DENVER — The town of Gilcrest will vote on whether to allow chickens. Boulder voters will decide whether to undo an annexation agreement for CU South. In Denver, food waste recycling and sidewalks are up for a vote.
Those are among the more than 140 municipal ballot questions on the ballots of at least 75 cities and towns across Colorado for the Nov. 8 election.
Major topics that voters will tackle are housing, taxes and bond issues, broadband, marijuana businesses and changes to elections. Here are many of the municipal measures on ballots across the state, courtesy of the Colorado Municipal League.
> The video above on early voting and how to vote aired on Oct. 25.
Affordable housing, lodging taxes, short-term rental taxes
Several municipalities are asking voters to consider lodging taxes to support affordable housing programs, in many cases for tourism-related workers.
- Georgetown – A lodging tax to support the activities of business promotion and tourism, including housing and child care for the tourism-related workforce.
- Grand Junction – A lodging tax for affordable housing programs and initiatives. Voters will also decide whether to amend the city charter to increase the maximum authorized lease term for city property from 25 years to 99 years when the property is to be used for affordable housing projects.
- Estes Park – A Local Marketing District lodging tax to support workforce housing and workforce child care needs.
- Snowmass Village – Requesting authorization to expand the allowed uses of revenues from the existing lodging tax and a portion of the existing sales tax to include workforce housing purposes.
- Durango – Requesting authority to retain revenues from the 2021 voter-approved lodging tax increase, with the excess revenues to be used for affordable housing programs, transportation and arts and cultural programs.
- Vail – Requesting authority to retain revenues from the 2021 sales tax, provided that the revenues are used for housing initiatives and developments.
- Denver – An excise tax to be paid by landlords on each individual residential property for lease, with the revenues being used to fund tenant legal services.
- Dillon – Requesting authorization to increase debt up to $20 million for workforce housing projects.
Short-term rental taxes will be considered in:
- Aspen – To fund affordable housing, infrastructure maintenance and environmental initiatives.
- Carbondale – To fund affordable and attainable housing programs and projects.
- Dillon – To fund community projects and services addressing visitor impacts.
- Grand Junction – To fund affordable housing programs.
- Steamboat Springs – To fund affordable and attainable housing projects and associated infrastructure improvements.
Tax and bond issues
Sales tax questions are on the ballot in at least 14 municipalities:
- Cripple Creek – For general expenses
- Dove Creek – For streets, capital improvements and parks and recreation
- Englewood – One tax increase for street maintenance, and another tax increase for alternative policing programs relating to homelessness, mental health and addiction.
- Fowler – For criminal justice, as well as street and alley repair and maintenance.
- Gunnison – For maintaining existing streets and related infrastructure, including ADA accessibility, curbs and gutters and drainage.
- Idaho Springs – To fund water and wastewater capital improvements.
- La Junta – For the general fund.
- Milliken – For general operations, including public safety, municipal services, transportation, improvements and parks and recreational facilities.
- Nederland – For law enforcement services and personnel and other personnel.
- Sugar City – For general expenses.
- Superior – For recovery efforts related to the Marshall Fire.
- Wiggins – For streets-related capital improvements.
- Windsor – For creating and preserving open space and working farms and community separators.
- Yuma – For emergency services and streets.
Tax extensions:
- Aspen – Requesting an extension of its parks and open space tax.
- Pueblo – Requesting an extension of its public safety sales tax.
- Erie – Requesting an extension of an existing property tax mill levy to be used for trails, parks and open space.
Lodging taxes:
- Dillon – To address visitor impacts related to recreation, public safety, street and parking improvements and town center redevelopment.
- Hudson – For general governmental purposes.
- Julesburg – For services and infrastructure.
- Littleton – To promote arts and culture and tourism.
- Lyons – To address visitor impacts and to fund community projects and capital improvements.
- Nederland – For health and human services programs and law enforcement services.
- Palisade – To promote sustainable tourism and emergency services.
Property tax mill levy increases:
- Denver – For library services.
- Fountain – For public safety.
- Palmer Lake – For general municipal purposes, with the number of mills determined by whether the separate marijuana question passes.
- Williamsburg – To improve roads and flood drainage.
Other tax issues:
- Boulder – A question to replace the existing utility occupation tax and climate action plan excise tax with a new climate tax, and a separate question authorizing debt to be repaid from the climate tax up to $52.9 million to meet the city’s climate goals.
- Central City – An occupation tax on table games and gaming devices.
- Severance – A use tax on motor vehicles to fund transportation infrastructure.
