The history of the Jefferson Parkway is long and fraught. (Daniel Brenner/Special to The Denver Post)
A judge in Golden has thrown out a lawsuit that Jefferson County and Arvada filed against Broomfield over the latter’s refusal to help build a $250 million highway.
Last week’s ruling — another hiccup in the project’s long and fruitless history — will not end the dispute between the local governments, according to attorneys for all sides.
In 2008, Jefferson County, Arvada and Broomfield all agreed to build the Jefferson Parkway: a four-lane toll road connecting Highway 128 in Broomfield near the Interlocken Loop with Highway 93 about 10 miles southwest of there in Golden. But that hasn’t happened.
Instead, in early 2020, Broomfield voted to leave the tri-government partnership after plutonium was found to be in the proposed path of the highway. Then, in 2022, Jefferson County and Arvada sued Broomfield for allegedly breaching their contract by leaving.
“Broomfield’s actions throw the future of the Jefferson Parkway into disarray,” they wrote.
Broomfield asked that the lawsuit be thrown out a few months later. It said it was within its rights to back out of a project that would kick up plutonium and it questioned the viability of the Jefferson Parkway after an economic downturn and complaints from residents.
The case then sat idle for just over a year while all three sides awaited a ruling on Broomfield’s motion to dismiss. Finally, on Nov. 2, District Court Judge Lindsay VanGilder sided with Broomfield and tossed out the case on procedural grounds.
Because the Jefferson Parkway Public Highway Authority — the body that Arvada, Jefferson County and Broomfield formed — hasn’t formally voted on Broomfield’s attempt to leave the JPPHA, Broomfield can’t be sued for leaving the JPPHA, the judge determined.
The four-lane Jefferson Parkway would connect Highway 128 in Broomfield with Highway 93 in Golden. (Courtesy of the Jefferson Parkway Public Highway Authority)
“Broomfield is pleased with the court’s decision to dismiss the lawsuit,” Nancy Rodgers, its city and county attorney, said in an email Wednesday. “…Broomfield also recognizes that the underlying dispute continues and it is committed to working on an amicable resolution that will allow Broomfield to leave the JPPHA upon reasonable terms.”
In a joint statement, attorneys for Arvada and Jefferson County agreed that VanGilder’s decision “is not the end of this issue” and “would not prohibit the lawsuit from being refiled.”
“We are hopeful the parties can reach a resolution outside of litigation,” the statement said. It noted that “the parties have been in settlement negotiations for quite some time.”
A chairman and director of the JPPHA could not be reached to discuss next steps. The board has met three times this year and plans to meet again next month.
Arvada taxpayers have contributed $6.9 million to the Jefferson Parkway, Jefferson County has given $6.3 million and Broomfield $3.5 million, according to court documents. The plan is for that money and more to be recouped via tolls, if the highway is built.
While Arvada has been supportive of the Jefferson Parkway project for many years, that could soon change. Councilwoman Lauren Simpson, a critic who said last month that she doesn’t see “a logical path forward” for the parkway, was elected mayor on Tuesday.
The history of the Jefferson Parkway is long and fraught. (Daniel Brenner/Special to The Denver Post)
A judge in Golden has thrown out a lawsuit that Jefferson County and Arvada filed against Broomfield over the latter’s refusal to help build a $250 million highway.
Last week’s ruling — another hiccup in the project’s long and fruitless history — will not end the dispute between the local governments, according to attorneys for all sides.
In 2008, Jefferson County, Arvada and Broomfield all agreed to build the Jefferson Parkway: a four-lane toll road connecting Highway 128 in Broomfield near the Interlocken Loop with Highway 93 about 10 miles southwest of there in Golden. But that hasn’t happened.
Instead, in early 2020, Broomfield voted to leave the tri-government partnership after plutonium was found to be in the proposed path of the highway. Then, in 2022, Jefferson County and Arvada sued Broomfield for allegedly breaching their contract by leaving.
“Broomfield’s actions throw the future of the Jefferson Parkway into disarray,” they wrote.
Broomfield asked that the lawsuit be thrown out a few months later. It said it was within its rights to back out of a project that would kick up plutonium and it questioned the viability of the Jefferson Parkway after an economic downturn and complaints from residents.
The case then sat idle for just over a year while all three sides awaited a ruling on Broomfield’s motion to dismiss. Finally, on Nov. 2, District Court Judge Lindsay VanGilder sided with Broomfield and tossed out the case on procedural grounds.
Because the Jefferson Parkway Public Highway Authority — the body that Arvada, Jefferson County and Broomfield formed — hasn’t formally voted on Broomfield’s attempt to leave the JPPHA, Broomfield can’t be sued for leaving the JPPHA, the judge determined.
The four-lane Jefferson Parkway would connect Highway 128 in Broomfield with Highway 93 in Golden. (Courtesy of the Jefferson Parkway Public Highway Authority)
“Broomfield is pleased with the court’s decision to dismiss the lawsuit,” Nancy Rodgers, its city and county attorney, said in an email Wednesday. “…Broomfield also recognizes that the underlying dispute continues and it is committed to working on an amicable resolution that will allow Broomfield to leave the JPPHA upon reasonable terms.”
In a joint statement, attorneys for Arvada and Jefferson County agreed that VanGilder’s decision “is not the end of this issue” and “would not prohibit the lawsuit from being refiled.”
“We are hopeful the parties can reach a resolution outside of litigation,” the statement said. It noted that “the parties have been in settlement negotiations for quite some time.”
A chairman and director of the JPPHA could not be reached to discuss next steps. The board has met three times this year and plans to meet again next month.
Arvada taxpayers have contributed $6.9 million to the Jefferson Parkway, Jefferson County has given $6.3 million and Broomfield $3.5 million, according to court documents. The plan is for that money and more to be recouped via tolls, if the highway is built.
While Arvada has been supportive of the Jefferson Parkway project for many years, that could soon change. Councilwoman Lauren Simpson, a critic who said last month that she doesn’t see “a logical path forward” for the parkway, was elected mayor on Tuesday.
