Date: 03/07/2006

Final
BILL SUMMARY for SB06-074

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Votes: View--> Action Taken:
Refer the bill to the Committee of the Whole. ThePASS


01:58 PM -- Senate Bill 06-074

Representative Berens provided an explanation of the provisions of SB 06-074 that make changes to county code requirements regarding zoning and land use. The bill changes the amount of time in which code violations must be corrected and authorizes a county zone inspector to issue a summons for violations in addition to a sheriff or county attorney as in current law.


01:58 PM

Jeffrey Pecka spoke in opposition to the bill. He indicated the ten day turnaround to correct violations is unworkable and said the criminalization of zone violations as proposed by the bill is unworkable as well.

Representative Berens clarified that the zone violation process outlined in the bill is a civil process and not a criminal process. He provided examples of instances in which the ten-day turnaround to rectify code violations is enough time to come to a resolution.

Mr. Pecka responded to prior committee discussion with examples of how local governments can take advantage of the provisions of the bill at the disadvantage of residents.


02:14 PM

T.W. Anderson spoke in opposition to the bill indicating that the prior witness covered all of his points.


02:14 PM

David Hughes, Boulder County, spoke in support of the bill. He provided a comparison of how zoning enforcement works under current law and how the bill would change that. He indicated that in Boulder County, most complaints are handled informally and he explained how zoning inspectors work with violators within the current thirty-day time limit. He explained how such cases would be handled under the new ten-day time limit as proposed by the bill. In response to a committee question, Mr. Hughes provided an example of how Boulder County used a shorter time period and increased fines to garner compliance with a zone violation.


02:26 PM

Jennifer Stanley, Adams County Assistant County Attorney, spoke in support of the bill. She indicated that Adams County enforces its zoning violations in criminal court and that the only portion of the bill dealing with criminal violations reduces the cure time from thirty days to ten days.


02:28 PM

Pat Ratliff, Colorado Counties, Inc., spoke in support of the bill. She explained that the reduction from thirty to ten days is a reduction in the amount of time for a court process to begin if there is noncompliance with the zone violation complaint. She indicated that after cases are filed in court, they take months to be resolved and this gives violators additional time to cure the violation. She indicated the intent of the time change is to be more responsive to current property owners who file complaints regarding zoning violations against neighboring property.

Representative Berens responded to a committee question regarding property in a certain area of the state that needs to be cleaned up and isn't being cleaned up because the local sheriff has said he has no jurisdiction. Ms. Ratliff posited that perhaps the reason the sheriff can take no action is because the property is still in probate and no property owner has been named.


02:35 PM

Richard Schillawski spoke in opposition to the bill. He spoke in opposition to Section 6 of the bill in particular and spoke to abuses of power in Boulder County with regards to zoning violations. He also spoke in opposition to the reduction in the time frame in which to respond to a complaint.


02:45 PM

Jerry Van Sickle spoke in opposition to the bill. He provided examples of how Boulder County unreasonably applies zoning enforcement. He provided an example of unreasonable enforcement by Jefferson County as well. He suggested that if the bill passes, it should be amended to allow local citizen zoning boards an oversight role to hear any complaints from which they are currently restricted from hearing.


02:54 PM

Representative Berens provided closing comments on the bill.
BILL:SB06-074
TIME: 02:55:12 PM
MOVED:Berens
MOTION:Refer the bill to the Committee of the Whole. The motion carried on an 8-3 roll call vote.
SECONDED:Lindstrom
VOTE
Berens
Yes
Cerbo
Yes
Curry
Yes
Decker
No
Massey
Yes
Merrifield
Yes
Soper
Yes
Stafford
No
Stengel
No
Lindstrom
Yes
Hodge
Yes
Final YES: 8 NO: 3 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS



02:58 PM

The committee adjourned.