Asks Salida voters whether to approve Ordinance No. 2026-09, the city's zoning of the 5-H LLC property as R-2.
City of Salida
Kim's Recommendation
YES
Vote Yes on the City of Salida's 5-H LLC R-2 Zoning question
After the neighbors' petition ended the R3 zoning, the owners asked for R2, a medium-density district. In the amended annexation agreement the council approved on March 3, they also asked to lower the maximum number of units from 96 to 72.
I support property owners' right to use their land as long as they receive no government subsidies, special treatment, or other manipulations of a free and fair market. These owners accepted a lower density and a lower unit cap, and the council reconsidered the zoning and declined to repeal it. A second referendum should not deny them the medium-density zoning the Planning Commission recommended and the council adopted without a dissenting vote. The details of the plan belong in the Planning Commission's review of a land use application.
I recommend a yes vote on the City of Salida's 5-H LLC R-2 Zoning question.
Kim Monson
Host, The Kim Monson Show · President, Colorado Union of Taxpayers · Colorado Voter's Guide 2026
Certified ballot question
Shall Ordinance No. 2026-09, concerning the zoning of the 5-H LLC Property, be approved?
A yes vote means
Ordinance No. 2026-09 would be approved and would take effect when the county clerk certifies a majority yes vote, zoning the 5-H LLC property as R-2 Medium-Density Residential.
A no vote means
Ordinance No. 2026-09 would not be approved, and the R-2 zoning it sets would not take effect.
Medium-Density Zoning for One Tract01
The ballot question reads: "Shall Ordinance No. 2026-09, concerning the zoning of the 5-H LLC Property, be approved?" The ordinance zones a 15.06-acre tract known as the 5-H LLC Annexation as R2 Medium-Density Residential. The land lies east of Spruce Street and north of West Ouray Avenue.
A yes vote approves the ordinance: under Emergency Ordinance 2026-14, Ordinance 2026-09 takes effect when the county clerk certifies a majority yes vote. The referendum petition suspended the ordinance, so a no vote keeps it from taking effect. City staff put Salida's share of the election cost at approximately $5,000.00.
The Zoning History Since Annexation02
The City Council annexed the property by Ordinance 2025-14. The council first zoned it R3 High-Density Residential in Ordinance 2025-15. Neighbors filed a referendum petition that the city clerk found sufficient with 414 valid signatures, and the council repealed that zoning. The owners then applied for the less intensive R2 district.
The Planning Commission recommended R2 on January 26, 2026, and the council adopted Ordinance 2026-09 6-0 on March 3. Opponents of the project filed a second referendum petition on April 16, and the city clerk found that it contained the required number of valid signatures. On May 19 a motion on Emergency Ordinance 2026-13, which would have repealed the zoning, died for lack of a second. The council then adopted Emergency Ordinance 2026-14 with all six members voting yes, sending the question to the November 3 ballot.
A Unit Cap in the Agreement03
On March 3 the council also approved Resolution 2026-09, an amended annexation agreement with 5-H LLC. As Ark Valley Voice reported, the owners asked in its terms to reduce the maximum number of units from 96 to 72, to adhere generally to the concept plan and to meet the inclusionary housing requirements in effect at the time of the application.
City Development Director Bill Almquist told the council that no land use application is pending for the parcel, and that once one is submitted the Planning Commission will review it and recommend accepting or modifying it. At the March 3 hearing, neighbor Denise Wentz raised concerns about water, sewer and road traffic.
The source is a City of Salida emergency ordinance, Ordinance No. 14 (Series of 2026), that calls a November 3, 2026 special election to consider a referendum on Ordinance 2026-09, which approved R-2 zoning for the 5-H LLC property.
The source is a City of Salida May 19, 2026 council agenda packet containing Emergency Ordinance 2026-14 calling a November 3, 2026 special election on a referendum to Ordinance 2026-09, which approved R-2 zoning for the 5-H LLC property.
The source is a March 7, 2026 Ark Valley Voice news report describing Salida City Council’s March 3, 2026 approval of R2 medium-density zoning and an amended annexation for the 5-H LLC property, and noting that abutters had used a referendum to repeal the earlier R3 zoning.
The source is a May 21, 2026 Ark Valley Voice news report stating that Salida City Council approved a ballot title and question on the 5-H LLC R-2 zoning referendum for the November 3, 2026 election.
The 2026 election is over. Requests for personalized guides closed on November 3, 2026. The full guide remains available to read.
