Section 1. The initiative.
(a) Power. The registered electors of the city shall have the power at their option to propose ordinances or resolutions to the Council, and, if the Council fails to adopt a measure so proposed, to adopt or reject such ordinance or resolution at the polls. The procedure for initiative shall be as provided in this Article.
(b) Commencement of proceedings; notice. One (1) or more registered electors may commence initiative proceedings by filing with the City Clerk a written notice of intent to circulate an initiative petition. The notice commencing proceedings shall contain the full text of the proposed ordinance or resolution and shall state whether a special election is requested. After such notice has been filed, the City Clerk shall approve the petition for circulation in accordance with Section 5(b) of this Article. The petition shall be circulated, signed, verified, and filed in the manner prescribed in Section 5 of this Article.
(c) Number of signatures required. The petition must be signed by registered electors of the city equal in number to at least ten (10) percent of the total ballots cast in the last regular city election, except when a special election is requested by the petitioners, the petition must be signed by registered electors equal in number to at least fifteen (15) percent of the total ballots cast in the last regular city election.
(d) Petition deadlines. The initiative petition shall be filed no more than sixty (60) days after the City Clerk's approval of the form for circulation. Unless a special election is requested, the petition must also be filed at least ninety (90) days prior to the next regular city election. If the petition requests a special election in conjunction with a Larimer County Coordinated or General Election, the City Clerk shall establish a submittal deadline for the petition that will enable the measure to be considered at such election, which deadline shall be consistent with all pertinent provisions of the Colorado Revised Statutes governing the conduct of such elections, and, if applicable, with Article X, Section 20 of the Colorado Constitution, and shall advise the petition representatives in writing as to the submittal deadline.
(e) Action by Council. Upon presentation of an initiative petition certified as sufficient by the City Clerk, the Council shall either (1) adopt the proposed ordinance or resolution without alteration within thirty (30) days, or (2) submit such proposed measure, in the form petitioned for, to the registered electors of the city; provided, however, that if the proposed measure requires voter approval in advance under Article X, Section 20 of the Colorado Constitution, alternative (1) above shall not be available to the Council and the proposed measure shall instead be submitted to a vote of the registered electors. If the initiative petition proposing such a measure requests a special election, the proposed measure shall be submitted to a vote of the registered electors on the first possible date permitted by Article X, Section 20 of the Colorado Constitution. If a special election is not requested, the proposed measure shall be submitted to a vote of the registered electors at the next regular city election. In the case of a proposed measure that does not require voter approval in advance under Article X, Section 20 of the Colorado Constitution, the proposed measure, if not adopted by the Council under alternative (1) above, shall be submitted to a vote of the registered electors at the next regular city election or, if the initiative petition proposing such measure requests a special election, the proposed measure shall be submitted to a vote of the registered electors at a special election to be called by the Council within one hundred twenty (120) days of the presentation of the certified petition to the Council, unless any other regular or special city election is to occur within said period, in which case the proposed measure shall be submitted at such other regular or special city election. All ordinances submitted to the Council by initiative petition and adopted by Council without the vote of the electors shall be subject to the referendum in the same manner as other ordinances.
(Ord. No. 6, 1980, 1-16-80, approved, election 2-26-80; Res. No. 83-22, 1-18-83, approved, election 3-8-83; Ord. No. 199, 1986, § 1, Part B, § 1, 12-16-86, approved, election 3-3-87; Ord. No. 202, 1986, § 1, Part V, 12-16-86, approved, election 3-3-87; Ord. No. 21, 1993, § 1, 2-16-93, approved, election 4-6-93; Ord. No. 11, 1997, § 1, 2-4-97, approved, election 4-8-97; Ord. No. 127, 1999, § 1, 8-17-99, approved, election 11-2-99; Ord. No. 101, 2002, § 1, 8-20-02, approved, election 11-5-02; Ord. No. 004, 2015, § 1, 1-20-15, approved, election of 4-7-15)
Section 2. The referendum.
(a) Power. The registered electors of the city shall have the power at their option to approve or reject at the polls, any ordinance, or portion of ordinance, adopted by the Council, except ordinances making the annual property tax levy, making the annual appropriation, calling a special election, or ordering improvements initiated by petition and to be paid for by special assessments.
(b) Commencement of proceedings.
(1) One (1) or more registered electors may commence referendum proceedings by filing with the City Clerk within ten (10) days after final passage of the ordinance in question, a notice of protest against the going into effect of the ordinance. The notice shall be brief and need not state any reasons, but shall identify the ordinance or part thereof, or code section it proposes to have repealed.
(2) Not later than ten (10) days after the filing of the notice, the proponents shall present to the City Clerk the final form for the referendum petition conforming to the requirements of the Article.
