Federal court rules in favor of city in District Flats lawsuit

A federal appeals court said the city did not violate Columbians First and Fourteenth Amendment rights when it allowed a student apartment developer to build downtown.

A three-judge panel of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals decided the city abided by its charter in issuing permits for Opus Development to build the District Flats complex downtown. Residents sued after filing two petitions to repeal two agreements the Columbia City Council had made with Opus, which the city council did in 2014.

The court wrote that while all actions must be “suspended” when a referendum petition is certified by the city clerk, the same does not apply to the issuance of building permits or resolutions. That includes a July 7 resolution to close sidewalks and lanes around the Locust Street site.

Residents, including the lawsuit petitioners Michael MacMann and Betty Wilson, submitted its referendum nearly three weeks after the city council approved the first plan in March 2014. The residents argued the second development deal was a “scheme” for the city to deny residents their rights to oppose it, since they had to gather enough valid signatures a second time.