Longmont

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Longmont

COUNCIL REVIEWS METH LAB NUISANCE ORDINANCE

City staff has been working on its own meth lab ordinance for the past 18 months and in the process drafted language to clean up the City's antiquated definitions of nuisances. The City Council passed the ordinance on first reading September 11th and will hold a public hearing on the 25th. The sections of the ordinance regulating cleanup of methamphetamine laboratories are modeled on state statutes and require property owners to meet the cleanup standards and processes established by the Board of Health in the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. (State statute already gives property owners immunity provided the cleanup standards are met.) The ordinance also gives the City the authority to use an administrative abatement procedure currently used only for weeds and extends that authority to cover junk, rubbish and debris. This administrative process allows the City to give the property owner the opportunity to abate the nuisance or have a fair hearing. If the property owner does not take care of the issue the City can put a lien against the property. The decision to change the code, which currently requires the City to file a civil suit against the owner of a nuisance property, is in keeping with the actions of other municipalities in our region. It should be better for the City and property owners, saving time and money.

UNION FOE PETITIONERS TURN IN OVER 6000 SIGNATURES

Opponents of the LifeBridge Church's Union development turned in well over 6000 signatures on September 25. The petitioners need 4021 valid signatures to force the city to hold a special election on the approval to annex the 348 acre parcel. The City clerk has 15 days from the time the petitions are turned in to certify whether enough signatures are valid to call for an election. The land is directly south of Union Reservoir and is contiguous to Longmont’s eastern border. The church has approval to develop the project in Weld County but applied for annexation to Longmont where a higher level of services is available. The Council approved the annexation to gain more control over the development. LifeBridge and its business organization plan to construct up to 700 homes, nearly 700,000SF of commercial space and 1 million SF of civic and religious buildings on the site.