Two Colorado Springs organizations are among a group of plaintiffs across Colorado who filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday seeking to overturn a new state law they argue is unconstitutional and unfairly favors developers.

“HB24-1107 effectively silences citizens who wish to hold their government accountable for land use decisions. This bill is a blatant attempt to suppress the voices of those who care about their communities and wish to ensure responsible development,” Morgan C. Smith, a Telluride-based attorney for the plaintiffs, said in a news release announcing the lawsuit.

Colorado Springs residents say state bill ‘lopsided’ in favor of apartment developers

The announcement came from the Colorado Community Coalition, a coalition of neighborhood groups from Colorado Springs and elsewhere that opposed the law as it was going through the state Legislature this year.

The bill went into effect May 30 and requires residents to pay a local government’s attorney fees if they lose a court battle with a local government over a residential housing project of more than five units per acre. If residents sue a city in Colorado court to overturn approval to build a new housing complex, for example, and residents lose the case, the residents must pay the city’s legal costs as well as their own. The residents wouldn’t owe fees if they lost a battle over a commercial project or a lower density housing project.

Download PDF

Under the law, developers who appeal similar land use decisions do not have to pay for a city’s attorney’s fees if they lose a case.

Six plaintiffs from across Colorado filed a 24-page lawsuit in federal court against the city of Colorado Springs and Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, hoping to overturn the law. They include individuals Miranda Spindel and Michael Wemple, the nonprofit Sanctuary Field Neighborhood Network in Fort Collins, the Daniels Welchester Neighborhood Association in Jefferson County, and Colorado Springs-based groups Integrity Matters and Westside Watch.

The city declined Tuesday to comment on the matter, citing the pending litigation. A spokesman for the state Attorney General’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Integrity Matters and Westside Watch have fought several local developments in Colorado Springs.

Colorado Springs delays vote on controversial apartments over zoning question

For example, Westside Watch opposed constructing apartments proposed at 2424 Garden of the Gods Road near North 30th Street, arguing it would hurt residents’ ability to evacuate. The Colorado Springs City Council voted down the apartments, a decision upheld by local and appellate courts after the developer behind the project sued.

Integrity Matters, Westside Watch and Wemple also opposed and filed a lawsuit in El Paso County District Court seeking to overturn the city’s approval last summer of the Launchpad Apartments on Colorado Springs’ west side, designed to shelter homeless youths.

They argued the development “creates a public safety risk,” among other complaints. Court records show District Court Judge David Shakes denied that lawsuit and closed the case June 3.

In the federal lawsuit, plaintiffs argue HB24-1107 infringes on residents’ First Amendment rights because it discourages them from petitioning the government. The suit also claims the law infringes on the U.S. Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause because it creates “an unequal legal landscape favoring developers,” the news release said.

Man sues Colorado Springs police officer for alleged negligent driving

The law “disproportionately affects low-income residents who already face significant barriers in accessing the legal system,” Westside Watch’s chief legal counsel Kat Gayle said in the release. Gayle is also an attorney for the plaintiffs in the federal case against HB24-1107. “This law further marginalizes these communities by making it financially risky to challenge development projects that could harm their neighborhoods.”