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Broomfield’s Open Space: A Community Treasure That Almost Didn’t Exist By Kristen Beckman
When COVID-19 quarantines kept people home last year, Broomfield’s open space provided an escape where they could get out, go for a hike, enjoy nature and forget for a few moments about the troubles the world was facing. But this open space almost didn’t exist.
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early three decades ago, a question on Broomfield’s ballot sought to create a sales and use tax to help fund the purchase of land for open space. It failed by just a handful of votes. A year later, in 1994, a core group of dedicated citizens re-launched the effort to get the issue passed. That group included Ellie McKinley, Rick Erickson, Jean Patterson, and Gordon McKellar, to name just a few. However, McKinley is quick to point out that many people were involved in the grassroots effort to ensure the measure passed the second time around. “We divided up the town so that every house was supposed to have been talked to,” McKinley recalled. “There were lots and lots of people involved with going door to door to talk about open space to make sure it passed. It really was a community effort.” Those efforts paid off, and the issue passed that provided for the acquisition of open space and parks plus improvements. Eighty percent goes to open space and 20 percent to park purposes. “It set the precedent of the city taxing people to buy open space,” said former Broomfield Mayor Pat Quinn, who was an early member of Broomfield’s open space committee. “The whole history of Broomfield was different from that point.” Broomfield residents also set out to save The Field from becoming a development of around 450 homes -- with the rallying cry “Keep the Field in Broomfield.” “I remember the lady who owned the dry cleaners right next to what eventually became the open space, and she wanted those houses there because it meant business for her,” said McKinley. “There were a lot of people who wanted those houses because that meant business, and I can understand that.”
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Our Broomfield™ Magazine | July 2021
Photo by Pat Eichner
The Broomfield City Council purchased the land, preventing the development, but then faced additional challenges from others who had an eye on using the land for other purposes. “Some citizens wanted soccer fields on The Field, and for good reason,” said McKinley. “There were kids who weren’t able to play because there weren’t enough fields. Of course, everyone wants to build on open land. But once it’s gone, it’s gone.”
Photo by Pat Eichner
