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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Mail Packet - 11/7/2023 - Memorandum From Anissa Hollingshead And Heather Walls Re: Leadership Planning Team Meeting Minutes – October 30, 2023 City Clerk 300 Laporte Avenue P.O. Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522-0580 970.221.6515 970.221-6295 - fax fcgov.com/cityclerk MEMORANDUM DATE: October 30, 2023 TO: Mayor and Councilmembers FROM: Anissa Hollingshead, City Clerk Heather Walls, Deputy City Clerk RE: Leadership Planning Team (LPT) Meeting Mayor Jeni Arndt, Mayor Pro Tem Emily Francis, City Attorney Carrie Daggett, Deputy City Manager Tyler Marr, Assistant City Manager Rupa Venkatesh, City Clerk Anissa Hollingshead, and Deputy City Clerk Heather Walls met via Teams on Monday, October 30, 2023. The following summarizes the discussions that began at 8:00 a.m. No agendas were discussed due to no meeting scheduled on 10/31 and the cancellation of the November 7 meeting due to the election. 6-Month Calendar: • Upcoming meetings were reviewed with particular attention to any shifts. • No additional items are planned to be scheduled at this point for the February 27 work session to dedicate the entire meeting to the Strategic Plan discussion. • There was a question whether the Regional Water Protection Plan IGA scheduled for December 19 had been discussed by the Water Commission yet or if it will prior to the Council meeting. In follow up after the meeting, staff indicated a memo will be included in Water Commission packet materials prior to the item being heard by Council. • The Landscape Standards – Tree Policies item scheduled for December 5 will likely be moved to unscheduled. The first item to come forward related to Xeriscape and Landscape Standards following this month’s work session will probably be focused on soil amendments and commercial standards and brought to Council in Q1 2024. Deputy City Clerk Heather Walls • No additional items. City Clerk Anissa Hollingshead • Highlighted a Notice of Protest against Ordinance No. 136, 2023, was received Friday. A memo outlining the protest and referendum process was sent to Council on Friday evening providing an overview of anticipated next steps. An exact timeline is not yet known, as there are a series of steps that must occur within 10 days of Friday’s notice which are all interconnected. Monday, November 6, marks the end of that 10-day period by which the petition representatives must provide the City Clerk’s Leadership Planning Team Meeting October 30, 2023 Page 2 of 3 Office with complete petition materials for final approval before the 20-day circulation period for the petition begins. • Shared regarding campaign finance reporting requirements for groups that may be involved in the issue subject to the potential petition and referendum process. Campaign finance provisions are invoked at the time a notice of protest is filed. This means any group meeting the definition of an issue committee by either accepting contributions or making expenditures to support or oppose any ballot issue or question must register as either an issue committee or a small-scale issue committee. Currently under City Code, any such committee that is registered is not required to file a report until 35 days prior to the election at which the ballot issue or question they are supporting or opposing appears on the ballot. Considering changes to these reporting requirements to add reporting during a petition process is a topic the Election Code Committee may choose to look at in 2024. City Attorney Daggett also noted there are other potential issues that could be invoked if committees are found to be coordinating with any other committees, including candidate committees, or if expenditures by others are not independent of candidates and committees. • Provided information on what to expect on election night for this first regular municipal election being conducted as a coordinated election with Larimer County. Election Day on November 7 marks the end of the time allowed for voting in the municipal election. All ballots must be received by Larimer County elections by 7 p.m. on election night. Ballots were mailed out on October 16, and voters have the opportunity to return ballots by mail, by drop box, or to go vote in person at a Larimer County Voter Service and Polling Center. Starting 15 days before November 7, Larimer County election workers can begin scanning ballots for tabulation that have been received by mail or drop off. This continues through Election Day. No tabulation of votes occurs until after polls close at 7 p.m. on election night. Larimer County has advised it plans to post unofficial results as this tabulation occurs at regular intervals election night, at 7 p.m., 9 p.m., and 11 p.m. After breaking for the night, tabulation and processing of additional