Colorado election 2025: Littleton charter amendment would lock in historic zoning rules

Littleton voters in November will decide whether the city’s land-use code should be frozen as it was at the beginning of the year, essentially locking single-family zoning into place and preventing higher density neighborhoods.

Ballot Question 3A would amend the city charter by preserving single-family zoning as it existed on Jan. 1 and require voter approval for any city-initiated rezoning in residential districts.

The charter amendment was put on the ballot through a petition by a citizen-led group called Rooted in Littleton. Earlier this year, the group helped lead the effort to pressure the Littleton City Council to table an ordinance that allowed denser housing options, such as duplexes, in many parts of the city.

“The only way we could think to stop (land use changes), at least for a couple of years, was to get an amendment on the charter so they can’t change it,” Joe Whitney, part of Rooted in Littleton, said on the Kim Monson Show earlier this month.

Supporters of 3A argue that freezing the zoning code would help preserve the town’s “unique character, yards, trees, and open spaces,” according to the Yes on 3A website.

“It comes down to individual home rights,” Whitney said on Monson’s show. “In our particular case, all of us moved to Littleton because we wanted to get away from the crime, traffic and pressures of downtown to have a more idyllic setting to raise kids and to live. This threatens to make Littleton an extension of downtown, to really densify and double or maybe triple the population of Littleton.”

Littleton is a home rule city of about 45,000 residents in the southwest part of metro Denver.

3A would not prevent homeowners from applying for different zoning on their own.

The proposed charter amendment comes in the wake of various land use reforms at the state level meant to allow denser development and spur construction of more attainable housing amid the state’s housing shortage. Those reforms include laws allowing more housing near public transit corridors, reducing parking minimums for new developments and allowing accessory dwelling units to be built in single-family zoning in the state’s biggest cities, including Littleton.

Cities that do not comply with those state laws around growth are at risk of losing out on state funding and grants. Littleton City Attorney Reid Betzing said during a recent City Council meeting that 3A could create a potential conflict with Littleton’s ADU ordinance, which was updated earlier this year to comply with state law.

City Council opposition

Opponents of 3A, led by the group Vibrant Littleton, say it would restrict future housing options and limit who can move to the city.

“Most voters understand that 3A is a reaction to proposed housing policy. But here’s the hidden danger: 3A affects far more than housing. It could lock in outdated restrictions on everything from energy efficiency upgrades, in-home care uses, or even changes in the kinds of pets we’re allowed to have,” a post on Vibrant Littleton’s website says. “It is a direct attack on smart, local, flexible governance, and a bad idea for Littleton homeowners of all stripes.”

The Littleton City Council voted 5-1 on Oct. 7 to oppose the ballot measure.

“Land use does not belong in the charter. Look at the charter — land use and zoning aren’t in it,” Mayor Kyle Schlachter said during the meeting. “Second, it’s ambiguous … and ambiguous legislative language leads to lawsuits.”

“When the state says that we have to allow ADUs, but our charter and code conflict with that, that’s a problem,” he said.

The city asked an Arapahoe County judge to review the ballot measure last month but dropped the judicial review Monday.

Election Day is Nov. 4. Eligible Coloradans can register to vote or update their registration at GoVoteColorado.com. Any eligible voter who registers to vote by Oct. 27 will receive a ballot in the mail. After Oct. 27, eligible voters can still register and vote in person at a polling location until 7 p.m. on Election Day.

Voters who receive a mail ballot can return it through the mail, deposit it in a secure ballot drop box, or drop it off at an in-person polling location. County clerks in Colorado’s 64 counties oversee elections in their jurisdictions, and information about ballot drop box and in-person service locations is available at local county clerks’ websites.