(3) If the notice and petition form are timely presented, the City Clerk shall approve the petition form for circulation, in accordance with Section 5(b) of this Article.
(4) The petition shall be circulated, signed, verified, and filed in the manner prescribed by Section 5 of this Article.
(c) Number of signatures required. The petition must be signed by registered electors of the city equal in number to at least ten (10) percent of the total ballots cast in the last regular city election.
(d) Petition deadlines. The referendum petition shall be filed within twenty (20) days after the City Clerk's approval of the petition for circulation. If a completed petition is not subsequently filed within the requisite time after the City Clerk's approval of the petition for circulation, the referendum effort is null and void and the petition shall not be circulated further.
(e) Action by Council.
(1) The City Clerk's certification of a petition as sufficient for referendum automatically suspends the operation of the ordinance in question pending repeal by Council or final determination by the electors.
(2) The Council shall reconsider the ordinance at the next regular meeting of the Council, or at an earlier special meeting of the Council called for this purpose, following the receipt of the certification of the petition by the City Clerk, and shall adopt an ordinance to repeal the ordinance in question, or part sought to be repealed, on first reading, with second reading no later than the next regular meeting.
(3) If the ordinance, or that part sought to be repealed, is not repealed by final action on such repealing ordinance, the Council must refer the same to a vote of the registered electors at the next regular or special city election scheduled for any other purpose. Alternatively, the Council may call a special election for that specific purpose.
(Ord. No. 6, 1980, 1-16-80, approved, election 2-26-80; Ord. No. 199, 1986, § 1, Part B, § 2, 12-16-86, approved, election 3-3-87; Ord. No. 202, 1986, § 1, Part V, 12-16-86, approved, election 3-3-87; Ord. No. 11, 1997, § 1, 2-4-97, approved, election 4-8-97; Ord. No. 127, 1999, § 1, 8-17-99, approved, election 11-2-99; Ord. No. 102, 2023, § 2, 8-15-23, approved, election 11-7-23)
Section 3. Council use of initiative and referendum.
The Council may submit any question or proposed ordinance or resolution, or refer any adopted ordinance or resolution, to the vote of the people at a regular or special election in the same manner and with the same force and effect as is provided for citizen initiated and referred measures.
(Ord. No. 6, 1980, 1-16-80, approved, election 2-26-80; Res. No. 83-22, 1-18-83, approved, election 3-8-83; Ord. No. 199, 1986, § 1, Part B, § 3, 12-16-86, approved, election 3-3-87; Ord. No. 202, 1986, § 1, Part V, 12-16-86, approved, election 3-3-87; Ord. No. 11, 1997, § 1, 2-4-97, approved, election 4-8-97)
Section 4. Repeal or amendment of initiated measure.
An initiated measure submitted to the registered electors of the city by the Council, with or without a petition therefor, and adopted by electoral vote cannot be repealed or amended except by a subsequent electoral vote. This provision shall not apply to ordinances or resolutions adopted by the City Council and referred to the voters.
(Ord. No. 11, 1997, § 1, 2-4-97, approved, election 4-8-97)
Section 5. Petitions.
(a) Separate petitions required. A separate petition shall be circulated and filed for each measure sought to be initiated or referred to the vote of the electors.
(b) Form and content.
(1) Approval of form for circulation.
a. No petition shall be circulated until the City Clerk has approved the form for circulation.
b. The City Clerk shall first determine that the petition form contains only the matters required by this Article.
c. The Council shall prescribe by ordinance, upon recommendation of the City Clerk, a general form of petition which shall contain warnings and notices to signers as necessary.
d. The City Clerk's approval under this Section shall not constitute an approval of the content of the petition, but rather, shall start the running of the time periods provided for circulation and filing of petitions.
(2) Petition content.
a. The petition shall be addressed to Council.
b. An initiative petition shall contain or have attached to each section throughout its circulation the full text of the proposed ordinance or resolution and shall contain a general statement of purpose fairly and accurately summarizing the proposed ordinance or resolution, indicating that the petition is to be circulated in support of the initiated ordinance or resolution and specifying whether a special election is requested.
c. A referendum petition shall contain or have attached to each section throughout its circulation the full text of the ordinance sought to be referred, clearly identifying the protested portions if only a partial repeal is sought. In the case of bond ordinances, the full text of the ordinance need not be set forth but the petition shall contain or have attached to each section throughout its circulation the title and summary of the ordinance in question as prepared by the City Clerk.
(3) Signatures.
a. Only registered electors may sign the petitions authorized under this Article.
b. Each signer must sign his or her own signature and each signature shall be followed by the printed name of the signer, the street and number address of his or her residence, and the date of signing.
c. No person shall knowingly sign an initiative or referendum petition more than once.
d. In the event that the signature of any person appears more than once on a petition authorized under this Article, the first signature verified shall be counted and all other signatures of that person shall be rejected.
