Sentinel NORTHGLENN 2.28.13
Northglenn -Thornton
February 28, 2013
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A Colorado Community Media Publication
ournorthglennnews.com, ourthorntonnews.com
Adams County, Colorado • Volume 49, Issue 29
NO ESCAPE
Adco fee change at odds Unincorporated property owners starting campaign to push for repeal By Darin Moriki
dmoriki@ourcoloradonews.com
Horizon senior David Chitwood, top, wrestles Ponderosa junior Dylan Gabel Feb. 23 in the state finals at the Pepsi Center. Chitwood took second place in the 5A 170-pound weight class. Photo by Courtney Kuhlen
Diners welcome points of view Restaurant reopens on Brittany Hill By Darin Moriki
dmoriki@ourcoloradonews. com
G
ene Rice stills remember the first time she walked into Brittany Hill nearly 26 years ago when she worked as a waitress for Anaheim, Calif.-based Specialty Restaurants Corporation. The Superior resident said she was shuffled between several now-defunct restaurants owned by the restaurant group, including 94th Aero Squadron and Baby Doe’s, but said her time spent at Brittany Hill was the most memorable. “Look at the amazing views here,” Smith said as she gazed outside a south-facing ballroom window that provided a sweeping view of the Denvermetro area. “Isn’t this the most amazing view? It’s so incredible.” After several failed attempts to open the restaurant over the
past few years, Rice and some of the nearly 850 people who braved snowy weather conditions and freezing temperatures to attend the restaurant’s Feb. 21 grand opening said they are glad the hilltop restaurant is back in business. “Everybody who came here is so enthused to finally see that we’re open,” Byerly said at the restaurant’s grand opening event. “Promises were made every year that Brittany Hill was going to open, but we finally were able to get it open by the grace of God. Everyone that has stopped by has been so complimentary.” First-time Brittany Hill visitor Janet Miller of unincorporated Adams County said she first moved to Colorado in 2004 but did not get a chance to stop by the restaurant before Specialty Restaurants Corporation shuttered the restaurant three years later in 2007. “I’m glad they put it to use,” Miller said. “It’s this beautiful
POSTAL ADDRESS
Stephanie Fernandez, an independent representative of Miche, organizes handbags at her display table during the grand opening of the Brittany Hill event center Thursday, Feb. 21, in Thornton. Photo by Andy Carpenean location with gorgeous views that was just sitting empty on a hill. I kept thinking, `If I win the lottery, I’m going to open some kind of something up there just for the view.’” Thornton Ward 3 City Councilmember Beth Humenik, who attended the event, said the renovations and restorations done inside the restaurant exudes a nostalgic charm that reminds her of the first time she came to Brittany Hill nearly two decades ago. “This is a venue that we’ve needed that we’ve haven’t had for a long time,” Humenik said.
“I really like the fact that we have a premier view of the entire metro-area south of Denver, and that was always really great. This is a signature location for our city and it’s visible from the highway, so it’s really important that they’ve done all this work.” In spite of the several hiccups over the years that prevented the Brittany Hill from reopening, Humenik said she is confident that the Crystal Rose will be a successful steward of the property that was once considered to be a prime location for an apartment building.
NORTHGLENN-THORNTON SENTINEL
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Unincorporated Adams County residents angry over newly implemented stormwater utility fees made their voices heard during a Monday community meeting, where many in the standing-room-only crowd called for the fee’s repeal and said they are willing to fight the charges in court. The meeting — held at the Werth Manor Event Center in Commerce City and hosted by the Stop Stormwater Utility Tax group — attracted nearly 400 residents and property owners who allege the newly implemented fees are taxes that should be subject to voter approval. “In my opinion, they (Adams County officials) poorly notified the public in their efforts to sell it to us,” Former Adams County Commissioner candidate Gary Mikes said to the crowd. “This is something that’s being forced upon us.” The stormwater utility fee, which was approved by the Board of County Commissioners during their Sept. 19 public meeting, allows for an annual allocation of $5.1 million “to plan, construct, acquire, operate, and maintain flood control facilities as well as to manage stormwater quality” in line with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency unfunded mandates and regulatory requirements. In all, the stormwater utility fee affects about 27,000 unincorporated Adams County residents. The group is currently sending out a mass petition calling on the three sitting county commissioners to repeal the fee, but Mikes said he and other group members are working on a plan to file a lawsuit against the county. Denver Attorney Sean Gallagher, who is working on behalf of the group, said the fee may violate the state Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR), which requires voter approval on state and local government tax rate increases. “Those of us who have watched the erosion of the TABOR amendment over the years are concerned by recent (Colorado) Supreme Court decisions that have allowed local governments to simply go around TABOR by claiming anything is a fee,” Gallagher said. “Adams County has tried to do that in this situation by claiming this stormwater tax is a fee and my concern is not just about the fee or tax in this case but the precedent that this kind of conduct says. If you don’t limit it here at stormwater, where is the limit? Why can’t Adams County impose fees for police or fire protection or
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Stromwater continues on Page 20
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