ballots received or cured will continue the following morning. On Election Night, unofficial results can be found at: o larimer.gov/elections, Larimer County Elections website and social media channels o fcgov.com/vote, a link will be added to the main Fort Collins’ elections page directly to these results o www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/elections/resultsData.html, because it is coordinated election, results are also uploaded directly to the Secretary of State’s website • Signage on the doors to City Hall has been updated to indicate City Hall is no longer a ballot drop off location since the election is being held as a coordinated election and providing a list of drop box locations. The Larimer County Administrative Services building at 200 West Oak Street is the closest drop box to City Hall. There are 11 total drop box locations across Fort Collins, all of which allow walk up ballot drop offs and the majority of which also have drive-thru drop off access. Several of these drop boxes are at City facilities, however there is not a ballot drop box at City Hall. • Voter outreach and education has been conducted in partnership with CPIO and has included a social media plan along with other components. Last week, a series of short videos were released, including postings on social media, focusing on the importance of voting in local elections. The videos are available on a YouTube playlist. Leadership Planning Team Meeting October 30, 2023 Page 3 of 3 Deputy City Manager Marr • Kudos to snow removal team for excellent work on the first snow event of the season. City Attorney Daggett • OPEN trial continues this week. There is one more witness for the City then it turns over to OPEN to present their case. It is hoped that it will be wrapped up by Thursday to allow jury deliberation before the weekend. Additional updates will be provided later in the week. Assistant City Manager Rupa Venkatesh No additional items. Mayor Pro Tem Francis • Noted she continues to be contacted regarding issues in mobile home parks and is wondering about additional enforcement authority the City may be able to take on under new state laws. It was asked that staff be prepared to speak about this and any plans we have to exercise this new authority as part of existing work overview and Council Priority setting process. Mayor Arndt • Shared an insight around when departments or work teams are working with consultants especially toward best practices in their realm, that work may conflict with similar efforts of other teams. It was noted that to some extent there is work occurring to help departments or teams get sightlines into what is occurring in other work areas and to provide input, and that these efforts can be more intentional and direct. In particular, the importance of being transparent about intentions and determining the gives and takes of issues is particularly high when setting Council priorities. • Asked to initiate discussions around addressing the impact of direct inquiries from highly engaged residents on staff. It was requested that a group from the City Manager’s Office and Council leadership start meeting to discuss. • Noted a perception of the need to share more about the nuance in who is being represented when Councilmembers are appointed as City representatives to committees or entities outside the City organization versus in serving as a liaison to other types of entities. For entities such as MPO or PRPA, the City is allocated a certain number of seats to represent it, and in that capacity the vote of those representatives should represent the City’s interests and should rely on the City’s expert staff for guidance. This is different than when voting as a Councilmember, including at Council, when Councilmembers are representing their constituents. It was noted this could be a good point for discussion at the Council retreat in January. Meeting adjourned at 8:35 a.m. City Clerk 300 Laporte Avenue PO Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522 970.221.6515 970.221-6295 - fax fcgov.com/cityclerk MEMORANDUM DATE: October 27, 2023 TO: Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers FROM: Anissa Hollingshead, City Clerk RE: Ordinance Protest and Referendum Process A notice of protest against Ordinance No. 136, 2023, was filed today, October 27, 2023. The purpose of this memorandum is to provide a brief overview of the process regarding the potential for a referendum to come forward relating to this protest, including known and potential timing at this point. Referendum Process Article X of the Fort Collins Home Rule Charter outlines the protest and referendum process. Chapter 7, Article VI, of City Code also contains relevant provisions. The provisions in both these places are included as an attachment to this memo. A successful petition effort for a referendum requires valid signatures