To: Honorable Mayor and Members of Town Council
Through: David L. Corliss, Town Manager
From: Michael J. Hyman, Town Attorney
Tara Vargish, PE, Director, Development Services
Title
Discussion/Direction, Proposed Castle Rock Municipal Code (CRMC) Update - Titles 1, 2, 5, and 10
Body
________________________________________________________________________________
Executive Summary
Throughout 2021, Town staff has identified sections of the Castle Rock Municipal Code (CRMC) in Titles 1, 2, 5 and 10 that are in need of updating or clarifying. This memo outlines these current amendments to the code proposed by staff. Town staff will continue to annually review various code sections and bring recommendations for improvements forward to Town Council as needed.
Discussion
Staff has identified five areas for proposed changes in this review. Each are detailed below and either come from past discussions with Council or from Staff identified areas that need improvement. Some of these proposed changes are related to code enforcement duties that fall under the Zoning Manager, however the recommended code changes are in Titles 1, 2, 5 and 10.
Responsibility for Compliance with Code - CRMC Title 1
Resolution of code enforcement issues within Town has primarily relied on voluntary compliance by the property owner. In some recent situations, the property owner or manager is a corporate entity and they are not responsive to resolving the issue. One example would be when trees and vegetation has died off, it is often difficult to get the corporate owner/manager of the property to replant landscaping and bring the property back into compliance. Staff is recommending adding additional language to Section 1.08.020 that makes it clear that the owner or manager of a property must comply with Town code, and that the owner, manager, or corporate officers or directors can be held responsible for violations of Town code.
Summary of Sections Affected
Section 1.08.020: Adds a section that makes owners, managing operators, and corporate officers and directors responsible for complying with the Town code.
Code Enforcement Violation Right of Entry and Abatements - CRMC Title 2
Resolution of code enforcement issues within Town has primarily relied on voluntary compliance by the property owner. This has generally been successful in past years; however, Staff is finding that several recent code enforcement issues are not being resolved voluntarily. Town Staff and the Town Attorney’s Office reviewed the current codes related to enforcement and are recommending modifications to Title 2 of the CRMC that would permit authorized Town employees to enter private property in order to investigate complaints subject to proper notice and/or a search warrant or in the event of an emergency, allow the Municipal Court to order and enforce abatements, and to provide a mechanism to recover costs of abatement through liens on the subject properties. The goal of this new procedure is to allow the Town, in cases where voluntary compliance is not being achieved, to abate nuisances and code enforcement violations, and to be able to recover the costs of abatement through a property lien. Currently, the Town has good voluntary compliance rate, and it is anticipated that the new abatement procedures would be used sparingly.
Summary of Sections Affected
Section 2.20.050: Changes the name of the section to “Penalties” from the previous “Punishments” and inserts language allows the Municipal Court to order and enforce abatements.
Section 2.20.120: Adds a section that allows authorized Town employees to enter private property in order to investigate code compliance violations subject to notice and/or a search warrant or in the event of an emergency.
Section 2.20.130: Adds a section that provides a procedure for the Town to abate nuisances and code enforcement violations and to be able to recover the costs through a property lien.
Business License Requirements Changes - CRMC Title 5
In 2021, Town staff determined that the criteria for issuing a business license did not take into account if the property had any outstanding zoning or building violations. Town staff and the Town Attorney’s Office developed recommended modifications to Section 5.05.10 of the CRMC in order to ensure that the properties to which businesses were locating on were compliant with Town regulations. The proposed changes would require review to ensure that a Certificate of Occupancy or Temporary Certificate of Occupancy has been issued for the property, the property meets all requirements of Title 17 (zoning) and Title 19 (sign code), and is not overdue on any taxes, fines, and penalties. This change will allow the Town to have more enforcement abilities for properties with violations of Town Code. The goal of this new ordinance is to ensure that when properties have zoning or other violations, that the Town can leverage the business license in order to achieve compliance.
Summary of Sections Affected
Section 5.05.010: Modifies the business license application requirements in order to ensure that a property in which a business locates has a Certificate of Occupancy (or Temporary CO), meets all requirements of Title 17 (zoning) and Title 19 (sign code), and is not overdue on any taxes, fines, or penalties.
Abandoned, Junked or Wrecked Vehicles - CRMC Title 10
In some code enforcement cases, abandoned, junked or wrecked vehicles are located on private property and need to be removed. Currently the Municipal code authority rests with the police department, however it is often the Zoning Manager that is working toward compliance with a property owner. Staff is recommending adding the “Town Manager Designee” in addition to the police department to provide greater flexibility to the Town when encountering these situations.
Summary of Sections Affected
Section 10.20.040: Adding authority for Town Manager Designee to authorize removal of vehicles from public or private property under the existing circumstances identified in this section.
Section 10.20.070: Adding authority for Town Manager Designee to enforce this Chapter.
Section 10.20.010: Adding a definition of an “unlawful vehicle”.
Section 10.20.080: Adding a section to allow for the abatement of unlawful, junked, wrecked or abandoned vehicles.
Recommendation
Staff recommends code changes to each of these sections. A draft ordinance is attached for considerations for Titles 1, 2, 5, and 10 of the CRMC.
Staff recommends Council direct staff to bring these ordinances back for 1st and 2nd reading at an upcoming Council meeting.
Proposed Motion
“I move to direct staff to finalize draft ordinances to address the updates in Title 1, 2, 5 and 10 of the Code, as presented this evening, and bring those back for 1st reading.”
Attachments
Attachment A - Draft Ordinance Amending Titles 1, 2, 5 and 10