Metropolitan District Board Term Limits: What the Ballot Question Means

The Castle Pines Village Metropolitan District Board of Directors has referred a question to District voters that would remove term limits for the Board. Residents will vote on this question at an election being held on December 8, 2026. This page explains what the question does, why the Board is referring this to voters, and answer potential questions.

Question: What exactly does this vote do?

Under the Colorado Constitution, members of a special district board may serve no more than two consecutive four-year terms. The same provision lets the voters of a District lengthen, shorten, or eliminate that limit. The ballot question asks District voters whether to eliminate the two-term limit for the Board of Directors.

If the question passes, a director may serve more than two consecutive terms. If it fails, the current two-term limit remains.

Passage changes nothing else. It does not change how directors are elected, when elections are held, or the four-year term length. Every director still has to be elected by residents, and every director still stands for election when their term ends.

Question: Why is the Board referring this to voters?

The Board cannot change term limits on its own. Only District voters can do that. The Board's role is limited to placing the question on a ballot so residents can decide if this is a good decision for the District.

The Board referred the question for a few reasons:

  • The increased technical understanding in dealing with water challenges facing Colorado residents, including the construction of bond financing, water treatment plants, storage facilities, and a true Long-Range Water Master Plan are critical elements the District is facing.
  • The increased pressures outside the District pertaining to water rights and the need to protect the District and its residents, which requires technical knowledge and time commitment on behalf of the District.
  • Understanding potential Federal and State mandates that can affect the District and how to best represent the District.
  • The need to complete the last leg of the District’s Water Preservation Program, which is the Long-Range Water Master Plan, which will involve a tremendous amount of Director time and commitment during the 1-3 years.
  • A district this size has a limited number of residents willing to make the time commitment and able to serve. Board members typically contribute 30-40 hours per month on Metro District business. Term limits can remove an experienced, willing director at a time when no one else with needed credentials has stepped forward to run. This has happened in previous elections and the responsibility of appointing a vacant Board seat then becomes the decision of the Board. If the Board does not fill that vacancy the Douglas County Board of County Commissioners fills the vacancy.
  • Voters keep full control either way. Removing the limit does not remove elections. Residents can re-elect or replace any director at each regular election.
  • The clearest example of why continuity matters is the District's Long-Range Water Master Plan. The District's water supply depends on water rights and supply arrangements built and defended over decades, and Colorado water law is among the most complex in the country. The long-range plan looks many years ahead and guides how the District secures a reliable, sustainable supply and what residents will pay for it. A director needs time to understand that history before contributing to decisions that affect residents and their water resources for years to come. Term limits can remove that knowledge from the Board at the point it is most valuable.

Question: What are the term limits today?

A director may serve two consecutive four-year terms, or eight years, and then must leave the Board for at least four years before they are eligible to serve again.

Question: What would the ballot question change?

It would remove the two-term cap. Directors could serve additional consecutive terms if residents keep electing them. Nothing else about elections or terms would change.

Question: Why do term limits exist in the first place?

Colorado voters adopted term limits in 1994 to broaden opportunities for public service and to keep elected officials responsive to the citizens they serve. Those are reasonable goals. The Board's position is that in a small district, regular elections already serve those goals, while an automatic cap can remove a capable director residents would prefer to keep.

Question: Does this change benefit the current Board members?

Removing term limits does not keep anyone in office. Voters can still replace any director at any election, the same as they can today. All this change does is remove an automatic cap that can force out someone who is willing to serve and whom residents would prefer to keep. No director can extend their service without being elected by the residents, and the Board cannot change term limits on its own. That decision belongs to voters. Serving is primarily a volunteer role. Directors receive a $100 credit per meeting, up to a maximum of $2400 annually, on their water bills for their time.

Question: Does removing term limits reduce accountability?

Accountability comes from elections, not from an automatic cutoff. A term limit removes a director whether or not residents want them to stay. Eliminating the limit returns that decision to voters, who can replace any director at the next election.

Question: Why not just recruit new candidates instead?

The District encourages residents to run, and that effort continues regardless of this question. But serving on the Board takes real time, often several hours a week on top of work and family, and not everyone is able to make that commitment. In a district this size, there are not always enough candidates, and a term limit can force out a willing, experienced director at the same time no one else has filed to run.

Question: Who can vote on this question?

All eligible electors of the District.

Question: When and how do I vote?

Voting is by mail, as with all Colorado elections. Ballots will be mailed to eligible electors ahead of the December 8, 2026, election. Complete your ballot and return it by mail or drop it at a designated drop-off location.

Question: Where can I ask questions?

The District will discuss this question at the Metro District Forum at Cielo on September 22. Or you are welcome to contact any of the current Board members: