The Woodland Park City Council on Feb. 20 approved several ordinance actions on initial posting and took votes on permits and land-use items, including setting a public hearing for March 6 on a proposal to repeal a 1.09% portion of the city sales tax that currently supports the Woodland Park School District.

On budget items, Kimberly Burleson, the city’s budget director, presented a supplemental appropriation to cover the Avenger Open Space land acquisition. Burleson said the appropriation will be reimbursed through a 2024 Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) grant and referenced a grant amount of $5,232,250; the council approved the ordinance on first reading unanimously.

Separately, the council approved on first reading an appropriation to let the Downtown Development Authority disperse up to 30 grants of up to $5,000 each — a total program cap of up to $150,000 — to local businesses for beautification and viability projects, with grant awards to be considered at the DDA’s May 2025 meeting. That ordinance passed on initial posting unanimously.

On the city’s most high-profile action of the night, the council approved initial posting — as amended — of ordinance 14‑92, which would repeal the 1.09% portion of the city sales tax that was first levied for the Woodland Park School District in 2016 and reauthorized by city voters on Nov. 5, 2024. The amended language read in council sets the repeal to be effective July 1, 2025, and states the change would reduce the subparagraph tax rate to 3% on that date. Council members voted 5-2 to approve the ordinance on initial posting and to set a public hearing for March 6, 2025, at 6:30 p.m.

The council also approved a special-event liquor license for the Kiwanis Club’s 2025 “Taste of the Grape.” The event was moved from the Cultural Center to the Shining Mountain Event Center at 100 Shining Mountain Lane because the Cultural Center is undergoing upgrades; the event is scheduled for Feb. 28 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The clerk’s office reported the application was complete and met posting and notice requirements; the council approved the license unanimously.

On land-use business, the council approved ordinance 14‑91 on second reading to vacate the lot line and abutting public utility easements between Lot 17 and Lot 18, Block 2, Sunnywood Manor Filing No. 5. Planning staff said Lot 18 is developed and Lot 17 is vacant; the parcels measure about 0.90 acres and 1.05 acres respectively and would become a contiguous lot of roughly 1.95 acres. Staff reported no adverse impacts to utilities or emergency access; the ordinance passed unanimously.

On the consent calendar, the council approved minutes from the Feb. 6, 2025 regular meeting by unanimous vote. Council also agreed by consensus to pull items 5b and 5c from the consent calendar and reschedule them for the March 6 meeting; councilmembers discussed scheduling a short remote meeting the week after to approve a time‑sensitive contract related to the Ute Pass Cultural Center.

Other procedural items announced at the meeting included upcoming charter review committee dates and schedule notes for staff: the Charter Review Committee was given a March 12 meeting date; a planning commission work session on a proposed natural-medicine ordinance was scheduled for Feb. 27 with a planning commission public hearing on March 13 and a potential city council public hearing on April 17.

Below is a condensed “Votes at a glance” summary of the formal actions recorded during the Feb. 20 meeting.