Fraser is seeking to condemn the Cozens Meadow in Grand Park through a counter lawsuit and possible trial in the town’s latest effort to preserve the area under a conservation easement.

In a counterclaim filed Oct. 7 in Grand County District Court, Fraser claims Grand Park is in breach of the requirements for conservation easements laid out in its annexation agreement. Fraser argues the breach entitles the town to condemn the land and asks the court for an easement on the land.

Attorneys for Fraser and Grand Park did not respond when asked to comment.

The counterclaim comes after a legal battle with Grand Park developer Clark Lipscomb that started last year.

Lipscomb submitted a conservation easement for 17.7 acres of Elk Creek in March 2020 and declared Grand Park had met all of its easement requirements. Fraser disagreed, finding the easement null and void since it hadn’t been approved by the town attorney.

In July, the town stopped processing Grand Park entitlements in an effort to get an easement for the whole of Cozens Meadow. Lipscomb then sued Fraser over the town’s decision to stop processing entitlements, claiming it was costing him millions.

The town argues the annexation agreement and final development plan for Grand Park requires an easement on Cozens Meadow. Meanwhile, Lipscomb claims the meadow’s status as open space fulfills the development’s requirements.

In September, a judge ruled that Fraser must resume processing Grand Park entitlements but didn’t rule on the future of the meadow.

Following that hearing Fraser submitted the counterclaim seeking to condemn Cozens Meadow.

Additionally, Fraser’s lawsuit again asserts the conservation easement filed in Elk Creek Meadow is null and void and asks the court to make declaratory judgment agreeing and finding Grand Park in breach of contract.

To decide the matters, Fraser requested a jury trial.

An Oct. 27 response filing from Grand Park attorney Scott Albertson refutes Fraser’s claims, arguing the town has no entitlement to the land or relief in court. The response also asserts the Elk Creek easement is still valid.

Albertson asks the court to dismiss Fraser’s complaint.

Grand Park is still claiming Fraser owes the development for money lost while the town wasn’t processing developments, as well as seeking a judgment in their favor on the Elk Creek conservation easement.

A case management conference, which comes before a trial, has not yet been set in the case.