Some Littleton residents want public to vote on urban renewal actions
“A group is collecting signatures to allow Littleton residents to vote on condemnation and tax increment financing proposed by Littleton’s recently revived urban renewal authority.
The group, Sunshine Boys and Citizens for Rational Development, wants to put in the city charter a right to vote on condemnation of properties selected for blight by the city’s urban renewal authority, Littleton Invests for Tomorrow. The protesters also want to be able to vote on the organization’s use of tax increment financing.
“That’s a serious enough thing that we want citizens to vote on that, and not City Council,” said Paul Bingham, who is spearheading the petition campaign. He added he’s against urban renewal in general because he believes market forces will decide whether a project is feasible or not.
Plans for Columbine Square and Santa Fe Drive will go before the planning board Sept. 11, and the authority a is working on plans for Broadway and Littleton Boulevard.
Bingham and others in the city are also concerned the urban renewal authority will repeat the mistakes of the Littleton Riverfront Authority, which invested millions of dollars of taxpayer money in the failed $150 million retail development Riverfront Festival Center.
Many members of the current urban renewal authority, Littleton Invests for Tomorrow, were also members of the Littleton Riverfront Authority.
Doug Clark, mayor of Littleton from 2007 to 2011, was on the board of the Littleton Riverfront Authority board from 1998 to 1999 . He is involved in the petition efforts.”
Woullard, Clayton. Denver Post 2 September 2014.