Witcher v. Canon City

The major feature of a park in the City of Canon (the city) (defendant) was the Royal Gorge Canyon. In 1929, the city leased a portion of the park to a private company for 20 years, and in return, the company agreed to build a suspension bridge across the canyon. At the end of the lease term, the city would have the option to (1) buy the bridge or (2) extend the lease for a second 20-year term and own the bridge at the end of the extended term. In 1947, the Royal Gorge Company of Colorado (the company) assumed the lease. In 1949, voters decided in a city election that the city should not purchase the bridge. The lease was therefore extended. Prior to 1967, another election revealed that voters did not want the city to operate the bridge directly. The city accordingly entered a lease with the company for the company to operate and maintain the bridge (the 1967 lease). The 1967 lease was subsequently amended seven times without voter approval, and the lease was not set to expire until October 31, 2001. In 1983, the city and the company agreed to an eighth lease amendment, under which the company would modernize the bridge and, in exchange, the city would allow the company to collect a greater amount of toll-bridge and concession fees until the company recouped 62 percent of its construction costs. Through the modernization, the bridge’s useful life would be extended for at least 50 years. The city council determined that the eighth amendment was not subject to referendum. Several city residents (plaintiffs) sued the city, arguing that referendum was available. The trial court ruled in the city’s favor, finding that the eighth lease amendment was not legislative in nature. The residents appealed.