Denton voters approved four amendments to the city charter Tuesday, including one meant to clarify how long City Council members can serve.

Proposition 1 keeps the existing limit of three consecutive two-year terms and applies the limit separately to each of the council’s seven seats. It essentially codifies the city’s longtime practice of not counting past years of service against council members who switch seats or take a break in service.

The proposition was designed to settle a debate over whether Denton term limits applied per seat or across all seats. It came after a 2008 lawsuit — originally dismissed but now pending on appeal — challenged how the city applied term limits.

City attorneys say past years of service don’t count against council members who run for a different seat, including mayor, or sit out a term.

Under the new amendment, residents will be limited to 12 consecutive years of council service. The amendment includes no limit on the number of terms someone could serve in a lifetime. That means a council member could serve up to 12 years in a row by switching seats, sit out a year and then run again.

Denton resident Linnie McAdams, who served on an advisory panel that crafted the proposal, said she was pleased voters approved it. She favors looser limits on council terms.

“I think voters are intelligent people and at the local level, given good information, they can make good decisions,” said McAdams, who serves on the League of Women Voters of Denton board. “And if we make a mistake … they [council members] only serve two years” before their next election.

Denton veterinarian David Zoltner, a vocal opponent of the proposal, expressed disappointment over the results.

“What we lose here is that interval where they [council members] go back to the private sector,” he said.

Zoltner, who backs stricter term limits, said he still believed public opinion was on his side.

“If the election was held in front of Kroger or Walmart, it [the proposition] would be defeated,” he said. “The same 1,500 or 2,000 people again are going to speak for the majority of Denton.”

Denton voters also approved:

* Proposition 2, which says council members representing the city’s four geographical districts must remain living in their district throughout their term in office. The charter previously didn’t prevent council members from staying in a seat after moving out of the district in which they were elected.

* Proposition 3, which says vacancies in the mayor’s seat will be filled by special elections. Before, the mayor pro tem would have completed a mayor’s unexpired term.

* Proposition 4, which makes clear that the council can’t interfere with the personnel decisions of any of its four appointees. The charter already prevented council members from interfering with the city manager’s personnel decisions, but the restriction didn’t extend to the city attorney, city auditor and municipal court judge.

LOWELL BROWN can be reached at 940-566-6882. His e-mail address is lmbrown@dentonrc.com.