Fort Collins is one step closer to getting a whole lot bigger.

After a two-day meeting that ended on Wednesday (January 15), Fort Collins City Council approved the framework for a new neighborhood in northeast Fort Collins.

Titled Montava, the locale would contain almost 4,000 homes in the Mountain Vista area. The homes are supposed to be energy and water efficient.

According to 9News, the neighborhood will also have a working farm, a community park, a town center, schools, trails, and retail stores.

Over 200 people attended the meeting at City Hall, with many of them expressing disdain for Montava.

The neighborhood would be built near Country Club Road and Lemay Avenue. Concerned citizens believe that having another neighborhood in this vicinity will just make for a traffic nightmare.

Supporters maintain that Montava is necessary in order to keep up with the growing population of Fort Collins, which is estimated to grow by 80,000 people in the next few decades.

However, council's 5-2 approval of the framework is just a tiny stepping stone in the grand scheme of things.

This meeting was only regarding a master plan for Montava's development — there are 16 other development phases that follow this.

On top of this, council will hold a second reading for the master plan on February 18 before they can advance to other phases.

Each phase will have to go through the same city council process. If all goes well, what would be Fort Collins' "largest residential development" is expected to break ground in 2022.

Enter your number to get our free mobile app

More From Power 102.9 NoCo - KARS-FM