HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020CV30833 - City Of Fort Collins V. Planning Action To Transform Hughes Stadium Sustainably Corp, Et. Al - 015D - Exhibit 4 - PetitionPetition Section No. _______
PETITION FOR INITIATIVE
TO: The City Council of the City of Fort Collins
GENERAL STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
WARNING:
IT IS AGAINST THE LAW
for anyone to sign any initiative petition with any name other than his or her own or to knowingly sign his or
her name more than once for the same measure or to knowingly sign such petition when not a registered
elector.
DO NOT SIGN THIS PETITION UNLESS YOU ARE A REGISTERED ELECTOR.
TO BE A REGISTERED ELECTOR, YOU MUST BE A CITIZEN OF THE STATE OF COLORADO
AND A RESIDENT OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS AND REGISTERED TO VOTE IN FORT
COLLINS MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS.
Do not sign this petition unless you have read or had read to you the proposed initiative or the summary of
the initiated measure in its entirety and understand its meaning.
PETITION REPRESENTATIVES (not less than 3, no more than 5)
Name Address
1. Elena M. Lopez 301 S. Howes St., PO Box 1732, Fort Collins, CO 80522
2. Melissa Rosas 301 S. Howes St., PO Box 1732, Fort Collins, CO 80522
3. Paul Patterson 2936 Eindborough Dr, Fort Collins, CO 80525
4.
5.
NOTE: Throughout its circulation, each petition section shall contain or have attached immediately following this page
the full text of the proposed ordinance or resolution.
An ordinance to expand Public Open Lands in Fort Collins by requiring the City to acquire the Hughes
Stadium Property and use it for parks, recreation and open lands, natural areas, and wildlife rescue and
education.
We are seeking that the proposed ordinance be placed on the next regular city election ballot in April
2021. We are not seeking a special election.
WHEREAS, the citizens of Fort Collins have shown strong support to preserve and provide open
space, natural areas, community separators, wildlife habitat, and trails for today and for the
future; and
WHEREAS, Fort Collins citizens currently enjoy their open spaces and natural areas; the
recreation they provide, such as walking, hiking, biking, wildlife viewing, bird watching, and
fishing; the educational opportunities and programs provided to people of all ages and
backgrounds; and the beautiful landscapes and views they provide; and
WHEREAS, open space, natural areas, wildlife habitat, community separators, agricultural lands,
and trails benefit all members of the Fort Collins community; and
WHEREAS, conserved open space and natural areas help make Fort Collins a highly desirable
place to live, work, and visit; and
WHEREAS, the City of Fort Collins values sustainability in policies, plans, strategies and
projects that align with its Triple Bottom Line decision-making philosophy of social, economic
and environmental well-being to meet its citizens’ present needs and the needs of future
generations without compromising the ecosystems upon which we all depend; and
WHEREAS, the citizens of Fort Collins have provided continuous funding for open space and
natural areas acquisition and maintenance since first voting for a capital improvement sales tax in
1973 and approving extensions or new revenue sources in every election such a question has
appeared on the ballot; and
WHEREAS, Fort Collins has conserved over 40,000 acres of open space and natural areas since
1973; and
WHEREAS, the property formerly home to the Colorado State University’s Hughes Stadium is a
currently undeveloped 164.56-acre parcel of land that was recently annexed into the city of Fort
Collins; and
WHEREAS, the City of Fort Collins has many distinct zoning districts in its land use code; and
WHEREAS, one zoning classification in the Fort Collins land use code is “Public Open Lands,”
which currently allows for parks, recreation and open lands, and wildlife rescue and education
centers, subject to administrative or Planning and Zoning Board review; and
WHEREAS, the Hughes Stadium property is currently zoned as Transition District (T) pursuant
to Division 4.12 of its land use code, which is intended for properties for which there are no
specific and immediate plans for development; and
WHEREAS, the Hughes Stadium property occupies an area in between the current Maxwell
Natural Area and Pineridge Natural Area; and
WHEREAS, the acquisition of the Hughes Stadium Property and conversion into a public open
lands area would build upon the City’s significant history of preserving open spaces and would
provide an invaluable social, economic, and environmental resource for current and future
generations of Fort Collins residents; and
WHEREAS, the Hughes Stadium property would represent a crown jewel acquisition for Fort
Collins open space; and
WHEREAS, absent acquisition and conservation efforts under this ordinance, the Hughes
Stadium property would forever be lost to residential and/or commercial development; and
WHEREAS, the acquisition of the Hughes Stadium property by the City of Fort Collins should
occur using existing voter-approved open space sales tax revenue and other funds currently
available to the City, financing agreements, grants, partnerships with other local governments, or
other available fiscally responsible mechanisms; and
WHEREAS, publicly available information indicates Colorado State University values the
Hughes Stadium property at $10 million, and the City should use that figure as a starting point in
its negotiations to acquire the property at its fair market value; and
WHEREAS, the rezoning of the Hughes Stadium property into the Public Open Lands (P-O-L)
zoning district pursuant to Article 1, Division 1.3 and Article 4, Division 4.13 of the land use
code would be necessary to convert the property into an area for parks, recreation and open
lands, and wildlife rescue and education.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. That the City hereby makes and adopts the determinations and findings contained in
the recitals set forth above.
