Engaging the Community on the Future of Hughes

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The City of Fort Collins has launched the selection process for its Civic Assembly on the Hughes site. 15,000 randomly selected households across Fort Collins will soon receive invitations to apply to participate in this innovative public engagement effort. The deadline to apply is March 1, 2025.

Civic Assemblies come together through an equitable and transparent process that starts with a democratic lottery. Invitations are sent to a random slice of residents, each with a unique identifier specific to that household. Residents who receive an invitation apply online to express their interest in participating.

“We’re thrilled to partner with the City of Fort Collins to bring the Civic Assembly model to this community," said Linn Davis, Program Director at Healthy Democracy. "It’s an opportunity to engage residents in a new way, foster deeper conversations and explore solutions together. We look forward to working to build a representative Assembly that reflects the diversity and spirit of the city."

A pool is created from the applicants and open-source software algorithms generate thousands of potential Assemblies (each consisting of 20 individuals) that are representative of Fort Collins’ demographics—like a microcosm of the city. A public lottery event will be held on Tuesday, March 18 to select a “winning” Assembly. The tentative Assembly members are contacted to confirm their participation, with alternates identified as backups.

“Fort Collins is committed to exploring new ways to hear from our community and ensure everyone has a voice in shaping our city's future,” said City Manager Kelly DiMartino. “This process guarantees that a range of perspectives are represented in shaping an iconic community space.”

The Civic Assembly comes together over two weekends in April and May to dive into the issues, learn about the topics at hand, review input from the community and carefully consider options. The process is thoughtfully designed to help break through polarizing issues. Results of the deliberations go to City leadership and will be reviewed by City Council in August 2025.

"This project is crucial in helping our City make informed decisions that reflect the priorities of the community.” said Mayor Jeni Arndt. “By understanding what our residents envision for the property, we can shape policies that align with the needs and desires of the people we serve. Ultimately, this process helps chart a path forward for the Hughes site that matches our community’s wishes."

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Please note that Community Guides applications have now closed.

We're offering an online survey which mirrors the questions posed in the Community Guides application. Feedback received via this survey will be shared with Civic Assembly delegates, alongside input gathered from previous engagement efforts, Community Guides and other sources, to ensure a diverse range of voices.

Take the Survey

Aided by communities of interest, City of Fort Collins staff, and others, the Civic Assembly Delegates will engage in a learning phase in which they become informed on a wide range of community perspectives and land use possibilities. Through a series of collaborative discussions, input from community members, and internal deliberation on potential uses of the Hughes site, the Assembly will analyze multiple potential uses and build agreement for a preferred, holistic vision for the site that would have broad community support. The Assembly's recommendation(s) set the stage for future decision making by the City Council.

To ensure this process is collaborative and community-driven from start to finish, residents throughout the city are invited to host conversations prior to the convening of the Civic Assembly.

This effort seeks to enlist interested parties to help:

1. Organize and conduct conversations with the community about their views on how the City of Fort Collins should use the Hughes site,

2. Learn about the types of information they think is important for delegates in the Civic Assembly to consider while they work to create recommendations for City Council, and

3. Engaging those who may not be able to participate in the Civic Assembly to ensure ensure a wide cross section of the community's voice is heard.

In-person training opportunities will be provided by CSU's Center for Public Deliberation(External link) to prepare you to host conversations with members of your community. Data from these conversations will be used to build out the information that's provided to Assembly Delegates.

In exchange for your participation, you will receive a stipend of up to $250 based on your level of involvement in the program. After you complete the training, you will receive $100. You’ll then receive $25 for each conversation you host with a single community member and between $50 and $75 each for each group conversation you host with more than one person. The complete payment schedule is provided below. We hope to complete these conversations by March 5, 2025.

Who do we hope to involve?

This program is designed to ensure residents across the local community can be part of the conversation about the Hughes site and have a voice in the information the delegates receive. If you have participated in a previous iteration of Community Guides, you are welcome to join us again. However, this program is not limited only to previous Guides.

What will you be asked to do?

Participation in the program requires an in-person training, host your own conversations, and gather data from those conversations so that we can use it to inform future work during the Civic Assembly.

1. First, click on this link to apply(External link)! Those who apply early will be given priority and can begin work now, but we will accept applications until January 22. The application is very simple and primarily asks you to provide information about your intended level of involvement. We’ll get in touch within 1 week of receiving your application to let you know if you’ve been selected.
2. Attend 2 training sessions provided by the Center for Public Deliberation. Each training session will have a morning option and an evening option. The first training on Wednesday, February 5th will orient you to the wider Civic Assembly process and provide details on hosting your conversation. You can attend either a 10am-12pm session or a 6pm- 8pm session. The second training on Wednesday February 12th will focus on specific topics that will prepare you for your conversations. You can attend either a 10am-12pm session or a 6pm-8pm session.
3. You’ll then reach out to the folks in your life who want to talk about the Hughes site. These can be people you may have already had some conversations with about this issue or people that you haven’t connected with yet. You can host one-on-one conversations or group conversations. During the conversations, we’ll ask you to collect data about the discussion. The ideas you gather will help us ensure we provide robust and community-focused information to the delegates at the Civic Assembly. In exchange for your participation, you can receive additional compensation of up to $150. Each Community Guide can earn up to $250 for completing the training and hosting conversations in their community. We hope to have all conversations completed by March 5, 2025.
   1. One-on-one conversations: During these conversations, either you or your discussion partner will fill out a paper or online survey that will be used to record the main points of your conversation. For each one-on-one conversation, you will receive $25.
   2. Small group conversations: During these conversations, we’ll ask that each participant fills out the online survey to ensure that we hear from each group member. For each group discussion with between 2-5 participants, you will receive $50. For each group discussion with between 6-10 participants, you will receive $75.
4. Provide us with feedback on your experience. After this process has ended, we’ll ask you to let us know your thoughts on the Community Guide program. You’ll be able to fill out an online survey or participate in a debrief conducted by the Center for Public Deliberation. Your ideas and insights will be integrated into our engagement efforts moving forward.

