The to hear the Rags Over the Arkansas River protest group’s appeal of a affirming the state parks department approval of artist Christo’s decades-old plan to cover the river in a canopy of shimmering silver fabric.
The high court’s decision marks the third time the ROAR group’s appeal of that state parks decision has been dismissed.
And it leaves ROAR with one last legal challenge to the project Christo and his now-deceased wife, Jeanne-Claude, first proposed in 1992. The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver will hear oral arguments in ROAR’s last legal stand in November, group spokeswoman Joan Anzelmo said.
ROAR in August asked the 10th Circuit to overturn that allowed Christo’s plan to drape 5.9 miles of fabric over the Arkansas River to proceed.
In its brief to the 10th Circuit, the volunteer ROAR group asked the court to “place the rule of law above politics; to reaffirm that the content of our nation’s statutes and regulations must ultimately direct the outcome of regulatory permitting decisions.”
“Our federal case is very strong,” Anzelmo said. “We have been working toward this for months and months.”
The Colorado Court of Appeals
, agreeing that the parks-division approval was arbitrary and violated its own rules. But the court of appeals concluded the decision would have been the same if the park division had followed its own procedures.
its appeal in a motion for rehearing, arguing that the state parks division would have rejected Christo’s plan if it had followed its own permitting process. ROAR then asked the state Supreme Court to hear its argument.
The group argues the project — which will require more than two years of installation work for a three-week showing — would be detrimental to wildlife and the safety of residents along the Arkansas River in Bighorn Sheep Canyon between Salida and Cañon City.
Jason Blevins: 303-954-1374, jblevins@denverpost.com or @jasonblevins