from registered Fort Collins voters in an amount equal to 10% of the total ballots cast in the last regular city election. At the time this notice was filed, the last regular city election occurred in 2021. Therefore, 4,223 valid signatures are required. Timing The process steps and potential timing outlined here are intended to provide a cursory, initial overview of what could occur. After the initial deadline set in the Charter for filing a notice of protest, all other dates are dependent at least in part on subsequent actions. As this process progresses, timely communication will continue to ensure Councilmembers, the City organization, and the community have a clear picture of what to expect. OVERVIEW OF REFERENDUM PROCESS Next Steps There is also a chart included at the end of this packet for easy reference that shows each step in the referendum process and its associated timing. At this point the second step of this process has been completed with the filing of the notice of protest. Today was the final possible day for this notice to be filed by one or more Fort Collins registered voters. Clerk’s Office provides referendum petition materials Timeframe: This must be done in a timely manner that allows the petition representatives to meet their 10 day deadline to submit the final form petitions planned for circulation Now that a notice of protest has been received, the Clerk’s Office begins working with the petition representatives to also get their general statement of purpose and information about any petition representatives in order to prepare the form of the petition. Also included in each petition packet is the ordinance text, space for registered voters to sign the petition, and an affidavit to be completed by the individual circulating that section. In addition, because the ordinance subject to protest includes an exhibit comprised of several hundred pages, an additional bound document containing that full exhibit is being produced to be provided to every person who is circulating a petition section in order to meet the requirements of the Charter for circulators to have the full text of the ordinance available for potential signers to review whenever the petition is being circulated. Passage of Ordinance by City Council Notice of Protest filed by registered voter Clerk’s Office provides petition materials Petition representatives submit final form of petitions for circulation City Clerk approves petition for circulation Petition circulated by petition representatives Submitted petition examined for sufficiency by City Clerk Protest period and any protest process must be completed before a petition can be certified Clerk certifies petition as sufficient or insufficient to Council Sufficient petition returns ordinance to Council for repeal or placement on the ballot Petition representatives submit final form of petitions for circulation Timeframe: Deadline is 10 calendar days after the date the notice of protest is filed – by Monday, November 6, 2023 Once the petition representatives receive the petition forms from the City Clerk’s Office, they must separately number each section provided to them for circulation. They then need to submit those final petition forms, fully assembled and numbered, back to the City Clerk’s Office by end of day Monday, November 6, 2022. City Clerk approves petition for circulation Timeframe: No timeline specified; best practice normally identified as 1-5 working days, in this instance anticipating 3-7 working days given volume of materials in each petition packet for circulation Once the final petition forms are provided back to the Clerk’s Office by the petition representatives, each section and each bound exhibit provided must be reviewed by City Clerk staff to ensure completeness with nothing removed or added. When this review is finished and the City Clerk approves the final petition sections that will be circulated for signature, the 20- calendar day circulation period starts. At this point, it is estimated the potential timeline for this approval will likely be between Thursday, November 9 and Tuesday, November 14. Friday, November 10 is a City holiday. Circulation period Timeframe: Starts once City Clerk approves petition for circulation and lasts for 20 calendar days Petition representatives will have up to 20 calendar days to circulate the petition and collect signatures from registered voters in Fort Collins. Completed petition must be filed with the City Clerk Timeframe: Deadline is 20 days after the Clerk approves the petition for circulation Completed petitions must be submitted to the City Clerk’s Office as a single instrument by 5 p.m. on the 20th day after the Clerk approved the petition for circulation. This will likely be sometime in early December. Examination of submitted petition Timeframe: Clerk must complete review in 5 working days Once the complete