(Update from City Attorney Mark Morgan)
Durango, CO: **Local developer Charles Shaw filed suit against the city, claiming ballot language requires the city to convert the non-historic “Big Picture” building into a police station despite the ballot measure only specifically requiring the renovation of the 1916 Historic High School into a new city hall.
The city’s opening statement, by construction law expert Chris LeMeiux, explained the city’s plans always included the renovation of the 1916 High School Building into a new city hall; however, the Colorado Supreme Court and the United States Supreme Court give the city the flexibility to remove or restore the Big Picture building to meet the ballot requirement to provide a new police department.
Shaw called seven witnesses to establish that an early conceptual design by Architect Tracy Reynolds showed restoration of both buildings and was made public prior to the ballot measure in 2025. Shaw witnesses testified that the original request for proposals by architects after the ballot measure included renovation of both buildings. Shaw’s witnesses established that current budget-restricted construction design for the campus calls for removal of the Big Picture Building and a new purpose-built police department. The city offered to stipulate to these facts, but Shaw refused to accept the stipulation. The city presented evidence that between 2020 and 2025, Shaw was actively seeking to reserve the Big Picture Building for private development.
The bombshell revelation of the trial occurred when, under cross-examination of Reynolds (a Shaw witness), a videotape was played where Reynolds recommended the demolition of the Big Picture Building that Shaw was suing to prevent. It was also revealed that Reynolds sits on the Durango Historic Preservation Board, which unanimously approved the removal of the Big Picture building in favor of restoring the prominence of the 1916 High School building on the campus.
The city called three witnesses, including the architects contracted to complete the project. Testimony established that a purpose-built police department behind the renovated High School is the best design for the civic campus. The plan restores the 1916 High School’s prominence at the center of the campus, improves connectivity to Buckley Park, provides the most on-campus parking, transforms the streetscape on 13th Street from a service corridor into a welcoming entrance to a new police department, creates the best security for police operations, and avoids the hidden costs of renovating a building to Risk Category IV required in a police department.
The city wrapped up its case with evidence of the extensive community engagement on the campus design and new purpose-built police facility. Assistant City Manager Erin Hyder testified there was a vocal minority led by Mr. Shaw that opposed the removal of the Big Picture building; however, the vast majority of the Durango residents who participated in more than a dozen public meetings favored a new purpose-built police facility behind a new city hall in the renovated historic high school.
Shaw’s lawsuit and the litany of misinformation put out through his “GoFundMe” campaign in support of the lawsuit caused a great deal of confusion in the community. Voters authorized $61 million to provide a new city hall and a new police department. The ballot language specifically requires the city to renovate the old high school into a new city hall and put a new police department on the same campus, and that is exactly what the city is doing. The Supreme Court gives the city the flexibility to build an all-new purpose-built police department instead of renovating an inferior structure that was never intended to serve the needs of our police department.
District Court Judge Kim Shropshire declined to grant the injunctive relief sought by Shaw for a second time, allowing the city to proceed with work until she makes a final ruling in two to three weeks.
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Media Contact**Tom SluisPublic Information Officer Phone: (970) 375-5090Email: Tom Sluis