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West Glenwood petitioners submit nearly 1,000 signatures in attempt to overturn 480 Donegan annexation

Thirty-seven referendum petitions, with five pages of signatures each, were submitted Thursday to the Glenwood Springs City Clerk’s office.

Containing more than 900 signatures — triple the required amount — the petitions for referendum request City Council overturn its Nov. 4 approval of the annexation and rezoning of the 480 Donegan project area.

Circulated by members of the newly re-branded Glenwood Springs Citizens for Sensible Development, the petitions are slated for review by City Clerk Ryan Muse, who has 15 days to verify the signatures.



“They need 299 verified signatures for the referendum to move forward,” Muse said.

That number represents about 5% of the 5,983 Glenwood Springs residents registered to vote in the April election.



Laurie Raymond, a Glenwood Springs resident, business owner and member of the Sensible Development group, collected signatures for the referendum and helped train many of the group’s volunteer signature collectors.

“I was very pleased with how it went,” Raymond said. “We got a lot of signatures. It gave me a lot of hope that we can have a broader conversation with the community about how best to move forward.”

Raymond said the group doesn’t have a solution to the area’s growing need for housing, but she said they would like to be part of a discussion about how best to approach development throughout the valley.

If at least 299 signatures are verified, council will need to either overturn the annexation and rezoning decisions or ask the voters whether to overturn the decision during the May 3 election, Muse said.

Sensible Development spokesperson Tracy Trulove said that while more than 20 volunteers sought signatures throughout Glenwood Springs, many people reached out to the group to find out how they could participate in the effort.

“There was a lot of community building throughout the process,” Trulove said.

Reporter Ike Fredregill can be reached at 970-384-9154 or by email at ifredregill@postindependent.com.


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