Always check your tire pressure before you hit the road (one simple step)
Rebuttal to “The rubber meets the road on Ballot question 300” commentary by Joan Hooper
When I read the commentary submitted by Joan Hooper, I was shocked and, frankly, confused.
The author’s statement that the new Ordinance 11-25 “almost certainly violates the due process clause of the 14th Amendment” is not correct. The 14th Amendment, not in its entirety, states that “nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.”
Let the facts speak for themselves.
Fact: No one is taking anyone’s property away or depriving anyone of property without due process of law.
Fact: Ballot Question 300, now Ordinance 11-25, is a legal, fair proceeding that was voted into law by the majority of the voters in the Town of Estes Park. There have been many comments about the percentage of votes that Ballot Question 300 received in the Nov. 4, 2025, election. As the 2016 Town of Estes Park election results showed, as few as six votes can be all that matters in an election.
Fact: It only takes one vote to win.
Fact: The owners of 440 Valley Road have successfully collected 81 percent of the required signatures (more than the two-thirds consent required by Ordinance 11-25), thus complying fully with the legal requirements and confirming that collecting the signatures of two-thirds of directly affected property owners is not a “high bar.” It is one simple step.
Fact: Ballot Question 300, now Ordinance 11-25, does not “halt all rezonings and PUDs.”
In fact, as the owners of 440 Valley Road have shown, if two-thirds of the neighboring property owners agree with an application by providing their signatures, no applications are “halted.”
The author’s claims that “housing prices will continue to spiral and the housing shortage will get worse” are false. Fact: The median housing unit cost actually decreased between 2024 and 2025, despite inflation (EP Board of Realtors’ February 2026 Market Report). Further, the Estes Park Housing Authority reported that 200 workforce housing units were added in 2024.
According to a local realtor, The Thompson Group, “prices are stabilizing, and inventory is balanced. This is a healthy, functioning market.”
If Ordinance 11-25 is challenged in the courts, time will tell. The author’s statement that it “will cost taxpayer dollars” is a presumption. Consider the dollars in property values to be lost to overdevelopment. The author’s statement that “decisions based on ‘selfish and arbitrary reasons’ that have nothing to do with the public good” is incorrect. How can one call protecting the existing zoning “selfish and arbitrary,” when you consider that most property owners research existing zoning to verify what their and adjacent zoning is/was, before they put their hard-earned money down on their property? Answer: It is not “selfish or arbitrary.”
Fact: Ordinance 11-25 cannot simply be rewritten through community conversations. The law must be followed as it was when Ballot Question 300 was passed by the voters.
The author’s off-the-wall, irrational suggestion that “Trustee Brown and Preserve Estes Park co-leading an effort to pass a new version of 300 that works for all parties” is unrealistic and inappropriate.
Fact: I am only mentioning Trustee Brown as this is a direct rebuttal to Ms. Hooper’s commentary, which included her suggestion as quoted above.
Fact: Trustee Brown was one of the most outspoken opponents of Ballot Question 300 and helped organize Estes Valley United Neighbors in opposition. He also publicly proposed and supported delaying a decision on a prior land use application until after Aug. 15, 2025, when a new Colorado law, HB25-1327, would take effect. Regardless of those positions, Ballot Questions 300 and 301 complied with all legal requirements, and the voters made their decision. The outcome now moves forward.
The voters deserve respect for their time, for following the law, and for their votes, period. I personally thank the voters.
We will never all agree on every outcome from Ordinance 11-25; however, rest assured, the majority of the outcomes will preserve Estes Park from overdevelopment.
Kristine Poppitz, Estes Park, Preserve Estes Park Executive Board