Editor’s note: This story has been edited to clarify the easement is regarding Cozens Meadow open space.

The battle over private property rights, development and protecting open space reached a flashpoint at Grand County District Court this August.

The town of Fraser and Grand Park developer, Clark Lipscomb, appeared in court Aug. 5-15 for litigation brought by the plaintiff, which is Grand Park and its development entities. The two sides are embroiled in a legal battle over the conservation of Cozens Meadow in Fraser. According to Grand Park, an easement for the approximately 467-acres of open space in the development isn’t legally required. The town disagrees.

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Grand County District Court Judge Mary Hoak has not yet made a ruling in this public bench trial. The trial will resume Sept. 20, and more witnesses will be brought forward.

In his opening arguments Aug. 5, Fraser’s attorney Kent Whitmer characterized Lipscomb as a developer motivated by profit. Whitmer stated that Lipscomb’s various reasons for why the easement isn’t legally valid have “changed like the wind.”

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This current litigation began in 2021, when Grand Park sued the town for stalling its development process. The town paused entitlements, such as building permits. According to the town, it took this action because the developer had breached the promise of the easement.

Judge Hoak ruled the town had to resume entitlements that year. But the question of the easement remained in court, which continued this August.

The developer’s attorneys, Lawrence Katz and Scott Alberston, have argued that the town missed numerous opportunities for nearly two decades to ensure the developer upheld a 2003 agreement to place the meadow in a conservation easement. The attorneys questioned why these opportunities were missed if the easement was a binding requirement.

Grand Park amended its development plans in a 2005, which the plaintiff argues does not include a specific plan for a conservation easement.

At the trial, Katz argued that the town staff could have potentially sued the developer if they knew he was required to fulfill the easement, but no such lawsuit was brought forth.

Over the past two decades, a number of Fraser residents expressed their belief that the meadow should be a protected natural area, for the benefit of the environment and people. This includes former mayor Peggy Smith, who is now a trustee.

In previous discussions with the town on July 24, Lipscomb stated that he has an idea of what “facilities will be” in the meadow, but that it will remain majority open space — “mostly green.”

At the trial’s conclusion, expected in late September, the judge will rule whether the Grand Park is required to place Cozens Meadow into a conservation easement.

Sky-Hi News will continue to provide coverage of the ongoing litigation.