City of Littleton offices and facilities, including the Littleton Museum, the Municipal Court, and Bemis Public Library will be closed on Thursday and Friday, November 27 and 28, in observance of Thanksgiving.
“Shall Section 65.5. Preservation of Neighborhood Land Use Restrictions, be added to clarify the intent of the citizens to preserve single-family residential land use and ensure that current and future owners of property in certain residential zoning districts may rely on restrictions on land uses that protect their properties. Accordingly, land uses of properties presently permitted under the Littleton Unified Land Use Code (ULUC) within zoning districts Small Lot Residential (SLR), Medium Lot Residential (MLR), Large Lot Residential (LLR), and Acreage Residential (ACR) are limited to uses specified therein as of January 1, 2025. Furthermore, any action by Council to initiate any comprehensive rezoning and official zoning map amendments, including text changes, shall first require notification to all affected property owners by First Class mail delivered by the United States Postal Service. Nothing herein shall prohibit or prevent a property owner from seeking rezoning of the owner’s property.”
Citizens placed this issue on the ballot by reaching the required threshold of valid signatures on a petition. To be valid, signatories must be Littleton residents and registered to vote.
The charter is like Littleton’s Constitution — it defines the organization, powers, functions, and essential procedures of city government, such as how city council functions, and can only be changed by a vote of the people.
Currently, all land use codes are contained in the city code, not city charter.
The charter is in contrast to the city code, which is a collection of local laws, regulations and rules passed by city government, covering things like building and fire codes, police regulations, traffic laws, and land use.
Land use and zoning are governed by ordinances, which are part of the city’s legislative process managed by city council. This legislative process includes public hearings with both planning commission and city council.
Littleton City Council unanimously passed an ordinance September 2 requiring expanded notification to property owners and residents prior to any public hearing regarding changes to residential land use.
The new ordinance requires notification be mailed to all property owners, residents and addresses within residential zoning districts at least 14 days prior to any public hearing regarding comprehensive rezoning, zoning map amendment, or text amendment that changes, adds, or removes the types of residential land use allowed in that zoning district.
As required by city charter, ordinances require a public hearing during a regular city council meeting.
Section VI of the city charter includes mechanisms for voters to challenge any ordinance passed by city council through public petitions. If a petition against an ordinance is found to have sufficient signatures, council can either repeal the ordinance or refer the question to voters in a special or regular election.
No, Blue Book pro/con statements are typically reserved for measures that are impacted by the Colorado Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) and involve a change to taxes. Citizen-initiated ballot measures for municipalities that do not involve taxation typically do not appear in Blue Book voter guides.
The City of Littleton voluntarily decided to withdraw its petition seeking judicial review of Ballot Question 3A October 13, upon consideration that a completed review of the issues was unlikely before the November 4 election.
The petition initially filed on September 5 sought review to gain clarity on whether provisions contained within 3A were in accordance with the state constitution and state law.
The City of Littleton may seek further clarification from the court in the future if necessary.