Boulder County Commissioners respond to Colorado Supreme Court’s
Decision not to Hear Appeal of Road Case
Plaintiffs-Appellants (Wibby et al.) v. Boulder County Board of County
Commissioners
Boulder County, Colo. -- In June of this year, the Colorado
Court of Appeals upheld a district court’s decision that a group of property
owners could not sue Boulder County regarding the rehabilitation of subdivision
roads. Today, the Colorado Supreme Court denied a request for review of that
decision.
Background
In late 2014, a group of unincorporated Boulder County property owners
filed a lawsuit in Boulder District Court against the Board of County
Commissioners (Wibby et al. v. Boulder County Board of County Commissioners).
The group sought a court order
requiring the county to use tax dollars – dollars previously used for other
county services – to reconstruct and/or repave local subdivision roads. Boulder
County stated that this issue was not appropriate for the Courts. The District Court
agreed and dismissed the lawsuit. The property owners appealed the District
Court’s decision, sending the case to the Court of Appeals. The Court of
Appeals upheld the District
Court’s decision in June of this year, and the Property Owners then filed a Petition
for Writ of Certiorari (request for the Supreme Court to review lower court
decisions) to the Colorado Supreme Court in an effort to reverse the decision.
Boulder County Commissioners’ Statement:
Today, the Colorado Supreme Court denied the plaintiff’s Petition for
Writ of Certiorari. This effectively finalizes all decisions from the lower
courts, which found in favor of Boulder County.
“We have been confident in our position from the start of this process,
and now it is good to have a final decision,” said County Commissioner Deb
Gardner. “It has been a long process and we are ready to move forward with
finding a solution to repairing subdivision roads.”
A ballot measure brought forth by a separate group of homeowners was
narrowly defeated this fall. The number of residents who voted in favor of the
measure proves that there is a desire within the community to find some sort of
countywide solution to repairing subdivision roads. As always, open dialogue
with the community is encouraged to find potential routes forward.
Commissioner Gardner added, “Over the years we’ve tried several
approaches to resolving this issue that have not panned out. We don’t know
exactly what comes next, but we will continue to work with willing partners in
the community to find an approach that works.”
Boulder County Board of Commissioners
Boulder, Colorado
For more information on Boulder County's history with regard to
subdivision roads, please visit our Subdivision Paving webpage.
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