City Makes Front Page News Again!

Blight on the ballot

By Rhonda Moore
Published: 08.16.10

(Here's an excerpt of the front page story in the local paper.)

The debate over the Castle Pines North blight issue will continue to the polls with a ballot question to abolish the city’s council-driven urban renewal authority. Castle Pines North residents successfully petitioned for a ballot question to overturn city council’s decision to establish an urban renewal authority and accompanying plan that declared portions of the upscale community blighted.

The public outcry over council’s April decision began shortly after city council created the authority, which city council members laud as a tool to trigger economic development. Opponents express regret that the debate had to come down to a public vote. The action reflects a refusal on the part of city council to listen to its constituents, said Deanna Merrill, spokeswoman for Blight’s Not Right, the driving force behind the petition effort.

“It’s unfortunate that we had to get to this point, that so many people in the community distrust the efforts of the city council,” Merrill said. “The real concern is that the people are not being heard. We don’t feel we have a true voice. There’s definitely a disconnect between what city council is doing and have in motion and what people of Castle Pines North have in mind.”

Castle Pines North city council established the authority April 25, after conducting a study that concluded portions of the city met the state’s criteria as “blighted.” Included in the blighted area is more than 3,300 acres of vacant land slated for improvement by the Canyons development, the city’s first annexed property.

With the subsequent May 25 approval of the urban renewal plan, the city positioned itself to capture the increase in property taxes, otherwise earmarked for servicing taxing authorities, as property within the authority boundaries gains value. Approval of the plan triggered three legal filings by impacted taxing districts, positioning petitioners to challenge formation of the urban renewal authority.

The May 25 approval of the plan came days before a new state law went into effect, which calls for a 10-year waiting period to blight agricultural property and consensus among impacted taxing districts before a municipality can adopt an urban renewal plan.

Blight’s Not Right went into motion as public outcry rose over the city’s decision to move forward with the urban renewal authority. The effort was driven by a dual concern that the authority does not reflect the community’s wishes and that city council pushed the issue without adequate public notification, Merrill said.

With the help of representatives from every Castle Pines North neighborhood, Blight’s Not Right launched an effort for a ballot initiative to abolish the authority. Organizers needed at least 346 signatures to force a ballot question and in 10 days collected 495 signatures, Merrill said.

“In that sense, there’s some community pride,” she said. “Folks are saying ‘wait, let’s stop and talk about this a little bit more.’ The sad part is this was all said at public hearings in council meetings … and ignored. It’s really just trying to give the folks an opportunity to have a voice.”

By Aug. 9, the deputy city clerk ratified the petition signatures, about 20 days after the petitions were delivered to town hall. At the Aug. 10 council meeting, councilmembers asked staff to prepare ballot language to consider for the November ballot, said Carl Kollmar, Castle Pines North City Clerk. The council aims to consider the optional questions at the Aug. 24 meeting with a goal to approve a ballot initiative in time for the November general election Douglas County ballot, Kollmar said.

(The full article can be viewed in the current Castle Rock News Press.)