Colorado Springs begins accepting recreational marijuana licenses despite legal fight

The latest: Vanessa Zink, a spokesperson for Colorado Springs, in a statement said the city is "exploring all procedural options available," but she didn't specify plans to move forward.

Why it matters: Elected officials in Colorado's second-largest city are directly challenging voters, who chose to allow recreational marijuana sales 11 years after state legalization.

State of play: Colorado Springs started accepting applications for recreational licenses Monday, Zink tells us.

• Applications are limited to those already operating medical marijuana dispensaries, per the Colorado Sun. Recreational sales could begin as early as April 10.

Flashback: Last month, the Colorado Springs City Council added a ballot measure to April's municipal election asking residents whether to repeal the measure passed by voters last fall to allow recreational marijuana sales in the city.

• Councilmember Dave Donelson said voters may have been confused by the November measure's wording and a competing effort to ban recreational sales, per 9News.

• The council's decision to add the new measure prompted two residents to file a lawsuit.

Context: The judge said the attempted April measure violated the Colorado Constitution because the state's recreational sales law requires local measures seeking to prohibit such sales to appear before voters in even-numbered years, according to the Sun.

What they're saying: "We hope city council members received the judge's message that they do not have absolute authority over their residents," Adam Gillard, a plaintiff in the case, said in a statement.