In November, residents of the Peak 7 local improvement district will vote on Measure 1C to pave the neighborhood’s gravel roads. If approved, property owners will be required to pay a nearly $20,000 tax assessment to fund the project.
During the neighborhood’s preliminary discussions, the estimated cost to pave Peak 7 was not to exceed $10,000 per parcel. Roughly 60% of Peak 7 property owners agreed to forward the paving petition to the county with that understanding of the cost.
Subsequently, the county conducted its paving estimate, which came in at $6.6 million — nearly $20,000 per parcel. The county provided that information to homeowners by letter arriving less than a week before the August public hearing, when county commissioners elected to place Measure 1C on the ballot.
Before the hearing, several homeowners who had signed the petition rescinded their support based on increased cost. Given time to respond, more property owners could have backed away from the paving project, taking support below the 50% threshold and perhaps keeping it off the ballot while members of the district digested the impact of the county’s cost data.
Here’s the rub. Peak 7 property owners who are not Colorado residents cannot vote for or against Measure 1C. Only Colorado residents, with a valid Peak 7 address, are eligible. That means, with few exceptions, homeowners from out of state have no voice.
My family has owned a home on Peak 7 since 1990. We spend a significant amount of time here each year, but we are not Colorado residents. We do not support Measure 1C.
I hope those on Peak 7 who are able to vote educate themselves about the issue and exercise their right to bring Measure 1C to closure. I only wish all property owners had the same right.