Longmont Mayor Pro Tem Hidalgo Ferring asked the City Council on Sept. 2 to return an item to a future agenda that would revise the city's open-space disposition ordinance to explicitly say what "cannot be considered in the disposition of open space," naming "industrial, housing and private entities," she said. The council voted on the first motion and it failed.

The request grew out of public concern and recent council amendments to the open-space ordinance, Hidalgo Ferring said. City Attorney Eugene May explained the current legal test: "Provision A, disposal of open space, should be for public purpose as determined by city council. So that's the primary test, is there a public purpose?" May said during the discussion.

The council debated whether the change would interfere with ongoing negotiations tied to a pending project the staff described as a previously tabled land-exchange matter. Council member Kelsey Popkin said she supported the motion's intent but opposed acting while negotiations were underway: "I would be voting no because of the negotiations we have going on," Popkin said.

When the council took a roll-call vote on the first motion to place a revision on a future agenda, Mayor Pro Tem Hidalgo Ferring and Council member McCoy voted for it; Council members Popkin, Yarbrough, Christ and Rodriguez voted against it and the motion failed.

Hidalgo Ferring introduced a second motion directing staff to prepare ballot language for a possible future measure that would require public votes before any land exchange or disposition of open space. Council discussion focused on timing (the next general election cycles were mentioned) and whether existing negotiations should be grandfathered out. Council did not adopt that ballot-language motion on Sept. 2; Hidalgo Ferring said she could hold it for a later date after ongoing matters concluded.

What happens next: the failed motion does not change the ordinance. Council members signaled they want further information on how revisions would interact with ongoing land negotiations and how a voter measure might be timed with upcoming election cycles.