling of the contradictions between the 2021 and 2023 versions of City Manager
Adams’ calendar. Future articles will outline the multitude of meetings that the City has held with
McWhinney representatives since at least 2021.
Loveland City Manager Steve Adams’ Calendar**
Records released in 2021 (CORA #1)
Compare to:
the same dates released in 2023 (CORA #2)
I contacted two additional Loveland developers who have not responded to comment as of
publication of this article. An associate of a developer who has requested anonymity, due to fear
of retaliation from City Hall for a potential development, said, “Developers frequently do not
approach the City with proposals because they know that deck is stacked against them, in favor
of McWhinney.”
Are we dealing with a quasi-monopoly on development in Loveland, aided by City leadership?
What is the Price of Potential Favoritism?
Metro fees add costs to the homeowner or business owner of the buildings proposed in
Centerra South. The Journey Homes development adjacent to Centerra South has no Metro
fees. Will this result in different price points? Are these costs being transparently communicated
to potential buyers or investors?
We will continue to explore these questions in an ongoing series of articles.
A Crisis of Trust
What happens when residents no longer trust their representatives, their police, and the
decision-makers who decide how their tax dollars will be spent?
What happens when people and families who are struggling to make ends meet, to provide
stable shelter, keep their kids in the same schools, or age into the community they have
invested into for a lifetime... But they cannot afford to do so?
We are going to see the impacts play out as local elections and candidates prepare for the
November 2023 election, to be sure.