A local entitlement approval can take months and cost tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, and it usually ends with a vote by a city council or board of county commissioners. That vote is not the last step. Under Rule 106(a)(4) of the Colorado Rules of Civil Procedure, an interested party can ask a court to overturn the decision, and opponents of development projects file these cases regularly. Otten Johnson works with project proponents on both sides of that risk, before an approval is granted and after a challenge is filed.
How we help
Land use approvals with the record in mind
We assist clients with local land use approvals for a wide variety of projects. Because a court reviewing a Rule 106 case looks only at the evidence that was put before the local body, the record built during the approval process shapes what is available later.
Counseling on litigation risk
We advise clients on the risk that a project approval will be challenged and on how to prepare for that possibility, including how to posture a case before it is filed.
Representing landowners in Rule 106 cases
We represent landowners through all phases of a Rule 106 challenge, including appeal.
Why timing matters
The standard in a Rule 106 case is deferential to the local government, but these challenges sometimes succeed. Even when an approval is upheld, a trial court decision can take a year or more, and a full appeal two to three years beyond that. While the case is pending, the validity of the approval is unsettled, which can complicate financing and delay the project. That delay, more than the legal standard, is usually what a developer is managing.
