Facing complaints, Montezuma County officials plan to propose policy changes that would provide a legal mechanism for addressing property blight.
Commissioners have debated the issue of visual blight for months, saying it appears on both rural and in-town properties and includes the buildup of trash, junk and old vehicles, tires and other debris.
Officials have cited widespread calls from residents.
At Monday’s workshop, commissioners signaled a desire to move quickly. They plan to first amend the comprehensive plan to allow for future drafting of a “rubbish ordinance,” modeled after those used in similar Western counties.
The current approach follows the 1990s-era comprehensive plan and lacks effective enforcement protocols. County officials at the time opted for voluntary compliance out of concern for stricter, overzealous government intervention. The working group then rejected adopting a blight ordinance and instead focused on encouraging subdivisions to set their own standards.
At the center of the discussion is how far the county should go in regulating private property.
County attorney Stephen Tarnowski outlined three approaches Monday: continuing countywide cleanup efforts and voluntary compliance, tightening land-use rules to prohibit junk and dilapidated structures, or adopting a formal rubbish ordinance that would allow the county to take legal steps to remove trash from properties.
“This is probably the most-effective approach to addressing accumulation of rubbish, because in an ordinance like this, most counties can ask for an administrative warrant for removal of rubbish,” Tarnowski said at Monday’s meeting.
He said the process would require notice, a designated compliance period and an appeal step, after which the planning department could pursue an administrative warrant and seek to recover cleanup costs.
The county attorney noted Planning Director Don Haley recommended trying to maximize the voluntary approach first before making larger policy changes.
“If we leave it under the status quo … It is not doing anything right now,” Commissioner Jim Candelaria said, noting Montrose, Delta and Mesa counties have adopted ordinances and could be reviewed as examples.
Before any ordinance, Tarnowski advised a two-step approach: first, the county must amend its comprehensive plan through public hearings. Second, it would establish a specific ordinance or resolution also through public hearings.
Commissioner Gerald Koppenhafer said he believes it is critical that the Planning and Zoning Commission be involved. The other officials agreed.
“At their public hearing, the P&Z can take comments from the public, let them, people might have ideas,” Commissioner Kent Lindsay added. “It might turn into a get-out-of-town meeting.”
“I don’t think so,” Candelaria said, “because they continue to bring it to us. We aren’t bringing it to them – they are bringing it to us.”
The commissioners directed staff to prepare draft language to change the comprehensive plan. They agreed the draft should first go to the Planning and Zoning Commission for a public hearing to gather community input, then return to the commissioners for a final public hearing.
Staff aim to have the drafts ready for commissioner review during meetings April 13 and 14, with proposals scheduled for presentation at the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting April 16.
Tarnowski told the board a major challenge is staffing capacity.
“If we really want to do this kind of work, just changing stuff on the books isn’t going to make a big difference because we don’t have the staff to implement it,” Tarnowski said, noting that was the sentiment in his office and across the planning office.
He said it would likely require a full-time position.
awatson@the-journal.com