(c) Circulation of petition.
(1) The petition may be circulated and signed in sections with each section consisting of one (1) or more sheets securely fastened at the top, provided that each section contains a full and accurate copy of the text of the petition and the names and addresses of the designated representatives for the petition.
(2) All sections shall be filed as one (1) instrument.
(3) Only persons eighteen (18) years of age or older may circulate the petition for signatures.
(4) The circulation of any petition by any medium other than personally by a circulator is prohibited. No person shall receive any compensation whatever for signing an initiative or referendum petition.
(d) Affidavit of circulator.
(1) A circulator shall attach to each section of the petition circulated an affidavit signed by the circulator under oath before a notary public stating the following:
(i) the circulator's address of residence;
(ii) that the circulator is eighteen (18) years of age or older;
(iii) that he or she personally circulated the section;
(iv) that each signature was affixed in the circulator's presence;
(v) that to the best of the circulator's knowledge and belief each signer was at the time of signing a registered elector of the city;
(vi) that to the best of the circulator's knowledge and belief each signature is the genuine signature of the person whose name it purports to be;
(vii) that each signer had an opportunity before signing to read the full text of the petition; and
(viii) that the circulator has not paid or offered to pay any money or other thing of value to any signer for the purpose of inducing or causing the signer to affix his or her signature to the petition.
(2) A petition verified by the valid affidavits of its circulators in each of its sections shall be prima facie evidence that the signatures thereon are genuine and true.
(e) Time limits; petition representatives. Petitions for initiative and referendum shall be filed with the City Clerk within the requisite time limits or they will be deemed null and void. Each petition shall designate by name and address not less than three (3) nor more than five (5) registered electors who shall represent the signers of the petition in all matters affecting the petition.
(f) Sufficiency of petition.
(1) Examination. Within five (5) working days of the filing of a petition the City Clerk shall ascertain by examination of the petition and the registration books whether the petition is signed by the requisite number of registered electors and contains the required particulars and affidavits. If the petition is insufficient, the City Clerk shall so certify and forthwith notify all of the designated petition representatives in writing, specifying the particulars of insufficiency.
(2) Insufficient petition; amendment.
(i) If an initiative petition is deemed insufficient, whether following the initial determination by the City Clerk, or following protest proceedings, it may be amended by the submission of additional signatures collected after the City Clerk approved the form of the petition and within fifteen (15) days from the filing of the Clerk's certificate of insufficiency.
(A) Such signatures must be collected consistent with the requirements for collecting petition signatures as described in this Article.
(B) Within five (5) working days after such amendment, the City Clerk shall make examination of the amended petition and certify the result.
(C) If the amended petition is still insufficient, or if no amendment was made before the expiration of the time permitted for amendment, the petition shall be null and void without prejudice to the filing of a new petition for the same purpose.
(ii) If a referendum petition is deemed insufficient, it may be amended by the submission of additional signatures collected consistent with the requirements of this Article, but to be considered, any additional signatures must be submitted within the twenty-day circulation period after the City Clerk's approval of the petition form for circulation.
(A) Such signatures must be collected consistent with the requirements for collecting petition signatures as described in this Article.
(B) Within five (5) days after such amendment, the City Clerk shall make like examination of the amended petition and certify the result.
(C) If the amended petition is still insufficient, or if no amendment was made before the expiration of the time permitted for amendment, said referendum petition is null and void and a new petition may not thereafter be filed for referendum of the same ordinance.
(3) Protests.
(i) Registered electors desiring to protest a determination by the City Clerk that a petition is either sufficient or insufficient may file a written protest, under oath, in the office of the City Clerk within ten (10) days of the filing of the petition. The protest shall set forth with particularity the grounds of protest and the names and defects in form protested.
(ii) Upon the filing of a protest, the City Clerk shall set a time for hearing such protest, which shall be no more than seven (7) days thereafter.
(iii) At least five (5) days prior to the hearing, the City Clerk shall mail a copy of the protest to all of the designated petition representatives together with a notice of the time for hearing.
(iv) All hearings shall be before a hearing officer appointed by the City Manager who shall have the power to issue subpoenas to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of documents.
(v) All records and hearings shall be public, and all testimony shall be under oath.
(vi) The hearing shall be summary in nature and concluded within thirty (30) days after the petition was filed.
(vii) The hearing officer shall decide and certify the results of the hearing within ten (10) days after the hearing is concluded, and no further protest regarding the petition may be filed.
(viii)The City Clerk shall make any final determination regarding the sufficiency or insufficiency of a petition and shall base such determination on the protest hearing results certified by the hearing officer.
