Standley, vice-president of Chicago Title and Trust, had plans to build a reservoir in the Barr Lake area.

This agreement was the beginning of several years of competition, distrust and lawsuits as Westminster competed with FRICO and other towns for Clear Creek Water.

There were two things that fueled this bitter dispute; each city's heavy investment in or desire for utilities and the Colorado annexation law.

In April 1998, Jefferson County Open Space (JCOS) and FRICO finalized several years of negotiations and reached an agreement for the purchase of the land and recreation rights surrounding Standley Lake.

JCOS then deeded all property owned at that time to the City of Westminster for the purpose of upgrading and maintaining Standley Lake as a regional park.

JCOS also contributed $2.4 Million to be used for improvements which included a boat ramp, campground, restroom facilities, fish cleaning station, ranger station/visitor center, access roads and trail system.

Standley Lake was historically affected by runoff from the Rocky Flats Plant via Woman Creek, which drains about 35% of the site.

[7] In December 2019, Westminster banned trailered boats on Standley Lake in its fight against invasive mussels from other states.