Clerk dismisses Redtail Ridge election complaint

LOUISVILLE — Louisville city clerk Meredyth Muth determined this week that Redtail Ridge opposition group Citizens for a Vibrant, Sustainable Louisville did not violate city election rules and dismissed a complaint against the organization that was filed this month by a pro-Redtail Ridge lobby.

Yes for Louisville, an elections committee formed in support of retaining the Louisville City Council’s approval of the Redtail Ridge development plans after the special election on April 19, claimed in its complaint that Citizens lacked transparency in its campaign materials. 

In instances where more than $1,000 is spent, Colorado elections laws require that campaign messaging such as flyers and websites include a disclaimer that includes the name of the person that paid for the communication as well as the identity of a natural person who is the registered agent of the lobbying group. 

Citizens for a Vibrant Sustainable Louisville, a group registered by Sherry Sommer that opposes the Redtail Ridge approval and is asking voters to repeal that decision in a special election April 19, has failed to make the necessary disclosures, Yes for Louisville organizer Terre Rushton alleged. 

While Citizens indeed spent more than $1,000 on signs — the group spent $1,010.60 — it has agreed not to use two signs, therefore bringing the total used on materials below the legal threshold, according to correspondence from Muth to Citizens that was provided to BizWest.

While she is pleased with the ruling, Sommer said in a statement, “at the same time, I am grieving over the unequal playing fields for resident groups and pro-development special interests in municipal elections in Colorado. It is clear that fairness in municipal elections requires increasing the spending limits for resident groups to prevent them from being hamstrung by trivial complaints based on technicalities.”

Campaign finance reports from both groups are due Tuesday.

The special election, which the Louisville City Council initiated after a successful petition led by Sommer and other opponents of the Redtail Ridge plan, asks voters to decide: Shall Louisville Ordinance No. 1811, Series 2021, An Ordinance Approving the First Amendment to ConocoPhillips Campus General Development Plan (Redtail Ridge Master Plan), be approved?

A “Yes” vote allows Redtail Ridge developer Brue Baukol Capital Partners LLC to move forward with its plans to build up to 3 million square feet of office, industrial and flexible-use buildings at the long-vacant, former Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) site off U.S. Highway 36. 

A “No” vote would result in the site reverting to its previous land-use designation, which is more restrictive than the plan approved by the Louisville City Council in 2021 after more than a year of debate and public hearings.

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