Lakewood – A special election forced by petitioners protesting a land swap will cost the city about $250,000, city officials said.
The Lakewood City Council, which on Monday unanimously reaffirmed its prior approval of the deal, also set Jan. 2 for the mail-only election – a date dictated by preparations and law.
The deal involves trading 22 acres of city-owned land in Iron Spring Park for 22 acres of undeveloped privately owned land in Rooney Valley.
The private land would allow a buffer between homes in the existing Green Mountain Village and a planned residential project. The buffer also would act as a wildlife and recreational corridor.
Mayor Steve Burkholder said the protesters, who filed petitions against the land exchange on Sept. 8, “are abusing the process.”
The public has been involved “since day one,” Burkholder said, through 10 years of citizen comment on plans for Rooney Valley, east of C-470 between West Alameda Parkway and Morrison Road.
“I’m very concerned about whether we will be a city of zoning by initiative and referendum instead of representative democracy,” Burkholder said. “That’s a scary, scary thought.”
Councilman Mike Stevens said he is concerned about the potential cost, with the money coming from city reserves.
City Clerk Margy Greer said there were 2,928 qualified signatures on the petitions, 141 more than needed to require the council to reconsider its July vote and/or set an election.
After the council stood by its vote, Greer had between 30 and 90 days to hold the special election.
Greer said the Jan. 2 date is not ideal on the heels of the holiday season, but “it is the last Tuesday of the 90-day period, and the timeline is too tight for printers and mailings to hold it earlier.”
Ballots will be mailed to about 70,000 active Lakewood voters between Dec. 8 and Dec. 18. The ballots must be returned to the city by 7 p.m. Jan. 2.
Greer also must hold a hearing before Oct. 26 on a protest filed Friday by six citizens who contend a number of signatures are invalid and that petition circulators misled signers “on the contents and consequences.”
Staff writer Ann Schrader can be reached at 303-278-3217 or aschrader@denverpost.com.
