Cascadia-Catalyst foes widen lead in Greeley election

GREELEY — Voters in Greeley’s special municipal election Tuesday night are likely to have repealed the city-approved planned-unit development zoning for the proposed Cascadia and Catalyst projects on the city’s western edge.

At 10:02 p.m., in what the Greeley city clerk’s office said were the unofficial final returns of the night, “yes” votes on Ballot Issue 1A to repeal the ordinance totaled 11,342, and “no” votes in support of the zoning totaled 9,506.

Unless the election is overturned in court, the city will be unable to seek that particular type of zoning for a year. Construction on the site would stop unless an alternative zoning plan is approved.

Cascadia, a master-planned residential and commercial community spearheaded by Windsor-based developer Martin Lind’s Windsor-based Water Valley Co., would surround the city-owned Catalyst entertainment district, which would include a hotel, Mattel-branded water park and an arena with youth hockey ice sheets that also would be home to Lind’s Colorado Eagles minor-league hockey team.

Representatives of citizens’ group Greeley Demands Better, which petitioned the issue onto the ballot, hailed the results.

“This is a historic win for every Greeley family that refused to let city leaders mortgage our future on a billion-dollar gamble,” said Brandon Wark, who co-chaired the group. “I’m proud to be a Greeley resident and in doing my part to build awareness of this risky deal. Thank you, Greeley, for showing up and demanding a voice.”

Rhonda Solis, who also co-chaired Greeley Demands Better, added that “democracy delivered exactly what Greeley demanded – no more blank checks for risky projects that put public buildings and hardworking families at risk. Tonight, we begin building the transparent, responsible future our community deserves.”

Bill Rigler, a spokesman for Greeley Forward, which favored a “no” vote on Ballot Issue 1A, said “we knew it would take a Herculean effort on our part to overcome the months-long, orchestrated smear campaign against Cascadia. While we are disappointed in these preliminary results, we are grateful to the thousands of Greeley residents who chose facts over fear, and optimism over defeatism. Now, we wait for the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision on the upcoming Telluride case to see if this election was even constitutional or not.”

A ruling in that case will determine whether such decisions on PUD zoning are “legislative,” which means they could lawfully be overturned by a public vote, or “administrative,” which means they couldn’t. If the state high court decides such actions are administrative, A ruling in that case will determine whether such decisions on PUD zoning are “legislative,” which means they could lawfully be overturned by a public vote, or “administrative,” which means they couldn’t. If the state high court decides such actions are administrative, Tuesday’s vote to repeal the ordinance approved in September by the Greeley City Council could be invalidated.

With an eye on that case, Three Lind entities on Monday sued the City of Greeley in Weld District Court. The complaint alleges that the office of City Clerk Heidi Leatherwood and the Greeley City Council should not have allowed the petition-driven initiative.

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