Stoney, through the city attorney’s office, argued that releasing some of the records related to NH District Corp., a private group that wants to do the development, would adversely affect the city’s bargaining position. Goldman said the city didn’t have any evidence to make that case, though.

The city wanted to charge Goldman more than $2,000 for a second FOIA request, even though it had charged the Richmond Times-Dispatch much less for the same records. State law allows government agencies to charge for the costs of responding to a FOIA request, including the time it takes for attorneys to review and redact records, even though those attorneys are already paid with public dollars.

Goldman ended up paying $250 for his FOIA requests. He said he’s close to gathering enough signatures to put the redevelopment plan on the ballot for voters to decide this November.

“I want to give people a chance to vote on the Coliseum project,” he said. “It will give people a chance essentially to say that they don’t want to do this kind of financing.”