Citizens seek to renew Fort Collins natural areas tax, with no expiration
Don't be confused if you see two unrelated Fort Collins petition efforts using the words "natural area."
There's a lot of signature-gathering activity happening in Fort Collins right now due to two different efforts by two different groups that propose two different actions.
But all of the petitions seek to place a measure on a future city ballot.
Here's what each initiative petition proposes to do:
The Yes to Natural Areas campaign wants to renew an existing sales tax that funds the acquisition of Fort Collins natural areas and the restoration of these lands.
Fort Collins has had a quarter-cent sales tax for that purpose for more than 30 years, since voters first approved it in 1992. The latest renewal was approved in 2002 and is set to expire at the end of 2030.
But this time, advocates want to extend the tax into perpetuity, meaning it would never expire.
An expiring tax makes planning for the future difficult, said petition coordinator Linda Stanley, who also said most city programs don't have expiration dates.
"Some of the acquisitions have taken years to come to fruition, and you don't start relationships with land donors if you're not sure what the future will hold," Stanley said, noting some donors may be willing to sell or put a conservation easement on their land but might not be ready to take that step for a few more years.
Taking the issue to the voters in 2025 instead of 2027 or 2028 will simply create certainty sooner, Stanley said, when asked why the effort is beginning five years ahead of the expiration.
Stanley has been involved in the campaigns of multiple natural areas and open space sales tax efforts in the city and Larimer County since 1994. Kelly Ohlson, her husband, led the campaign to get the first tax passed in 1992.
This petition is due July 9.
This petition is associated with PATHS, which stands for Planning Action to Transform Hughes Sustainably, and Friends of Hughes Natural Area, the issue committee created to support the effort.
The campaign is circulating two petitions, both of them focused on making 100% of the old Hughes Stadium site a city-managed natural area, instead of "parks, recreation and open lands, natural areas, and wildlife rescue and education."
One of the group's two petitions calls for a special election and therefore requires more signatures to make it onto the ballot: 7,605, which is 15% of voters in the last regular election.
The special election petition also asks for voters to weigh in on whether the city should be prohibited from selling, leasing or otherwise conveying the land to a third party.
The second petition from Friends of Hughes aims to put a question on the next regular election ballot, rather than calling for a special election. As a result, the signature requirement is lower: 5,079, or 10% of voters in the last regular election. This petition, however, does not include the question of whether the city could sell, lease or convey the land to a third party.
Two petitions were created so that if deadlines can't be met to get a question on the next general election ballot this fall, then the second petition would allow for a special election, said Melissa Rosas, a PATHS leader.
Both of these petitions are due June 11.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Fort Collins natural areas advocates seek to renew sales tax forever
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