Didn't we already vote on what to do with Hughes land? Why there might be another vote
"Why do we have to do this again? I thought we already voted for protected open space," said Elena Lopez, an organizer with PATHS, which stands for Planning Action to Transform Hughes Sustainably.
Lopez is referring to PATHS' 2021 ballot measure regarding the Hughes site, and her group said making the site a natural area was the intent of that effort.
PATHS has stated on its website that when they circulated petitions about five years ago, "signers told us that they wanted fully-protected open space at Hughes and no permanent buildings, but they also hoped that the sledding hill and the disc golf course would remain."
"I don't know how many times we have to do this before they actually listen to what the voters and the public have overwhelmingly said," Lopez said.
What voters intended in 2021 is at the heart of the debate.
Read the full story: Hughes natural area and bike park advocates spar over claims
What the 2021 ballot question specifically asked was whether or not the city should buy and rezone the parcel for Public Open Lands and use it for parks, recreation, open land, natural areas and wildlife rescue and restoration.
That open lands zoning allows for a natural area to be located within it, but it allows for other uses as well, according to the code: neighborhood parks, cemeteries, agricultural activities, golf courses, wildlife and education centers, and community facilities.
But it doesn't allow housing or commercial development.
And advocates for a bike park on a portion of the site contend that stopping a proposed housing development was the main goal for many of the 69% of voters who supported the ballot issue and some who campaigned for it.
"There's this story that is being told that, 'This was the plan all along,' and everyone else is going, 'No, that's not true,'" said Kevin Krause, a member of the Fort Collins Bike Park Collective. "We all just wanted to stop the housing."
Nick Frey, a bike enthusiast and now a member of the Fort Collins Bike Collective, campaigned with PATHS to get the 2021 ballot measure passed.
Frey said he doesn't know what each signature gatherer's conversations were like with individual voters, but at a higher level, he said there was no discussion specifically about what it should be.
"It was more like what it could be," Frey contends.
Frey became involved in the original effort to keep the site from being developed into housing after filing an ethics complaint against City Council members who were employed by CSU at the time council was making decisions about the site. He went on to campaign for the 2021 ballot measure.
For Carin Avila, executive director of the Rocky Mountain Raptor Program, the ballot language holds the key. Her organization is proposing a wildlife rehabilitation and education center on the site.
"I understand where PATHS is coming from. They've worked hard," Avila said. "But if they didn't want it to be parks and recreation, or a wildlife rescue, then they should have written (the ballot question) right the first time."
But Lopez said there's been a "bizarre hyper-fixation" on the specific ballot question when it's only one part of the ordinance that voters approved.
The whereas clauses contained within the ordinance don't appear on ballots. But they show the legislative intent by providing background, PATHS organizers say, bringing important context to the words printed on the ballots.
The language that appeared on voters' ballots is legally binding, Assistant City Manager Rupa Venkatesh told delegates at the civic assembly, and if there was any ambiguity about it, then a court could look to the "whereas" statements for the intent.
More: A civic assembly is done with its work on Hughes land. Here's what it recommended
So what do those whereas statements say? Here are a few of them, paraphrased:
Whereas there is strong support for preserving and providing open space, natural areas, community separators, wildlife habitat and trails.
Whereas residents enjoy open spaces and natural areas, along with the recreation they provide, such as walking, hiking, biking, wildlife viewing, bird watching and fishing. They enjoy the educational opportunities and programs provided to people of all ages and backgrounds, and they enjoy the beautiful landscapes and the views they provide.
Whereas open space, natural areas, wildlife habitat, community separators, agricultural lands and trails benefit all members of the community.
Whereas conserved open space and natural areas help make Fort Collins a highly desirable place to live, work and visit.
Whereas the city values sustainability as it makes decisions to meet citizen needs, and it does this without compromising the ecosystems upon which we all depend.
Whereas there has been continuous funding for open space and natural areas acquisition and maintenance because of a sales tax that voters have supported every time it appeared on a ballot.
Whereas Fort Collins has conserved over 40,000 acres of open space and natural areas since 1973.
Whereas converting the zoning to public open lands would build on the city's history of preserving open spaces and provide an invaluable social, economic, and environmental resource.
Whereas the Hughes Stadium property would represent a crown jewel acquisition for Fort Collins open space.
Whereas without acquisition and conservation efforts, the property would forever be lost to residential and/or commercial development.
Whereas the acquisition should occur using existing voter-approved open space sales tax revenue, among other funds.
Whereas the rezoning would be necessary to convert the property into an area for parks, recreation and open lands, and wildlife rescue and education.
The current effort to get a Hughes natural area vote on the ballot has two potential paths:
One petition calls for a special election, which requires 7,605 signatures, or 15% of voters in the last regular election. This petition wants voters to decide not only whether the land should fully become a natural area, but whether the city should be prohibited from selling, leasing or otherwise conveying the land to a third party. Even though this petition calls for a special election, the question could end up on a Nov. 4 regular election ballot if it meets the deadlines.
The other petition simply calls for a question at the next general election, which would be Nov. 4. This would require 5,079 signatures, or 10% of voters in the last regular election. It only asks voters to weigh in on whether 100% of Hughes should become a natural area.
Both petitions are due June 11.
The reason for two petitions, according to PATHS organizers, is if deadlines can't be met to get a question on the next general election ballot this fall, the other petition would allow for a special election.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Didn't Fort Collins already vote on what to do with Hughes land?
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