Title
Ordinance No. 20-55 submitting a Charter amendment to the registered qualified electors of the City of Colorado Springs, Colorado at the special municipal election to be held at the coordinated election conducted by mail ballot to be held on November 3, 2020, adding a new section 11-80 of the City Charter relating to conveyances of City-owned parkland, providing for the form of the ballot title, providing for certain matters with respect to the election, and providing the effective date of this ordinance
Presenter:
Richard Skorman, Third District City Councilmember
Kent Obee
Body
Summary:
This ordinance refers a Charter Amendment to the November 2020 election. The Charter Amendment would require any City parkland on the designation list as attached to the ordinance be disposed of only upon a referral of a vote to the citizens by at least seven (7) City Councilmembers followed by an affirmative vote of a majority of those citizens voting in the election.
Background:
UPDATE FOR THE AUGUST 10, 2020 WORK SESSION AND AUGUST 11, 2020 REGULAR MEETING:
At the July 27, 2020 Council Work Session, five (5) Councilmembers directed City staff to place two (2) versions of the TOPS proposal on the August 11, 2020 Council Regular Meeting for a formal vote. The two (2) proposals contain similar language with one major exception: the approval process for conveyance of parkland.
One (1) version (the addition of a City Charter section 11-80), which is attached to this item, requires a super-majority referral of seven (7) Councilmembers to ask the voters to convey parkland that is on the parkland designation list, barring a listed exception within the Charter section itself. This version was amended from six (6) to seven (7) Councilmembers at the request of the Council President and the POPS citizen group that has been working on this item. Additionally, the attached parkland designation list was amended at the request of City Council to remove Dorchester Park and several parks in the Shooks Run neighborhood.
The other option is an amendment to City Charter section 3-70 contained in file # 20-455 and would require conveyances of parkland to be approved by a super-majority of seven (7) Councilmembers and would not require a vote of the citizens. The exceptions remain the same as the previous option, as does the parkland designation list, which was amended to remove Dorchester Park and the parks in the Shooks Run neighborhood mentioned above.
Both options now include information and a requirement that if both options are referred to the voters and both pass by a majority vote, the option with the most affirmative votes at the election will prevail and will be ultimately included in the Charter. The option with fewer votes, even if passed by a majority of the electors, will not be included in the Charter as it would conflict the prevailing option (see City Charter section 15-70). If Council does not refer both options, staff is prepared to remove the language related to conflicting language/most affirmative votes from the proposal that is referred to the ballot.
UPDATE FOR THE JULY 27, 2020 WORK SESSION:
At the June 22, 2020 Council Work Session, five (5) Councilmembers provided direction to City staff to bring forward version 4 of the 2020 POPS proposal. Version 4 of the proposal clarifies that only one (1) vote of the qualified electors of the City would be necessary in the case of a parkland with multiple requirements for a vote (for instance, a TOPS acquired property) which is on the parkland designation list. Additionally, five (5) Councilmembers directed City staff to include Valley Hi Golf Course on the parkland designation list. This is included in the packet as the 3rd updated Exhibit A, parkland designation list.
Council will discuss the parkland designation list and other portions of the proposal at the July 27, 2020 Work Session meeting.
UPDATE FOR THE JUNE 22, 2020 WORK SESSION:
At the June 8, 2020 Council Work Session, Council discussed a variety of options related to the Protect Our Parks (“POPS”) proposal. This included in-depth discussions related the list of parks (the “parkland designation list”) requiring a vote of the electors to convey most property interests, and the events that would trigger an election.
Attached are two updated parkland designation lists pursuant to the Council discussion. The first updated “Exhibit A” reflects the Parks Department’s list of parks that do not contain other restrictions preventing disposition of real property interests, including but not limited to TOPS purchased properties, properties owned by other entities, and other properties with known deed restrictions. The second updated “Exhibit A” also includes TOPS purchased properties. The updated inventory list that is attached contains all parks including those properties that are already restricted from sale.
In addition, the various options that have been considered over the last year are attached as well. For historical purposes, this includes multiple (three) options that Council studied in 2019 in addition to multiple (four) options that have been drafted during the 2020 discussions.
Finally, one question was asked regarding whether or not Valley Hi Golf Course has deed restrictions and covenants that would prevent the property from going on to the parkland designation list. Based on the documents provided to the City Attorney’s Office, it appears the Valley Hi Golf Course does not have deed restrictions nor covenants that would prevent its placement on the list.
UPDATE FOR THE JUNE 8, 2020 WORK SESSION:
At the April 27, 2020 Council Work Session, there was discussion related to the Protect Our Parks (“POPS”) proposal. Several new amendments to the proposal were requested by City Council. Council President Skorman wishes to discuss in more depth these concepts in an attempt to reach consensus positions of the Council related to several issues, including: the Parks included in the Parkland Designation List, a final version of the POPS referral ordinance (i.e. including “emergency” language and other circumstances that would not require a vote of the people), and several requested amendments to the ordinance through the citizen group advocating for referral.
INFORMATION PROVIDED FOR THE APRIL 27, 2020 WORK SESSION:
Throughout the summer of 2019 City Council discussed at great length a City Charter proposal which would require a vote of the citizens to dispose of most City Parks properties. This effort was generally referred to as the Protect Our Parks (“POPS”) proposal.
The latest version of the POPS proposal is similar to the past versions but also includes a requirement that a minimum of six (6) members of City Council must affirmatively vote to refer a disposal of a parks property.
Upon a successful vote of the electors, this proposal would approve a Parkland Designation List, which is attached as Exhibit A. The Parkland Designation List would then be set out in an appendix within the Charter.
As with several other proposals that have been discussed by the Council, any conveyance of parkland contained on the list that does not fall within the specified listed exceptions would be subject to a vote of the electors of the City. The Council would have the authority to add future parks to the list by ordinance.
Previous Council Action:
Throughout the summer of 2019 City Council discussed at great length a City Charter proposal which would require a vote of the citizens to dispose of most City Parks properties. This effort was generally referred to as the Protect Our Parks (“POPS”) proposal.
At the August 13, 2019 regular meeting, City Council referred to the ballot on first reading this general Charter proposal on a 5-4 vote. At its next regular meeting, City Council on second reading failed to pass the ordinance referring the Charter Amendment to the November 2019 ballot. Council revisited the POPS proposal at its April 27, 2020 Work Session meeting.
Financial Implications:
N/A
City Council Appointed Board/Commission/Committee Recommendation:
N/A
Stakeholder Process:
N/A
Alternatives:
Council could choose to adopt the ordinance as presented, choose another alternative, or choose not to adopt an ordinance referring the new Charter section to the voters.
Recommended Action
Proposed Motion:
Move approval of an ordinance submitting a Charter amendment to the registered qualified electors of the City of Colorado Springs, Colorado at the special municipal election to be held at the coordinated election conducted by mail ballot to be held on November 3, 2020, adding a new section 11-80 of the City Charter relating to conveyances of City-owned parkland, providing for the form of the ballot title, providing for certain matters with respect to the election, and providing the effective date of this ordinance.
Summary of Ordinance Language
An ordinance submitting a Charter amendment to the registered qualified electors of the City of Colorado Springs, Colorado at the special municipal election to be held at the coordinated election conducted by mail ballot to be held on November 3, 2020, adding a new section 11-80 of the City Charter relating to conveyances of City-owned parkland, providing for the form of the ballot title, providing for certain matters with respect to the election, and providing the effective date of this ordinance.