Approving this amendment tells Jefferson County Schools and private developers that public land is available for private development whenever it’s convenient.
If Zerger is rezoned today, what stops the next school closure from becoming housing tomorrow?

A “yes” doesn’t just affect Kings Mill — it weakens protections for all neighborhood schools and public spaces citywide.

Kings Mill was built in the 1970s with narrow streets, no modern traffic controls, and limited exit points.
Adding 40 new homes means:

• Hundreds more daily car trips

• Congested school-hour traffic near Lukas Elementary

• Increased risk for kids walking and biking

• Longer emergency response times in a neighborhood already tight on space

This isn’t fearmongering — it’s simple capacity math.

The infrastructure wasn’t built for this density, and it can’t be retrofitted without major disruption.

Because this isn’t about a school — it’s about the last walkable public space in Kings Mill.

Open space increases:

• Home values

• Mental wellness

• Safety

• Walkability

• Community connection

When we lose a public asset, the entire neighborhood loses something permanent — whether you have kids or not.

Zerger is one of the few things that makes Kings Mill feel like Kings Mill.

Jeffco and the developer have moved extremely fast, giving the community:

• no alternative proposals,

• no transparent community benefit analysis,

• and no exploration of non-housing uses,
  despite the site being a once-in-a-generation asset.

When land is gone, it's gone.
Rushing this process minimizes public input and prevents City Council from fully exploring better, community-serving options.

A NO vote simply presses pause — not forever, just long enough to do this right.

People often assume “community space” means a park or nothing — but the Public/Quasi-Public zoning allows revenue-generating uses that benefit the city, such as:

• A licensed preschool or childcare center

• A senior or intergenerational community space

• Indoor recreation or a fitness studio

• A community coffeehouse or maker space

• Meeting rooms, arts programs, or tutoring spaces

• Health services, therapy services, or community clinic

• After-school programs

• Shared workspace or micro-retail

These options generate tax revenue, create local jobs, and serve families directly, without taking away open space or flooding the neighborhood with traffic.

Westminster gains far more long-term value this way than from a single one-time land sale.