petition is submitted to the Clerk’s Office, it will be examined for sufficiency. The City Clerk has five working days to complete this process. The first step taken when a complete petition is submitted is to ensure a sufficient number of signatures are included to reach the minimum threshold required for the petition as a whole to be valid prior to an examination of validity of individual signatures. In this instance, there must be at least 4,223 signatures submitted for the petition to be valid and for the Clerk’s Office to begin reviewing each individual signature to ensure it is from a registered voter in Fort Collins. Examination of petitions includes the review of submitted names, addresses, and signatures to ensure each signature is from a Fort Collins resident registered to vote at the time they signed the petition under the name and address listed in the petition. There must be 4,223 valid signatures for the petition to be deemed sufficient. Outline of Protest Provisions and Related Timing Before a petition can be certified as sufficient to the City Council, either the period allowed for filing a protest must expire or any protests filed must be resolved. Written protests can be filed by any Fort Collins registered voter of the City Clerk’s determination that a petition is either sufficient or insufficient within 10 days of the filing of the petition. The City Clerk must set a time for hearing any protest not more than 7 days after it is filed. • A protest hearing must be completed within 30 days after the petition is filed • Results must be decided and certified within 10 days after the conclusion of the hearing If a Petition is Found Insufficient If the City Clerk’s initial determination is a petition is insufficient it can be amended to submit additional signatures, but only within the same initial 20-day circulation period – there is no additional cure period for referendum petitions. If a Petition is Found Sufficient At the point the City Clerk certifies a petition as sufficient, either at the expiration of the 10- calendar day protest period or the conclusion of the process if a protest is filed: 1. The Clerk presents the petition to the City Council, automatically suspending the operation of the ordinance subject to the petition. 2. The Council must reconsider the ordinance at its next regular or special meeting. If the Council does not repeal the ordinance, it must refer the ordinance to the voters at the next regular or special city election scheduled for any other purpose, or may call a special election for that purpose. Attachments being provided with this memo include: 1. Excerpts of City Charter and Code provisions relating to Referendums 2. Chart with Outline and Timeline of the Referendum Process through Examination of Sufficiency cc: City Manager Kelly DiMartino City Attorney Carrie Daggett Deputy City Manager Tyler Marr Assistant City Manager Rupa Venkatesh ATTACHMENT: FORT COLLINS CHARTER AND CODE PROVISIONS RELATING TO REFERENDA Created: 2022-10-28 15:36:19 [EST] (Supp. No. 144, Update 2) Page 1 of 6 FORT COLLINS CHARTER – ARTICLE VIII - ELECTIONS Section 5. Board of Elections. There is hereby created a Board of Elections consisting of the City Clerk, Chief Deputy City Clerk, and Chief Judge. The Board shall be responsible for any election duties specified in this Charter and for such additional duties related to the conduct of elections as may be established by the Council by ordinance. (Ord. No. 201, 1986, § 1, Part H, 12-16-86, approved, election 3-3-87; Ord. No. 202, 1986, § 1, Part V, 12-16-86, approved, election 3-3-87; Ord. No. 11, 1997, § 1, 2-4-97, approved, election 4-8-97; Ord. No. 022, 2007, §1, 2-20- 07, approved, election 4-3-07; Ord. No. 015, 2021 , § 2, 1-19-21, approved, election 4-6-21) FORT COLLINS CHARTER – ARTICLE X – INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM Section 2. The referendum. (a)Power. The registered electors of the city shall have the power at their option to approve or reject at the polls, any ordinance adopted by the Council, except ordinances making the annual property tax levy, making the annual appropriation, calling a special election, or ordering improvements initiated by petition and to be paid for by special assessments. (b)Commencement of proceedings. One (1) or more registered electors may commence referendum proceedings by filing with the City Clerk within ten (10) days after final passage of the ordinance in question, a notice of protest against the going into effect of the ordinance. The notice shall be brief and need not state any reasons, but shall identify the ordinance or part thereof, or code section it proposes to have repealed. Not later than ten (10) days after the filing of the notice, the proponents shall present to the City Clerk the final form for the referendum petition conforming to the requirements of the Article. If