Petition supporting Aspen’s preferred alternative continues to circulate; opposing effort submits signatures to clerk Monday
Rachel Richards/Courtesy photo
A petition to let voters decide on moving forward with the preferred alternative entrance to Aspen is continues to circulate.
The petition, if approved in a ballot measure, would amend Aspen’s Home Rule Charter by adding a section to the city charter to allow the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) to use parts of the Marolt and Thomas properties for Colorado Highway 82 realignment, as identified in the 1998 Entrance to Aspen Record of Decision (ROD).
The petition would require about 300 signatures to qualify for the March 2025 ballot.
The effort is led by former Aspen Mayor Rachel Richards, current Aspen City Council member Ward Hauenstein, and Aspen resident Mike Maple.
“This is a matter of physics. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction,” Richards said. “When the petition drive came up in mid-October to change the number of votes needed to approve any changes to open space, that was concerning.”
The competing petition, started by Aspen resident Barb Pitchford, proposes requiring 60% voter approval for changes to Aspen’s open space instead of the current simple majority of 50% plus one.
Pitchford’s petition was submitted to the Aspen City Clerk’s office on Monday, with over 450 signatures collected. Terry Paulson, a former Aspen City Council member who helped collect signatures, said protecting open space is what defines Aspen as a community.
“Aspen’s parks and open spaces were acquired over many decades and are a big part of what defines us as a community,” Paulson said in a prepared statement Monday. “There really isn’t any vacant land in town left to protect, so it makes sense to require true community consensus before the city converts parkland into a radically different use.”
Hauenstein criticized that proposal.
“I am totally opposed to the idea that a supermajority is needed,” Hauenstein said. “Look at what the filibuster has done to the U.S. Senate. Nothing gets done.”
Richards expressed similar concerns, emphasizing that allowing a minority to block changes is problematic.
“This is not that different than what happened in Florida, where 57% of voters said yes to preserving women’s reproductive rights, but 43% had the final say, and the measure was not passed,” she said. “It just seems inappropriate to me.”
Hauenstein noted that their petition includes language to ensure that even with a new alternative developed through the environmental impact statement (EIS) process, the open space easement would remain intact.
“I think people really want to see things move forward as it relates to the Castle Creek Bridge and entrance to Aspen, and this is a way to help make that happen,” he said. “There is already an easement that exists through the open space, and the first part of the petition states that CDOT can move ahead with the preferred alternative.”
The amendment would preserve existing easements across the Marolt and Thomas properties, ensuring they accommodate any future entrance to Aspen alternative selected by City Council after the EIS process and public input.
“Currently, in the Pitkin Home Rule Charter, it just does not take a vote to change open space in Aspen. There is currently a clause that states there must also be a like-kind replacement property to be added,” Rachels added, who is a former three-time Pitkin County commissioner. “That is a really high standard. For example, if someone wanted to buy Rio Grande Park, they would also have to offer a like-kind replacement property, in addition to the purchase price.”
She criticized the competing petition for not addressing this clause, suggesting it was misleading.
Meanwhile, Hauenstein warned at a previous City Council meeting that abandoning the preferred alternative or making substantial changes would leave the city responsible for funding a modified entrance to Aspen, which he estimated would cost over $100 million. That expense, he said, would ultimately fall on taxpayers.
If the petition gathers enough signatures, Aspen voters will decide in March 2025 whether to grant CDOT the authority to proceed with planning and construction under the current or any future ROD resulting from the EIS process.
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