Residents not liable for Boulder’s legal fees in flood mitigation lawsuit
Save South Boulder is appealing ruling that $66M bond passed last year to fund flood mitigation project doesn’t violate TABOR
Vehicles drive by on U.S. 36 near the Table Mesa off-ramp, near where a dam may be built as part of the South Boulder Creek Flood Mitigation project. A judge ruled on Wednesday that a group of south Boulder residents suing the city over the project aren’t on the hook for the city’s attorneys fees. (Matthew Jonas/Staff Photographer)
By James Burky | [email protected] | Daily Camera
PUBLISHED: January 22, 2026 at 7:27 PM MST | UPDATED: January 22, 2026 at 7:45 PM MST
This article has been updated to include a comment from the city of Boulder
Three south Boulder residents suing the city over a flood mitigation project are not on the hook for thousands of dollars in city legal fees, Boulder County district court judge Michael Kotlarczyk ruled on Wednesday.
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The city wanted Margaret LeCompte, Ann Harlin Savage and Steven Telleen — the case plaintiffs — to cover $46,068 in attorney fees for what it called “meritless” claims in legal filings last summer. The plaintiffs represent the group Save South Boulder.
Save South Boulder sued the city last year over the City Council’s emergency passing in March 2025 of an ordinance that approved a $66 million bond for a flood mitigation project. If the project proceeds, the bond will fund the construction of a 31-foot dam intended to prevent future flooding. Save South Boulder and its attorneys, Randall Weiner and Annmarie Cording of Weiner & Cording, argued that the bond was actually a tax, not a fee, and should have been presented to voters under Colorado’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights. Kotlarczyk tossed out the lawsuit, but Save South Boulder is appealing that ruling. The final answer brief in that appeal is due Monday, Weiner said.
“I supported the lawsuit by the Save South Boulder folks, because it provided a chance to restart this whole process and do it right,” Steve Pomerance, a former Boulder City Council member who testified on behalf of Save South Boulder on Wednesday and has been a vocal critic of the City Council’s approval of the $66 million bond, wrote in an email to the Daily Camera. “The City went after those citizens for attorney fees, and claimed that the citizens’ lawsuit was ‘frivolous.’ I found that totally offensive and pathetic.”
City of Boulder spokesperson Sarah Huntley confirmed that the city is aware of the ruling and that it will share its position in court filings.
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