Recreational marijuana is sold at High Country Healing in Silverthorne on Jan. 1. (Kathryn Scott Osler, Denver Post file)

Colorado voters approve, reject local pot sales ballot measures

Voters said yes to retail pot sales in Englewood and Palisade but no in Federal Heights, Del Norte, Palmer Lake and four other Colorado towns and cities on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Denver’s measure to permit limited cannabis consumption inside certain businesses continued to lean narrowly toward approval as of early Wednesday. Initiative 300 held a 50.9 percent to 49.1 percent edge, consistent with its lead from tallies posted Tuesday evening.

Marijuana-related measures have become a staple on ballots across Colorado since the debut of legal sales in 2014 and this year took another step toward cementing where adults can legally purchase weed in the state.

Approval in Englewood came nearly three years after the city council kept a ban on pot shops in place, despite the fact voters had approved a nonbinding advisory measure that would allow retail sales of weed a month earlier. Voters in Federal Heights Tuesday stayed true to their decision two years ago, when they said also said no to recreational marijuana sales.

One additional note on the pot front this week came with approval by Edgewater voters to use existing park land as the site of a new civic center complex, which could in part be funded through marijuana sales tax revenues the city collects from its half dozen pot shops.

Other notable ballot measures across Colorado Tuesday included the legalization of backyard chickens, ducks, pigeons and doves in Lochbuie and the recall of three members of the Rocky Ford city council, according to preliminary results out of Otero County. Voters there did vote to retain two council members who had been on the recall list.

Term limits were approved in both Boulder and Parachute. Boulder voters said council members cannot serve more than three terms in a lifetime. Parachute voters said council members cannot serve more than three terms in a row.

And there will be no free bus rides for Lafayette residents, who rejected a measure that would have raised property taxes to fund a citywide EcoPass program.

This story was first published on DenverPost.com