the notice and petition form are timely presented, the City Clerk shall approve the petition form for circulation, in accordance with Section 5(b) of this Article. The petition shall be circulated, signed, verified, and filed in the manner prescribed by Section 5 of this Article. (c)Number of signatures required. The petition must be signed by registered electors of the city equal in number to at least ten (10) percent of the total ballots cast in the last regular city election. (d)Petition deadlines. The referendum petition shall be filed within twenty (20) days after the City Clerk's approval of the petition for circulation. If a completed petition is not subsequently filed within the requisite time after the City Clerk's approval of the petition for circulation, the referendum effort is null and void and the petition shall not be circulated further. (e)Action by Council. The presentation to Council of a petition certified by the City Clerk as sufficient for referendum shall automatically suspend the operation of the ordinance in question pending repeal by Council or final determination by the electors. The Council shall reconsider the ordinance at the next regular or special meeting of the Council following the receipt of the petition by the City Clerk. If the ordinance, or that part sought to be repealed, is not repealed, the Council shall refer the same to a vote of the registered electors at the next regular or special city election scheduled for any other purpose. Alternatively, the Council may call a special election for that specific purpose. (Ord. No. 6, 1980, 1-16-80, approved, election 2-26-80; Ord. No. 199, 1986, § 1, Part B, § 2, 12-16-86, approved, election 3-3-87; Ord. No. 202, 1986, § 1, Part V, 12-16-86, approved, election 3-3-87; Ord. No. 11, 1997, § 1, 2-4- 97, approved, election 4-8-97; Ord. No. 127, 1999, § 1, 8-17-99, approved, election 11-2-99) Created: 2022-10-28 15:36:19 [EST] (Supp. No. 144, Update 2) Page 2 of 6 Section 5. Petitions. (a) Separate petitions required. A separate petition shall be circulated and filed for each measure sought to be initiated or referred to the vote of the electors. (b) Form and content. (1) Approval of form for circulation. No petition shall be circulated until the City Clerk has approved the form for circulation. The City Clerk shall first determine that the petition form contains only the matters required by this Article. The Council shall prescribe by ordinance, upon recommendation of the City Clerk, a general form of petition which shall contain warnings and notices to signers as necessary. The City Clerk's approval under this Section shall not constitute an approval of the content of the petition, but rather, shall start the running of the time periods provided for circulation and filing of petitions. (2) Petition content. The petition shall be addressed to Council. a. Initiative. The petition shall contain or have attached to each section throughout its circulation the full text of the proposed ordinance or resolution and shall contain a general statement of purpose fairly and accurately summarizing the proposed ordinance or resolution, indicating that the petition is to be circulated in support of the initiated ordinance or resolution and specifying whether a special election is requested. b. Referendum. The petition shall contain or have attached to each section throughout its circulation the full text of the ordinance sought to be referred, clearly identifying the protested portions if only a partial repeal is sought. In the case of bond ordinances, the full text of the ordinance need not be set forth but the petition shall contain or have attached to each section throughout its circulation the title and summary of the ordinance in question as prepared by the City Clerk. (3) Signatures. Only registered electors may sign the petitions authorized under this Article. Each signer must sign his or her own signature and each signature shall be followed by the printed name of the signer, the street and number address of his or her residence, and the date of signing. No person shall knowingly sign an initiative or referendum petition more than once. In the event that the signature of any person appears more than once on a petition authorized under this Article, the first signature verified shall be counted and all other signatures of that person shall be rejected. (c) Circulation of petition. The petition may be circulated and signed in sections with each section consisting of one (1) or more sheets securely fastened at the top, provided that each section contains a full and accurate copy of the text of the petition and the names and addresses of the designated representatives for the petition. All sections shall be filed as one (1) instrument. Only persons eighteen (18) years of age or older may circulate the petition for signatures. The circulation of