Snowflake staff to implement administrative approvals under HB 2447 after code edits

Town attorney Robert Wingo told the Snowflake Town Council that the town has updated portions of its code to comply with HB 2447, which will take effect Jan. 1, 2025. Wingo said the changes replace discretionary 'may' language with mandatory 'shall' language and make some approvals administrative rather than matters for council vote.

Wingo said compliant applications that meet a checklist must be administratively reviewed and either approved or denied by staff. Brian Richards told the council staff can manage the process: "we can do it with our staff," he said. Wingo added that the revisions remove and change items in the code to bring the town into compliance with HB 2447.

Council discussion focused on the administrative checklist and who will make final determinations under the new code language. No formal action was taken at the work session; staff will proceed with implementing the checklist and administrative review process as required by the revised code.