Windsor petition seeks to let voters decide whether there should be backlots parking

A group of Windsor residents that wants voters to decide the fate of the downtown backlots property is circulating a petition to get the question on the November ballot.

The petition, which needs 1,283 valid signatures, asks voters to modify the town's zoning map to create a permanent parking zone in the central business district, primarily the 400 and 500 blocks of Main Street, ultimately restricting development on two of the three backlots owned by the Downtown Development Authority, which plans to redevelop the site into retail, restaurants and residences.

As of Wednesday, the petition on the group's website, savethespotswindsor.com, said the petition had 636 signatures. Town Clerk Karen Crawley said the petition must be submitted to her office on or before Aug. 29. The town has until Sept. 9 to certify ballot content to the state.

"We're definitely on track," said Stacy Manweiler, owner of Manweiler Appliance and Manweiler Hardware, 418 Main St., who is assisting petition organizer Marissa Banninga, a longtime Windsor resident.

Banninga said she hopes to gather 2,000 signatures from registered Windsor voters to  surpass the 1,283 required signatures.

"I don't think we will have a problem hitting that goal," she said. "In a matter of weeks we are one-third of the way to my goal or halfway to the required" number of signatures.

Petitions are available at Manweiler and The Border, 404 Main St.

"We feel like this might be one of the last chances to stop development in the backlots," Manweiler said. "We want residents to make that decision rather than the seven-member (town) board."

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The dirt lots south of Boardwalk Park and Windsor Lake have been used as parking for several years and provide access to the lake, park and local businesses. Earlier this year the town board increased the height limit for buildings in the area from 35 to 65 feet, partially to accommodate potential backlot development.

Banninga spoke against the increased height limits. "I felt like the town was ignoring what residents were saying," she said. "I wanted to try to do something to protect parking so it wouldn't spill into the neighborhoods."

A majority of residents want access to the lake and park and don't want to have to park a few blocks away in the surrounding neighborhood to get there, Manweiler said. "It's a conflict of residents want something and the town board has slated it for something else."

The petition runs counter to the DDA's values, DDA Executive Director Matt Ashby said in a statement. "What's worse, it presents a serious threat to the rights of all private property owners in Windsor not just the DDA backlots site.

No formal redevelopment plan for the backlots has been submitted to the town as of yet but Ashby said plans will be available for public consumption in the near future.

The backlots site has been in the works for more than a decade and was specifically identified as priority through community input and guidance within the town's downtown master plan and comprehensive plan, Ashby said.

"The development is an economic imperative, one that will bring opportunity for small business growth, infrastructure upgrades and ultimately, for downtown Windsor's continued vitality," he said. "Even greater than that, this project is about providing our community — individuals, families and businesses — with an asset that is far more meaningful and impactful than a dirt lot."

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The DDA board of directors was expected to vote June 15 on whether to spend $25,000 to hire an architect to create project renderings and hired Butler Snow law firm to provide legal advice on the petition and the backlots properties.

Results of the vote are unknown.

It is unclear whether the petition, if it makes it on to the ballot and is approved by voters, carries any legal authority over the DDA, a quasi-governmental organization. "This is something that will need to be vetted legally," Ashby said. "When dealing with property rights, it is vital to ensure we're not creating a precedent that will affect not only commercial owners, but private citizens, too."

In a late-May meeting with the DDA and representatives of Tribe Development, which is expected to develop the site, preliminary drawings showed a five-story building including 12,000 square feet of retail space and the rest residential, according to Manweiler.

Tribe CEO Ashley Stiles has said the project would include parking for its residents. But it is unlikely to provide an additional 350 spots of public parking that will be eliminated, opponents say.

Businesses were "led to believe they would be getting awesome new retail," Manweiler said. "It's literally mostly apartments; that was a huge concern."

Pat Ferrier is a senior reporter covering business, health care and growth issues in Northern Colorado. Contact her at patferrier@coloradoan.com. Please support her work and that of other Coloradoan journalists by purchasing a subscription today.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Windsor backlots parking could be headed to November ballot