any petition by any medium other than personally by a circulator is prohibited. No person shall receive any compensation whatever for signing an initiative or referendum petition. (d) Affidavit of circulator. A circulator shall attach to each section of the petition circulated an affidavit signed by the circulator under oath before a notary public stating the following: (1) the circulator's address of residence; (2) that the circulator is eighteen (18) years of age or older; (3) that he or she personally circulated the section; (4) that each signature was affixed in the circulator's presence; Created: 2022-10-28 15:36:19 [EST] (Supp. No. 144, Update 2) Page 3 of 6 (5) that to the best of the circulator's knowledge and belief each signer was at the time of signing a registered elector of the city; (6) that to the best of the circulator's knowledge and belief each signature is the genuine signature of the person whose name it purports to be; (7) that each signer had an opportunity before signing to read the full text of the petition; and (8) that the circulator has not paid or offered to pay any money or other thing of value to any signer for the purpose of inducing or causing the signer to affix his or her signature to the petition. A petition verified by the valid affidavits of its circulators in each of its sections shall be prima facie evidence that the signatures thereon are genuine and true. (e) Time limits; petition representatives. Petitions for initiative and referendum shall be filed with the City Clerk within the requisite time limits or they will be deemed null and void. Each petition shall designate by name and address not less than three (3) nor more than five (5) registered electors who shall represent the signers of the petition in all matters affecting the petition. (f) Sufficiency of petition. (1) Examination. Within five (5) working days of the filing of a petition the City Clerk shall ascertain by examination of the petition and the registration books whether the petition is signed by the requisite number of registered electors and contains the required particulars and affidavits. If the petition is insufficient, the City Clerk shall so certify and forthwith notify all of the designated petition representatives in writing, specifying the particulars of insufficiency. (2) Insufficient petition; amendment. (i) If an initiative petition is deemed insufficient, whether following the initial determination by the City Clerk, or following protest proceedings, it may be amended by the submission of additional signatures collected after the City Clerk approved the form of the petition and within fifteen (15) days from the filing of the Clerk's certificate of insufficiency. Such signatures must be collected consistent with the requirements for collecting petition signatures as described in this Article. Within five (5) working days after such amendment, the City Clerk shall make examination of the amended petition and certify the result. If the amended petition is still insufficient, or if no amendment was made before the expiration of the time permitted for amendment, the petition shall be null and void without prejudice to the filing of a new petition for the same purpose. (ii) If a referendum petition is deemed insufficient, it may be amended by the submission of additional signatures collected consistent with the requirements of this Article, but to be considered, must be amended within the twenty-day circulation period after the City Clerk's approval of the petition form for circulation. Within five (5) days after such amendment, the City Clerk shall make like examination of the amended petition and certify the result. If the amended petition is still insufficient, or if no amendment was made before the expiration of the time permitted for amendment, said referendum petition is null and void and a new petition may not thereafter be filed for referendum of the same ordinance. (3) Protests. Registered electors desiring to protest a determination by the City Clerk that a petition is either sufficient or insufficient may file a written protest, under oath, in the office of the City Clerk within ten (10) days of the filing of the petition. The protest shall set forth with particularity the grounds of protest and the names and defects in form protested. Upon the filing of a protest, the City Clerk shall set a time for hearing such protest, which shall be no more than seven (7) days thereafter. At least five (5) days prior to the hearing, the City Clerk shall mail a copy of the protest to all of the designated petition representatives together with a notice of the time for hearing. All hearings shall be before a hearing officer appointed by the City Manager who shall have the power to issue subpoenas Created: 2022-10-28 15:36:19 [EST] (Supp. No. 144, Update 2) Page 4 of 6 to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of