At the City Council Regular Meeting on August 20, 2024, Fort Collins City Council approved, with a 3-2 vote, the use of a Civic Assembly process to help determine future plans for the former Hughes Stadium site. Click here to view the August 20 City Council meeting agenda, minutes and video.(External link)

While new to Fort Collins, assemblies of this kind have been used elsewhere as a tool to transform public participation in decision making and help find consensus on complex issues. The Civic Assembly process gets underway in early 2025. Following an open invitation period a randomly chosen, representative group of Fort Collins residents will be selected to serve on the Assembly to inform the future of the Hughes property. The group will learn about site, hear from other residents, deliberate on options and ultimately provide a mid-year recommendation to City Council.

The City of Fort Collins has completed the purchase of the former Hughes Stadium property from Colorado State University following a citizen-initiated ballot measure passed in April 2021.

Closing occurred on June 30 with the City paying $12.5 million for the 164-acre parcel.

The 2021 ballot measure required the City to rezone the Hughes site as “Public Open Lands” and also directed the City to attempt to acquire the property at fair market value for uses including parks, recreation, open lands, natural areas, and wildlife rescue and restoration.

After voters approved the ballot measure, the Hughes property was rezoned in May 2021 and the City began efforts to acquire the land in 2022.

There are currently no plans for further use or changes to the property. The City conducted initial engagement on the future of the Hughes site in late 2022, soliciting early feedback on how the community might like to see the property used.

City staff expect to begin working with City Council in 2024 to determine next steps.

The City issued bonds in March 2023 that raised $8.5 million for the purchase, with the remaining $4 million coming from the City’s general fund and Natural Areas.

The full text of the April 2021 ballot measure is below:

“Shall the City enact an ordinance requiring the City Council of the City of Fort Collins to immediately rezone upon passage of the ordinance a 164.56-acre parcel of real property formerly home to the Hughes Stadium from the Transition District to the Public Open Lands District, and requiring the City to acquire the property at fair market value to use said property for parks, recreation, and open lands, natural areas, and wildlife rescue and restoration, and further prohibiting the City from de- annexing, ceasing acquisition efforts or subsequently rezoning the property without voter approval of a separate initiative referred to the voters by City Council, and granting legal standing to any registered elector in the City to seek injunctive and/or declaratory relief in the courts related to City noncompliance with said ordinance?”

City Council reviewed community feedback and discussed next steps on the project at a Work Session on Tuesday, March 14, 2023. Please find links to the Council Work Session materials below, including a video recording of the discussion.

• Hughes Considerations Agenda Item Summary.pdf (External link)(External link)(External link)(0.06 MB)
• Kearns and West Engagement Report.pdf (External link)(External link)(External link)(6.31 MB)
• Boards and Commissions Minutes Excerpts.pdf (External link)(External link)(External link)(6.78 MB)
• Hughes Considerations Presentation.pdf (External link)(External link)(External link)(4.60 MB)
• City Council Work Session Materials Page: March 14, 2023(External link)(External link)(External link)

Engagement Goals

In 2022, the City solicited public input into future land use scenarios for Hughes. The City held focus groups and asked for continued input on this site to supplement the feedback received from the community to date. This input was shared with City Council in the form of future land use scenarios that balance priorities and needs in early 2023.

What the City Heard

Here are the high level themes that the City heard during those engagement efforts, all of which will be considered as the City develops scenarios for potential use of the Hughes site:

• Protect the views of the foothills for the site and surrounding neighborhood.
• Create space that the community can use for recreation and enjoyment of natural space, with limited development.
• Consider environmental protections and buffers for wildlife, water, and native plant species.
• Maintain access to nearby natural areas, such as the Maxwell Natural Area.
• Increase trails and bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure.

The City appreciates community members who provided valuable input on the process so far. The City is incorporating the feedback received through past engagement and surveys (e.g., the City's recent community survey, the 2021 Parks & Recreation Master Plan(External link)(External link), and outreach conducted during prior Hughes development efforts).

Colorado State University closed Hughes Stadium after the 2016 football season and demolition of the stadium was finished in 2018.

Development proposals had been submitted for the property and due to public interest, the City developed an engagement website for the future of the site that is now archived at https://ourcity.fcgov.com/hughes_stadium_redevelopment.

In April 2021, Fort Collins voters approved a citizen-initiated ballot measure that required the City to take two actions:

1. Rezone the property as the "Public Open Lands" zone, and
2. Attempt to acquire the property from Colorado State University for uses such as "parks, recreation, and open lands, natural areas, and wildlife rescue and restoration."

City Council rezoned the property in May 2021 and closed on the property in June 2023.

In Fall 2022, the City conducted initial public engagement efforts about future uses of the property on this webpage. Two surveys about the site were offered and a recap of the results is available here.

City Council conducted a work session in March 2023 that included discussion of the Hughes site. Links to materials from that meeting as well as a recording are also available on this page.