We represent Save South Boulder in a lawsuit against the City of Boulder over the construction of the 30-foot dam on C.U. South and City open space across from the Table Mesa park-and-ride. We believe the $75 million financial burden of this project is actually a tax on the citizens of Boulder that needs to be put to a vote under the taxpayer bill of rights, or TABOR.
On Tuesday, we filed our legal papers seeking certiorari, or cert, to have this case heard by the Colorado Supreme Court.
I need to tell you a story.
A few years back, we sued the City of Colorado Springs on behalf of the Smokebrush Foundation and Kat Tudor, a major philanthropist and visionary down in Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs. Like this case, we had lost in the Court of Appeals, so we had to seek cert from the Colorado Supreme Court. Subsequently, the Colorado Supreme Court granted our cert petition, and we went on to win the case 4 to 3 and establish a significant environmental precedent under the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act.
The Supreme Court could grant our cert petition here, too. And if we’re ultimately successful, we will force this $75 million financial burden for the South Boulder Creek dam to be put to the residents of Boulder for a vote.
Boulder’s City Council should not allow this project to proceed until we find out if the Supreme Court grants our cert petition, generally a 4-to-6-month process. To be frank, the odds are against us. Generally, the Colorado Supreme Court only grants one out of 20 of these cert petitions, although the odds are better in civil cases that present compelling constitutional issues. But it would be a travesty if the City allows this beloved open space resource to be closed and partially destroyed when ultimately the project may be terminated.
A 4-to-6-month delay in this project, until we see how the Supreme Court rules on our cert petition, is not unreasonable.