documents. All records and hearings shall be public, and all testimony shall be under oath. The hearing shall be summary in nature and concluded within thirty (30) days after the petition was filed. Said hearing officer shall decide and certify the results of the hearing within ten (10) days after the hearing is concluded. The City Clerk shall make any final determination regarding the sufficiency or insufficiency of a petition and shall base such determination on the protest hearing results certified by the hearing officer. A petition for referendum which has been deemed insufficient after protest may not be amended or circulated further. (4) Certification and presentation to Council. When and if a petition or amended petition is deemed sufficient, whether following the sufficiency determination by the City Clerk in the absence of a protest, or following protest proceedings, the City Clerk shall so certify and present the certified petition to the Council at the next regularly scheduled meeting. The City Clerk's certificate shall then be a final determination as to the sufficiency of the petition. (Res. No. 83-22, 1-18-83, approved, election 3-8-83; Ord. No. 199, 1986, § 1, Part B, § 4, 12-16-86, approved, election 3-3-87; Ord. No. 202, 1986, § 1, Part V, 12-16-86, approved, election 3-3-87; Ord. No. 158, 1988, 12-20-88, approved, election 3-7-89; Ord. No. 21, 1993, § 1, 2-16-93, approved, election 4-6-93; Ord. No. 11, 1997, § 1, 2-4- 97, approved, election 4-8-97; Ord. No. 88, 2000, § 1, 8-15-00, approved, election 11-7-00; Ord. No. 004, 2015, § 1, 1-20-15, approved, election of 4-7-15 ) Section 6. Elections. (a) Generally. Elections on initiative and referendum measures shall be conducted in the same manner as provided generally for regular or special city elections in this Charter. (b) Ballots. Upon ordering an election on any initiative or referendum measure, the Council shall, after public hearing, adopt by resolution a ballot title and submission clause for each measure. The ballot title shall contain information identifying the measure as a city initiated or citizen initiated measure. The submission clause shall be brief, shall not conflict with those selected for any petition previously filed for the same election, and shall unambiguously state the principle of the provision sought to be added. The official ballot used when voting upon each proposed or referred measure shall have printed on it the ballot title and submission clause and shall contain the words, "Yes/For" and "No/Against" in response to each measure. (c) Publication; notice of election. (1) Initiative. An initiated measure being considered for adoption by Council shall be published in like manner as other proposed ordinances and resolutions. If the initiated measure is submitted to a vote of the people, the City Clerk shall publish a notice of election in conformity with the laws of the State of Colorado relating to municipal elections, together with the ballot title, submission clause and full text of the proposed ordinance or resolution. The text of a successful initiative measure need not be published in full after the election. (2) Referendum. If the referred measure is to be submitted to a vote of the people, the City Clerk shall publish a notice of election in conformity with the laws of the State of Colorado relating to municipal elections, together with the ballot title, submission clause and full text of the referred ordinance. If the ordinance in question is a bond ordinance, the summary from the petition may be published in place of the full text. The full text of an ordinance passed on referendum need not be published after the election. (d) Election results. If a majority of the registered electors voting on the initiated measure vote in favor, the measure is adopted as an ordinance or resolution of the city upon certification of the election results. If a majority of the registered electors voting on a referred ordinance, vote in favor of the ordinance, the ordinance shall go into effect without further publication upon certification of the election results, or at such Created: 2022-10-28 15:36:19 [EST] (Supp. No. 144, Update 2) Page 5 of 6 later date as may be set forth in the ordinance itself. If the provisions of two (2) or more proposed or referred measures adopted or approved at the same election conflict, the measure receiving the highest affirmative vote shall become effective. (e) Frequency of elections. Any number of proposed ordinances or resolutions or referred ordinances may be submitted at the same election. Not more than one (1) special election on citizen-initiated measures shall be held in any twelve (12) months. This limitation does not apply to the Council which on its own motion may at any time call a special election for the purpose of considering any measure initiated, or adopted and referred, by