Denver and Littleton sue Bow Mar to stop its gates. Here's what the complaint argues

Denver and Littleton sued the Town of Bow Mar on Monday, Nov. 9, to stop the gates the town plans on Sheridan Boulevard and at Tufts Avenue, the mayor's office announced. The complaint was filed in Denver District Court.

Why it matters: Bow Mar's plan would put barrier arms across Sheridan south of Quincy Avenue and close Tufts, a Denver street, where it meets Sheridan. The complaint says Denver's Fort Logan neighborhood would lose its only signal with a route north and its most direct signalized route west to Wadsworth Boulevard.

"Bow Mar doesn't get to decide what is or isn't a public road," Mayor Mike Johnston said in the announcement.

What the cities ask for

The complaint asks the court to declare Bow Mar's gate resolutions and its contract with the installer void and to block the gates. It says the cities seek only "prospective declaratory and injunctive relief" and "do not seek damages." The city's announcement describes the suit differently, saying it "seeks compensation as the court deems fit." The complaint's own wording is the one the court will read.

The arguments

From the complaint:

Only temporary closures. A statutory town has only the powers state law gives it. The state traffic code lets a local authority close a street "temporarily," with detours. The cities say these gates are permanent, can be closed at the town's discretion with no end date, and come with no detours.

Not a reasonable use of police power. The gates move traffic off roads the state classifies as major collectors onto residential streets in Denver and Littleton, the suit says, including Wolff and Utica streets, where homes face the street and the Quincy intersections have no signal. It quotes Bow Mar's own engineer saying the roads are "effectively functioning as collector facilities."

A boundary road. Sheridan is the boundary between Bow Mar and Denver. State law requires joint action to vacate a boundary road, the suit says.

Public money. The suit says Bow Mar reports its streets as public to receive state highway funds, $36,589 in 2025 and $30,961 so far this year, and got a $455,400 federal grant that went to its 2025 paving program.

Denver's signal. Denver has maintained the Sheridan and Quincy signal since 1999 and spent $2 million rebuilding it in 2005.

What the complaint says about the town's plan

Bow Mar's contract with Wizard Works Security Systems is $306,879, the suit says, with the Tufts closure and Sheridan gate first and a gate on Prospect Street second. The Sheridan gate would have tag readers, keypads and license-plate cameras. Bow Mar has blocked Prospect with Jersey barriers since October 2025, the complaint says.

What our records add

This could come to the Council. The complaint says any closure at Tufts would require vacating Denver right-of-way, which only the City Council can approve, and that Denver hasn't given approval. No vacation request for Tufts appears in the Council's legislative records.

Flynn's role. Council member Kevin Flynn, whose district borders Bow Mar, is quoted in the announcement: "My residents are rightly angered." In October he told 9News a legal fight would be a "nuclear option" he hoped not to use (our earlier story).

Filed by the city's lawyers. The complaint is signed by attorneys in the City Attorney's Office. A search of the Council's legislative records for "Bow Mar" and "Tufts" turns up no Council action on the gates or the suit.

What's next

Bow Mar has not yet filed a response. Construction had been expected to start around Thanksgiving, with the Sheridan gate operating no earlier than January, 9News reported in October. We'll follow the case.