Snowflake council discusses creating administrative hearing process for code enforcement

The Town Council of Snowflake discussed creating an administrative hearing process to enforce the Snowflake Town Code and the Planning and Zoning Ordinance, a step officials said could reduce reliance on Justice Court for some violations.

Town staff member Brian Richards said the town has paid "thousands of dollars in attorney fees" with little to show and asked the council whether it would be supportive of having the town attorney finalize an ordinance to set up an administrative process. Council member Byron Lewis said the town attorney "has experience with other towns and cities" and could recommend the approach.

Council member Mark Sheen questioned whether easier enforcement would increase the number of cases, saying the town should not "aggressively enforce code that can come into compliance with some time," but that "egregious violations should be stricter." Bruce Meyer, listed as the Planning & Zoning representative, asked how the ordinance would be enacted; Richards said the attorney is walking staff through the process and that an updated ordinance is available.

Council members did not vote on a final ordinance during the work session. The immediate next step, as discussed, is for staff to confer with the town attorney to prepare a draft ordinance for council consideration.

The council moved next to other agenda items.