the Council. (Res. No. 83-22, 1-18-83, approved, election 3-8-83; Ord. No. 199, 1986, § 1, Part B, § 5, 12-16-86, approved, election 3-3-87; Ord. No. 202, 1986, § 1, Part V, 12-16-86, approved, election 3-3-87; Ord. No. 11, 1997, § 1, 2-4- 97, approved, election 4-8-97; Ord. No. 004, 2015, § 1, 1-20-15, approved, election of 4-7-15 ) Section 7. Further regulations. The Council may, by ordinance, make such further rules and regulations as are consistent with this Charter and the Colorado Constitution in order to carry out the provisions of this Article. (Res. No. 83-22, 1-18-83, approved, election 3-8-83; Ord. No. 199, 1986, § 1, Part B, § 6, 12-16-86, approved, election 3-3-87; Ord. No. 202, 1986, § 1, Part V, 12-16-86, approved, election 3-3-87; Ord. No. 11, 1997, § 1, 2-4- 97, approved, election 4-8-97) FORT COLLINS CODE – CHAPTER 7 – ELECTIONS ARTICLE II - ADMINISTRATION Division 2 Board of Elections0F 1 Sec. 7-26. Duties. The Board of Elections, as established in Article VIII, Section 5 of the Charter, shall be responsible for certifying the results of all City elections in the manner described in Article VIII, Section 7 of the Charter, and shall have such other duties related to the conduct of elections as may be established by the Council by ordinance. (Ord. No. 063, 2007, § 1, 5-15-07) Secs. 7-27—7-40. Reserved. ARTICLE VI. INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM 1Charter reference(s)—Board of Elections, Art. VIII, § 5. Cross reference(s)—Boards and commissions, § 2-71. Created: 2022-10-28 15:36:32 [EST] (Supp. No. 144, Update 2) Page 6 of 6 Sec. 7-155. Generally. The manner of exercising the powers of initiative and referendum with regard to ordinances and resolutions of the City shall be governed by the provisions of this Article and the provisions of Article X of the Charter. Any matter not covered by the State Constitution, this Article or other provisions of the Code shall be governed by the laws of the State relating thereto. (Ord. No. 23, 2001, 2-20-01) Sec. 7-156. Protests of proposed ballot title and/or submission clause. Any registered elector desiring to protest a proposed ballot title and/or submission clause for any initiated or referred measure shall file a notice of protest with the City Clerk no later than noon on the Monday immediately preceding the date upon which the City Council will consider the ordinance on first reading, or resolution, setting the ballot title and submission clause. Such notice of protest shall be on a form available from the City Clerk, shall be signed by the protestor(s), and shall set forth: (1) the name, address, and phone number of the protestor(s); (2) the title of the ordinance or resolution being protested; (3) with particularity, the grounds of the protest; and (4) any other information required by the City Clerk. Such protest shall be heard, considered and resolved by the City Council prior to the adoption of said ordinance or resolution. Any legal challenge of the form or content of a City ballot title and/or submission clause for any initiated or referred measure shall be brought in the City's Municipal Court or Larimer County District Court using the procedure set forth in, and in accordance with, Section 1-11- 203.5, Colorado Revised Statutes, as amended, which shall be the exclusive manner for such legal challenges. (Ord. No. 23, 2001, 2-20-01; Ord. No. 021, 2016, § 14, 3-1-16 ) Secs. 7-157—7-164. Reserved. Outline and Timeline of the Referendum Process through Examination of Sufficiency Written protests can be filed by any registered voter Deadline: 10 days from filing of the petition Will be known once a completed petition is filed Clerk examines petitions for sufficiency Deadline: 5 working days after submission of petition(s) Will be known once a completed petition is filed Completed petition must be filed with the Clerk Deadline: 20 days after approval of final petition forms Deadline: will be known once petition is approved for circulation City Clerk approves petitions for circulation No timing specified Anticipated to be done within 3-7 business days given size of petition materials Petition representatives must submit the final form of the referendum petitions they plan to circulate Deadline: Mon. Nov. 6, 2023 Anticipated to be done by Mon. Nov. 6 City Clerk's Office formats and provides those filing the protest with referendum petition materials Within 10 day period for petition representatives to present form of petition to Clerk for approval Anticipated to be done Thurs. Nov. 2 or Fri. Nov. 3 One or more registered voters file a notice of protest with City Clerk against the going into effect of the ordinance Deadline: Fri. Oct. 27, 2023 Notices of protest filed Fri. Oct. 27, 2023 Passage of ordinances relating to the adoption of the Land Development Code Time Point: Occurred Tues. Oct. 17, 2023 Ordinance No. 136, 2023 adopted