Section 2. That the City shall acquire the Hughes Stadium property, a 164.56-acre parcel of land
legally described in Section 3 of Fort Collins Ordinance No. 123 (2018) (“Annexing the Property
Known as the Hughes Stadium Property Annexation to the City of Fort Collins, Colorado”) at its
fair market value for the purpose of using it for parks, recreation and open lands, natural areas,
and wildlife rescue and education.
Section 3. That notwithstanding any contrary designation in the April 2019 City Plan or any
action taken by the Council subsequent to its annexation of the Hughes Stadium property but
before the passage of this Ordinance, the City shall rezone the Hughes Stadium property as
Public Open Lands (P-O-L) zoning district pursuant to Division 4.13 of the City of Fort Collins
land use code immediately upon passage of this Ordinance.
Section 4. That the City shall not de-annex, cease acquisition efforts, or subsequently rezone the
Hughes Stadium property to any designation other than Public Open Lands without voter
approval of a separate initiative referred to the voters by City Council.
Section 5. That to acquire the Hughes Stadium property, the City shall seek funding from
existing sources or future partnerships, including but not limited to the Fort Collins Open Space
Yes! sales tax fund, Certificates of Participation, the City’s general fund, Great Outdoors
Colorado and other third party organizations providing open space or other types of recreational
or land conservation grants, and/or partnerships with other entities such as Larimer County.
Section 6. That the City Council may refer ballot measures to the voters for the purpose of
seeking additional funding only if existing sources of funding or future partnerships are
insufficient for the preservation of the Hughes Stadium property as described in this Ordinance.
Section 7. That the City shall expeditiously, but no later than two years from the passage of this
Ordinance, use best efforts in good faith to acquire the Hughes Stadium property utilizing the
financial mechanisms described in Sections 5 and 6.
Section 8. That this Ordinance shall take effect immediately upon passage by the majority of the
voters of Fort Collins during the first available regular city election, and any registered voter in
Fort Collins has legal standing to petition for injunctive and/or declaratory relief related to City
noncompliance with the provisions of this Ordinance.
DO NOT SIGN THIS PETITION UNLESS YOU ARE A RESIDENT OF FORT COLLINS
AND REGISTERED TO VOTE AT YOUR CURRENT ADDRESS
Before signing this petition, you are encouraged to read the full text of the initiated or referred measure,
or the purpose statement in the case of a recall petition, which immediately precedes these signature pages.
Page 1 of Petition Section #_______
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Signature
Residence Address (Street and Number) Date Signed
Printed Name City
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Printed Name City
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Printed Name City
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Signature Residence Address (Street and Number) Date Signed
Printed Name City
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Signature Residence Address (Street and Number) Date Signed
Printed Name City
DO NOT SIGN THIS PETITION UNLESS YOU ARE A RESIDENT OF FORT COLLINS
AND REGISTERED TO VOTE AT YOUR CURRENT ADDRESS
Before signing this petition, you are encouraged to read the full text of the initiated or referred measure,
or the purpose statement in the case of a recall petition, which immediately precedes these signature pages.
Page 2 of Petition Section #_______
11
Signature
Residence Address (Street and Number) Date Signed
Printed Name City
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Signature Residence Address (Street and Number) Date Signed
Printed Name City
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Printed Name City
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Signature Residence Address (Street and Number) Date Signed
Printed Name City
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Signature Residence Address (Street and Number) Date Signed
Printed Name City
DO NOT SIGN THIS PETITION UNLESS YOU ARE A RESIDENT OF FORT COLLINS
AND REGISTERED TO VOTE AT YOUR CURRENT ADDRESS
Before signing this petition, you are encouraged to read the full text of the initiated or referred measure,
or the purpose statement in the case of a recall petition, which immediately precedes these signature pages.
Page 3 of Petition Section #_______
21
Signature
Residence Address (Street and Number) Date Signed
Printed Name City
22
Signature Residence Address (Street and Number) Date Signed
Printed Name City
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Signature Residence Address (Street and Number) Date Signed
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Signature Residence Address (Street and Number) Date Signed
Printed Name City
Petition Section No. _______
AFFIDAVIT OF PETITION CIRCULATOR
STATE OF COLORADO )
)
COUNTY OF LARIMER ) ss.
)
CITY OF FORT COLLINS )
The undersigned petition circulator, being first duly sworn and upon oath, states that he or she is
eighteen (18) years of age or older; that he or she personally circulated the attached petition; that
each signature thereon is the signature of the person whose name it purports to be; that to the best
of the knowledge and belief of the affiant each of the persons signing said petition was, at the time
of signing, a registered elector in the City of Fort Collins; that each signer had an opportunity before
signing to read the full text of the petition; and that the petition circulator has not paid or will not in
the future pay, directly or indirectly, any money or other thing of value to any signer for the purpose
of inducing or causing such signer to affix his or her signature to such petition.
AFFIANT:
_________________________________________
Signature of Petition Circulator
_________________________________________
Printed Name of Petition Circulator
_________________________________________
Street Address of Petition Circulator
_________________________________________
City / State
_________________________________________
Date
Subscribed and sworn to before me this _______ day of ____________________, _______.
_________________________________________
Notary Public
_________________________________________
Address of Notary Public