The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals this week affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit against the city of Aspen that challenged its zoning laws concerning a parcel of commercial space with locally serving businesses.
The three-judge panel delivered its 31-page ruling Tuesday, upholding Chief U.S. District Court Judge Philip Brimmer’s March 2020 dismissal of the suit levied by North Mill Street LLC, a Mark Hunt-controlled limited liability company that owns Mill Street Plaza.
Like Brimmer, the panel concluded the LLC’s suit wasn’t “ripe” for litigation because Hunt, a developer with multiple commercial properties peppered through downtown Aspen, didn’t exhaust the city’s land-use approval process by seeking a planned development review. The LLC, however, unsuccessfully tried to rezone the property so free-market apartments could be built at the plaza, which is located across Puppy Smith Street from the Clark’s Market shopping center.