SUBJECT:
Title
RTD Annexation & Election
Body
DEPARTMENT: Planning & Development
Department
PRESENTER(S): Miguel Aguilar, Senior Transportation Planner
First Name Last Name, Title
TIME ESTIMATE: 30 minutes
only required for non-consent items
POLICY ISSUES:
An election to annex into the Regional Transportation District (RTD) all parcels in Erie currently not within RTD’s jurisdiction will advance the Town’s effort to expand transit service in Erie. Annexation will address some issues and allow the entire Town to be benefit from RTD’s services and make the Town eligible for some transit grants that could be applied to Erie’s Flex Ride and other programs.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
This presentation is for discussion only at this time.
End
SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND OF SUBJECT MATTER:
The Town’s Legislative Agenda prioritizes expanding transit in Erie. An obstacle hindering this initiative is that while most parcels in the Town are in RTD’s service area, some parcels in Town are outside the RTD’s service area. This issue can be resolved by fully annexing all parcels in the Town into the RTD service area.
RTD Annexation
The Town lies on the edge of RTD’s service boundary area. The portion of Erie that lies within Boulder County is fully within the RTD district. However, the Weld County portion of Erie is not fully within the service boundary area. The areas not included in the RTD service boundary area include Old Town, Erie Highlands, and the commercial and airport development areas east of County Line Road. RTD is not allowed to provide service outside its service area and is therefore unable to fully provide transit service to the entire Town.
For the Town to take full advantage of RTD services, staff recommends the Town annex fully into RTD’s service area.
RTD’s annexation process is governed by state statutes, which provide five paths to annexation. Town staff and RTD staff reviewed and analyzed the paths to annexation and have summarized below those paths and the Town’s eligibility for each one.
Paths to Annexation
1. Annexation by Growth - This naturally occurs and since 1994 automatically annexes newly annexed Town property into RTD.
o Does not apply - the subject areas outside RTD in Erie were annexed into the Town prior to 1994.
2. Enclave - RTD may annex unincorporated property that is entirely surrounded by RTD.
o Does not apply - said areas of Erie are already incorporated into RTD.
3. Election - Election may be held if all properties to be annexed are no more than 35 acres each.
o Does apply.
4. Petition - Of properties seeking to annex into RTD, 100% of property owners must submit a petition to the RTD Board to annex into RTD,
o Does apply but would be very difficult.
5. State Representative - The local State Representative would need to introduce a bill and the State Legislature would have to pass the bill and the Governor would have to sign the bill allowing the municipality to ask municipal voters to approve the annexation question during an election.
o Deadline date passed for 2024 Legislative Session; could pursue this route in 2025 session.
Applicable Path to Annexation
After evaluating the Town’s eligibility, the best option is to hold an election with the annexation question presented to Town voters. To pursue this path, State statutes require the applicable County Commission to approve a resolution permitting the municipality to present the annexation question to voters during an election. In Erie’s case, if a resolution is approved by the Weld County Board of County Commissioners, the resolution, along with a land survey of the properties to be annexed, must be submitted to RTD’s Board of Directors for approval. RTD’s Board of Directors must approve the resolution to accept the results of the annexation question from the election.
This process has specific deadlines for the resolution. The timeframe for this path is shown below.
• April 16 - Study session with Town Council
• Late April - Study session with Weld County Commissioners about annexation
• Mid-May - Ask Weld County Board to pass a Resolution
• End May - Complete land survey
• Early June - Submit resolution to RTD Board Committee
• July 8 - Ask RTD Board to approve Resolution
• July 28 - RTD Board submits ballot questions to election official
• Nov. 5 - Election Day
What Are Voters Voting On?
As required by law, any tax increase must be approved by the voters. Erie voters in Weld County will be asked whether to annex Town properties that are currently outside of the RTD service area into the RTD service area. This will be posed to all Town voters as this initiative includes a 1% sales tax increase to all sales transactions in those currently out-of-district properties. The revenue generated by the additional 1% sales tax will then go to RTD.
The RTD sales tax of 1% is already imposed on sales transactions that occur in the Town on the Boulder County side and in the Town on the Weld County side that are in the RTD service area. This sales tax is generated in Erie and goes to RTD.
Annexation the parcels currently excluded from RTD would allow the expansion of transit including fixed-route service and access-a-ride, eliminate in-district and out-of-district confusion, expand transit grant opportunities, and allow Town residents to take advantage of parking privileges and free fare programs.
COUNCIL PRIORITY(S) ADDRESSED:
ü Prosperous Economy
ü Well-Maintained Transportation Infrastructure
ü Safe and Healthy Community
ü Effective Governance
ü Environmentally Sustainable
ATTACHMENT(S):
1. RTD Annexation & Election Process Presentation
2. Memo
3. Map of Town areas outside of RTD