Estes voters may decide on two ballot issues in April

ESTES PARK — Estes Park voters may get to decide on tightened rules for rezoning and an extension of a sales tax at the April 2 municipal election.

As the result of a successful citizen-led petition drive, the town Board of Trustees on Tuesday night must decide whether to pass an ordinance requiring more public input on rezoning issues or place the issue before voters.

Petitioners James and Kristine Poppitz won approval in November to circulate a petition in Estes Park to address development applications. Under their proposed ordinance, applicants for planned unit development, variances or rezoning would be required to first obtain written approval of the proposal from 60% of the people who own parcels of property within 500 feet of the parcel specified in the application.

SPONSORED CONTENT

Business Cares: May 2024

As Mental Health Awareness Month unfolds in Colorado, it serves as a reminder of the collective responsibility to prioritize mental well-being.

The petition needed 241 signatures, or at least 5%, of the town’s registered electors to qualify for the ballot or council action, and the organizers on Dec. 1 turned in 437. Enough of the signatures were approved to force the issue.

Under state law, the trustees must either adopt the citizen-initiated ordinance as proposed, without alteration, or place it before voters.

James Poppitz, a retired builder and developer, wrote to the town’s planning department and Planning and Zoning Commission in December 2022 to protest a proposed subdivision across the street from their home, in an area zoned E-1 for one residence per acre, that would change the zoning to R-1 for construction of 39 single-family homes.

The citizens group that developed, Preserve Estes Park, states that its “first concern” is rejecting “reckless rezoning.”

The town staff took no position on which action the trustees should take on the petition, but has recommended that they place a ballot issue before voters that would renew the town’s 1% sales tax to fund street maintenance, stormwater infrastructure expansion, public trails and wildfire mitigation.

Voters approved the current 1% sales tax in April 2014, with an effective term of July 1, 2014 through June 30, 2024. That tax supports four special revenue funds: the Street Improvement Fund, the Trails Expansion Fund, the Community Center Fund, and the Emergency Response Fund.

At the board’s request, the town staff developed a new, proposed 1% sales tax renewal package using feedback from local residents in the town’s 2021 National Community Survey, the 2022 Comprehensive Plan, results from a 2019 stormwater survey, and consultation with experts. The package was further refined through public presentations and gathering of feedback that continued through fall and winter 2023.

The new proposal likely to be placed before Estes Park voters as Ballot Issue 1A would be whether to renew the 1% sales tax for 10 years, with 46% of the revenue going to street maintenance, 28% to expansion of stormwater Infrastructure, 12.5% for trail expansion and reconstruction, 9% for wildfire mitigation and 4.5% for powerline wildfire mitigation.

The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Town Hall, 170 McGregor Ave.