Fort Collins man sues city over approval of Campus West student housing project

A Fort Collins man has filed a complaint in Larimer County District Court hoping to stop a 402-bedroom student-housing project on West Elizabeth Street.

Rory Heath, acting on his own behalf and other unnamed parties, filed the complaint in mid-March after the Fort Collins City Council denied his appeal of the planning and zoning board's unanimous approval of Union on Elizabeth in December.

Heath's complaint states City Council acted "arbitrarily and capriciously" when it denied the appeal. He is seeking a judicial review of council's actions.

City Council "did not follow its own established procedures" outlined in its municipal code and in doing so exceeded its jurisdiction, abused its discretion and did not adhere to its own land use code, according to the complaint. Heath is asking the court to reverse council's decision.

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Heath declined further comment beyond what the Coloradoan could learn from court documents.

The complaint does not mention the developer EdR of Memphis, Tennessee, or local partner Dino DiTullio, who bought the property just west of the intersection of West Elizabeth and Shields streets for $6 million last year.

The City Attorney's Office has filed a motion to dismiss the complaint because it does not mention the developer, who is considered an "indispensable party," City Attorney Carrie Daggett said.

In the meantime, the developer has cleared the site — which included St. Paul's Episcopal Church and the adjacent shops that included Panhandler's Pizza, Butters and Village Vidiot — and is putting in the infrastructure for the new complex.

Site work will continue for a couple months before the five-story building begins coming out of the ground.

The project includes 107 units with 402 bedrooms and a parking garage, rooftop pool and nearly 4,000 square feet of retail space.

"We are pressing forward," DiTullio said. "He didn't even name us in the lawsuit so we are moving forward. It's been a long haul."

Developers are moving forward "at their own risk" while the challenge is pending, Daggett said. The city's decision "is subject to review right now and sometimes developers are comfortable moving forward and sometimes they're not."

If Heath were to win in court, it could "create some issues" for the developer, she said.

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