It appears the city of Aspen and the Aspen-Pitkin Housing Authority will not accept a $380,000 offer to settle an affordable-housing lawsuit.
The city and APCHA are suing Larry and Mara Lawrence of La Jolla, Calif., for failing to abide by a deed restriction on their property at 985 King St. that requires them to house a medium-to-low-income local worker in a unit attached to their home. The space is reportedly being used as an entertainment center.
Aspen City Council, along with APCHA Director Tom McCabe and City Attorney John Worcester, went into executive session on Tuesday to discuss a settlement offer related to the litigation. The Aspen Times reported two weeks ago that the Lawrences, through attorney Herb Klein, were offering the city a $380,000 payment to settle the lawsuit.
Worcester and Aspen Mayor Mick Ireland would not say whether the settlement offer had been accepted, citing the sensitivity of information related to ongoing litigation, but both men appeared to suggest that the city would not entertain such an offer.
“You can make an educated guess,” Ireland said.
Worcester said that if the settlement offer were accepted, it would be reflected in the court file within “a day or two.” As of late in the day Thursday, nothing in the court file indicated that a settlement had been reached.
Prior to the settlement offer, District Judge Denise Lynch denied the Lawrences’ motion to dismiss the lawsuit. The Lawrences argue that a state statute against rent control and a Colorado Supreme Court decision in what’s known as “the Telluride Case” render the deed restriction invalid. Despite the initial setback of failing to have the suit thrown out, Klein said at the time that he planned to press on with the case. He could not be reached for comment Thursday.
City officials cite Judge Lynch’s opinion as a major victory. In the written opinion, Lynch said that because the deed restriction was entered into voluntarily by the developers in the approval process for the Astor subdivision, where the property is located, the anti-rent control statutes do not apply. She also pointed out that the 1980 date of the subdivision agreement predates Colorado’s anti-rent control statute by one year.
The Lawrences bought their property in 1996 for $1.8 million. The housing authority filed suit in 2007 when they discovered that the unit intended for a local worker was being used for an entertainment center.
curtis@aspendailynews.com
