Basalt council sends ‘superfluous’ citizen-proposed ordinance on streetscape project to voters
Special election to be held in May
Josie Taris/The Aspen Times
Basalt voters will be called back to the ballot after Town Council lobbed citizen-proposed legislation that targets the aspects of the Midland Avenue Streetscape Project to the electorate.
“I think the net effect of this proposed ordinance is to confuse the voter,” said Mayor Bill Kane. “I think it’s been presented to people as a vehicle to stop the project — in no way can it do that.”
Basalt resident Ted Guy and Tempranillo owner Laura Maine began the process of filing an initiative petition with the town last year. It targets two facets of the multi-million-dollar infrastructure project along the main road in downtown Basalt: budget and parking spaces.
After months of back-and-forth between the petitioners and the town over signatures, they met the minimum requirement to move the proposed ordinance in front of the council members.
The electeds unanimously voted to send the ordinance to voters for a special election instead of adopting it at their Tuesday meeting.
Their issues with the proposed ordinance centered primarily around its applicability to the Midland Avenue Streetscape Project, despite the petitioners’ intent to alter or halt the project.
Basalt Town Clerk Pam Schilling said a special election will likely be scheduled for early May, mail-in ballot only. Voters can check their registration at the Colorado Secretary of State website.
Basalt will hold a municipal election on April 2, but the initiative petition did not get approved in time to make it onto that ballot.
Parking
The proposed ordinance targets a portion of the town’s parking code in an effort to block the relocation of some parking spaces along Midland Avenue.
Part of the ordinance reads, “There shall be no reduction in the number, size, or configuration of public or private parking spaces in the Downtown Parking Area or of any public loading areas …”
Guy has expressed concern over the loss of diagonal parking spaces in front of Midland Avenue businesses for folks with mobility issues who might struggle with parking spaces further away along the Midland Spur, or the parking lot behind Basalt Town Hall.
Maine has said losing parking and the disturbance caused by construction would negatively affect her business, Spanish restaurant Tempranillo.
But Town Manager Ryan Mahoney has maintained the ordinance language, which would be added to the “Off-Street Parking and Loading” section of the code, could not affect Midland Avenue parking as it’s in the town’s right-of-way.
Council member Angela Anderson said bringing the storefronts and infrastructure along Midland Avenue up to ADA compliance is a major priority, as is moving away from a car-reliant society.
“I think that this ordinance is kind of borne out of this unhealthy fixation on road traffic versus foot traffic,” she said. “I don’t think it would be wise to spend the amount of money that we are spending to redevelop Midland to continue to focus on cars first; it’s not good for the air, it’s not good for our bodies, it’s not good for our communities – walkable communities are better.”
Town Engineer Catherine Christoff said the project will likely be wrapping up the Zone 1 portion of construction and moving into Zone 2 in early May.
Overall, parking between the spur and Midland Avenue will increase, though the spur now holds the bulk of spaces.
Existing Parking
Midland Spur 61
Midland 110
Total 171
Proposed Parking
Midland Spur 95
Midland 78
Total 173
Budget
The proposed ordinance also calls into question the Town’s budget for the streetscape project.
Voters approved an $18 million bond for Basalt Forward projects in November 2021, including affordable housing, green initiatives, and downtown revitalization.
Of those bond funds, $11.5 million was budgeted for what eventually became the streetscape project; financing the addition of the Midland Spur to the infrastructure project came from grants and town reserve funding.
The 2024 Basalt Budget is available on the Town of Basalt website. The Capital Construction Fund section tracks Basalt Forward bond funds.
Language in the ordinance says, “Whenever the Town or its representatives make representations to the electors of the Town regarding the uses or expenditures of revenue from the General Obligation Bonds to obtain approval of the indebtedness from the electors of the Town, the actual uses and expenditures of such funds in the Capital Construction Fund shall strictly adhere to the representations made by the town …”
Council members pushed back on the allegation made through that statement, saying that the project is coming in under budget.
“We’re coming in under that for the original scope, plus, we’re doing additional scope because we have the money, because we should be investing in ourselves,” said Council member David Knight. “We should take advantage when we’re in this state of transformation, essentially, to do that work. So in the end, it’s going to be a positive thing.”
Kane offered public comment to in-person and virtual attendees, including Guy, but they declined. Guy said in an email to The Times that he is working on a plan to “get facts out” ahead of a May special election.
All the council members lauded the petitioners for their dedication to participating in the civic process, despite disagreeing with the proposed ordinance’s content.