(ix) A petition for referendum which has been deemed insufficient after protest may not be amended or circulated further and no further protest regarding the petition may be filed.
(4) Certification and presentation to Council. When and if a petition or amended petition is deemed sufficient, whether following the sufficiency determination by the City Clerk in the absence of a protest, or following protest proceedings, the City Clerk shall so certify and then present the certified petition to the Council at the next regularly scheduled meeting or special meeting called for this purpose. The City Clerk's certificate shall then be a final determination as to the sufficiency of the petition.
(Res. No. 83-22, 1-18-83, approved, election 3-8-83; Ord. No. 199, 1986, § 1, Part B, § 4, 12-16-86, approved, election 3-3-87; Ord. No. 202, 1986, § 1, Part V, 12-16-86, approved, election 3-3-87; Ord. No. 158, 1988, 12-20-88, approved, election 3-7-89; Ord. No. 21, 1993, § 1, 2-16-93, approved, election 4-6-93; Ord. No. 11, 1997, § 1, 2-4-97, approved, election 4-8-97; Ord. No. 88, 2000, § 1, 8-15-00, approved, election 11-7-00; Ord. No. 004, 2015, § 1, 1-20-15, approved, election of 4-7-15; Ord. No. 102, 2023, § 2, 8-15-23, approved, election 11-7-23)
Section 6. Elections.
(a) Generally. Elections on initiative and referendum measures shall be conducted in the same manner as provided generally for regular or special city elections in this Charter.
(b) Ballots. Upon ordering an election on any initiative or referendum measure, the Council shall, after public hearing, adopt by resolution a ballot title and submission clause for each measure. The ballot title shall contain information identifying the measure as a city initiated or citizen initiated measure. The submission clause shall be brief, shall not conflict with those selected for any petition previously filed for the same election, and shall unambiguously state the principle of the provision sought to be added. The official ballot used when voting upon each proposed or referred measure shall have printed on it the ballot title and submission clause and shall contain the words, "Yes/For" and "No/Against" in response to each measure.
(c) Publication; notice of election.
(1) Initiative. An initiated measure being considered for adoption by Council shall be published in like manner as other proposed ordinances and resolutions. If the initiated measure is submitted to a vote of the people, the City Clerk shall publish a notice of election in conformity with the laws of the State of Colorado relating to municipal elections, together with the ballot title, submission clause and full text of the proposed ordinance or resolution. The text of a successful initiative measure need not be published in full after the election.
(2) Referendum. If the referred measure is to be submitted to a vote of the people, the City Clerk shall publish a notice of election in conformity with the laws of the State of Colorado relating to municipal elections, together with the ballot title, submission clause and full text of the referred ordinance. If the ordinance in question is a bond ordinance, the summary from the petition may be published in place of the full text. The full text of an ordinance passed on referendum need not be published after the election.
(d) Election results. If a majority of the registered electors voting on the initiated measure vote in favor, the measure is adopted as an ordinance or resolution of the city upon certification of the election results. If a majority of the registered electors voting on a referred ordinance, vote in favor of the ordinance, the ordinance shall go into effect without further publication upon certification of the election results, or at such later date as may be set forth in the ordinance itself. If the provisions of two (2) or more proposed or referred measures adopted or approved at the same election conflict, the measure receiving the highest affirmative vote shall become effective.
(e) Frequency of elections. Any number of proposed ordinances or resolutions or referred ordinances may be submitted at the same election. Not more than one (1) special election on citizen-initiated measures shall be held in any twelve (12) months. This limitation does not apply to the Council which on its own motion may at any time call a special election for the purpose of considering any measure initiated, or adopted and referred, by the Council.
(Res. No. 83-22, 1-18-83, approved, election 3-8-83; Ord. No. 199, 1986, § 1, Part B, § 5, 12-16-86, approved, election 3-3-87; Ord. No. 202, 1986, § 1, Part V, 12-16-86, approved, election 3-3-87; Ord. No. 11, 1997, § 1, 2-4-97, approved, election 4-8-97; Ord. No. 004, 2015, § 1, 1-20-15, approved, election of 4-7-15)
Section 7. Further regulations.
The Council may, by ordinance, make such further rules and regulations as are consistent with this Charter and the Colorado Constitution in order to carry out the provisions of this Article.
(Res. No. 83-22, 1-18-83, approved, election 3-8-83; Ord. No. 199, 1986, § 1, Part B, § 6, 12-16-86, approved, election 3-3-87; Ord. No. 202, 1986, § 1, Part V, 12-16-86, approved, election 3-3-87; Ord. No. 11, 1997, § 1, 2-4-97, approved, election 4-8-97)