- Cherry Hills Village – Voters will decide whether to amend the city tax code to persons engaged in business in the city, including remote sellers and others making deliveries to residents, to collect sales tax.
Authority to increase debt:
- Fort Lupton – Up to $10 million and approval to extend the city’s community recreation center tax, to fund phase two of the recreation center.
- Longmont – Up to $20 million for storm drainage system improvements.
- Sterling – Up to $29 million for wastewater system improvements.
Revenue retention
Two municipalities have ballot measures requesting authority to keep and spend all revenue collected from previously approved taxes:
- Denver – Two questions: to retain revenues from and continue to impose the 2020 climate action sales tax, and the 2020 homelessness resolution sales tax.
- Eagle – Two questions: to retain revenues from the 2020 tobacco tax and the 2020 lodging tax, with the lodging tax revenues to be split between open space and marketing uses.
Hartman and Milliken are asking voters for authority to keep and spend all revenue collected from all sources in 2023 and each subsequent year.
Home rule and governance
Colorado has 104 home rule municipalities, and Monument is asking voters to make the town the 105th.
In Erie and Lochbuie, voters will decide whether to form a home rule commission and, if so, decide who should serve on that commission. Delta is asking residents to vote on the creation of a charter commission and who should serve on it.
In Las Animas, voters will decide separate questions on whether to make the city clerk and treasurer appointed positions rather than elected.
In Iliff, residents will consider eliminating term limits for the mayor and trustees.
Broadband
Castle Pines, Lone Tree and Pueblo want exemption from the statutory restriction on providing broadband or telecommunications service that also prohibits most uses of municipal funding for infrastructure to improve local broadband or telecommunications services. In Colorado, 119 municipalities have already passed such an exemption.
Marijuana
Marijuana businesses are on the ballot in:
- Colorado Springs – One question to authorize retail establishments, and a separate question authorizing a tax on retail sales.
- Cripple Creek – A question to authorize marijuana businesses, contingent upon the passing of a separate question authorizing an excise tax on cultivation, a sales tax on retail sales and an occupation tax on medical sales.
- Dove Creek – Three questions: to authorize retail and medical businesses, to authorize an excise tax on retail cultivation and to authorize an occupation tax on retail sales.
- Hotchkiss – Authorizing retail and medical businesses and commencing the collection of a 2016 tax on marijuana sales.
- Nunn – A question to authorize retail and medical businesses, contingent upon the passing of a separate question authorizing a tax on retail sales.
- Palmer Lake – Authorizing up to two retail stores.
Ault, Nederland and Sugar City voters will consider taxes on marijuana sales, and Fort Lupton will consider a tax on wholesale unprocessed marijuana.
In Lamar, a citizen’s initiative would amend the city charter to prohibit certain actions related to marijuana, including the licensing and operation of marijuana establishments and prohibiting actions related to having more than 1 ounce of marijuana for personal use.
Election changes
Six municipalities – Boulder, Fleming, LaSalle, Mt. Crested Butte, Timnath and Wiggins – want to move their regular elections to November in even-numbered years, while Fort Collins and Silt want to move their elections to November in odd-numbered years.
Other issues
Avon, Eagle, Gypsum, Minturn, Red Cliff and Vail want to create the Eagle Valley Transportation Authority and levy a sales tax to fund its operations.
Boulder has a question repealing the library commission and associated tax, if a separate initiative to create a library district passes, and a citizen-initiated referendum regarding the annexation of a property known as CU South.
Dacono is requesting to increase compensation for the mayor and council.
Denver has a citizen-initiated measure requiring multifamily residential premises, non-residential premises, food waste producers, retail food mobile license holders and special events organizers to offer recycling and/or organic material diversion, and a separate citizen-initiated question concerning an ordinance to create a sidewalk master plan, which would charge a fee to property owners and authorize bonds to fund a sustainable sidewalk program.
Gilcrest will ask whether to allow chickens in residential districts in town.
LaSalle is requesting authorization of the publication of ordinances by title rather than in full, provided ordinances are available for review at town hall.
Las Animas is requesting authorization of the publication of ordinances by title rather than in full, provided ordinances are posted in full on the city’s website.
Littleton has a citizen-initiated referendum regarding a zoning ordinance regarding a property known as the Newton Property General Planned Development Plan (Aspen Grove), and three questions related to the creation of a downtown development authority, authorizing the retention and expenditure of all revenues of the authority, and authorizing a property tax mill levy increase within the boundaries of the authority.
Lyons wants to expand the permitted and conditional uses of the parks and open space zoning district to allow for arts and cultural and nonprofit facilities.
Mead has four questions related to the creation of a general improvement district.
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