Read about this decision:
At 11:44pm last night, Judge Gunning in Boulder District Court issued his order denying, in relevant part, the County’s motion to dismiss. He found that Plaintiffs alleged sufficient harm from the termination of the conservation to demonstrate standing because they lived “adjacent to or near” the proposed development, and that they had sufficiently alleged financial and aesthetic harms (he even referenced the alleged spiritual harm) associated with the proposed development. He rejected the County’s argument that such harms were too remote and speculative where Longmont still needed to approve the development in the future. And he agreed that the decision was quasi-judicial even though the termination procedure wasn’t set forth in the County’s code or regulations because the “process actually employed by the County is consistent with quasi-judicial actions.” He then cited most of the cases we brought to his attention.
This was a significant first step in our lawsuit. Since the Somerset Village land use process is on hold in Longmont until this matter is resolved, the clients are elated with the additional attention their concerns will receive before the development can proceed.