Montezuma County commissioners recently discussed a draft rubbish ordinance developed by the county attorney and planning director, borrowing language from Mesa County’s existing ordinance.
There isn’t a blight policy in the county. For several months, commissioners have debated how to address blight, citing repeated complaints from neighbors about accumulating junk or trash on private properties.
Rather than immediately moving forward, the board is gauging public interest through a survey that’s available on the county website: montezumacounty.gov.
The eight-question form asks whether junk and rubbish appear to be a prevalent issue in the unincorporated parts of the county and whether respondents support the government having an active role in removal. A significant portion of the survey focuses on junk cars, reflecting a discussion commissioners held during the workshop July 13.
The board pondered whether to limit residents in the draft language to a certain number of junk cars before its considered rubbish.
The survey lastly delves into specific local data, asking residents to identify types of materials, conditions or particular areas and road corridors where the accumulation appears most problematic.
“Rubbish” is the term for junk and trash used in Colorado Revised Statutes 30-15-401, which allows local governments to adopt an ordinance where code enforcement officers issue citations and require removal for accumulating piles.
The statute restricts the ability to apply the ordinance to agricultural land that’s actively in use or industrial lots exceeding 10 acres. If a property owner doesn’t remove the rubbish upon notice and after a period of time, the ordinance allows county officials to petition a court for the county to remove it. The law allows the costs of cleanup to be assessed and billed to the property owner.
“There’s a lot of nitty-gritty in here about definitions for what is rubbish,” Stephen Tarnowski, the county attorney, told the board July 13.
Tarnowski said if such an ordinance is adopted, there’s a need to consider how it’s tangibly enforced. He said his office of three might struggle to keep up if the county initiated a high volume of enforcement.
“I think that was made pretty clear to us,” commissioner Jim Candelaria said. “There are a lot of places in the county that need some type of mitigation done and followed up with code enforcement.”
awatson@the-journal.com
