At first glance, the restrictive rezoning initiative wording seems okay, but analyzing the numbers tells a different story. The proposition requires written approval by at least two-thirds of the record owners within 500 feet of the property to pass a rezoning request, implying that one third of the neighboring record owners would be needed to force a denial of the rezoning request.
A closer look shows that only a small minority could stop any rezoning. As an example, there are 73 deeded properties within 500 feet of a certain property along Highway 7. The majority of these properties have multiple owners; nearly half of the properties are owned by out-of-town owners, and there are corporate owners, governmental owners, and family trusts. There is no indication in the ballot initiative as to what time frame owners have to respond, nor does the initiative indicate how it might “compel” a written response. In a community where only about 75 percent of the eligible individuals register to vote and only about 75 percent of the registered voters cast ballots in an election, I imagine the response rate for a “rezoning mailing” will be about 75 percent of the neighboring owners, at best.
Assuming a 75-percent response rate means that 25 percent have already “failed to approve in writing,” this leaves only nine percent of respondents needing to vote “no” to cause the rezoning to fail. For this example, if 48 approve and only seven reply to deny the rezoning, the rezoning fails if 25 percent (18) don’t reply. To me, that sounds extremely un-American. In a democratic republic, elections determine majority rule, but this proposition wants a vocal minority to control the decision process.
The devil is in the details. Should a rezoning request happen within 500 feet of my house, my wife and I would each get a vote since we are both listed as record owners on our deed. If a deed is in a family trust, do all members of the trust get a vote? How about if I own three properties within the 500-foot limit, would I get three votes? If the town, Bureau of Reclamation, or Rocky Mountain National Park is a property owner within 500 feet, who decides which way they vote? How about if the property being rezoned is at the town boundary, do county residents get to vote on town rezonings?
This ballot issue leaves too many unanswered questions regarding implementation. I cannot support this poorly defined, highly restrictive proposal, which is the antithesis of majority rule, and I recommend that you vote NO on Ballot Question 300.
Todd Plummer is an elected board member of the Estes Park Sanitation District.