Montrose, COLO.—Montrose County will host an open house on March 16 about proposed changes to the county’s junk ordinance. The open house is at 6pm at the Montrose County Public Works Conference Room (63160 LaSalle Road). Please note that the proposed junk ordinance DOES NOT apply to properties zoned as General Agricultural, Commercial, Business or Industrial. The ordinance is limited to properties zoned as General Residential, Manufactured Home Park Residential and Multiple Family Residential.
Montrose County adopted the current junk ordinance in 2015 and is working on updating the ordinance to better define processes, definitions and applicability. The county is seeking public feedback on the proposed changes. The ordinance has not been scheduled for consideration by the Board of County Commissioners at this time. The open house will include a presentation on the proposed changes and an opportunity to speak with staff and commissioners.
To view an interactive map of zoning in the county, please visit: https://mcmap.montrosecounty.net/zoning/
The current junk ordinance is available here: https://www.montrosecounty.net/DocumentCenter/View/11416/2015-02-JUNK-ORDINANCE?bidId=
The proposed junk ordinance is available here: https://www.montrosecounty.net/DocumentCenter/View/18802/Draft-of-Proposed-Junk-Ordinance
The following is a list of the major changes that are included in the proposed junk ordinance:
§ 3 : The proposed revised Ordinance adds properties in the Mobile Home Park zoning district, and all properties zoned General Residential, not just those one acre or less.
§ 4.1: A definition of “Complaint” has been added to clarify what information needs to be included for the County to be able to move forward with a violation.
§ 4.2: A definition of “fence” has been added to help clarify what is considered acceptable screening.
§§ 4.4; 4.7: The definitions of “junk” and “rubbish” have been revised to more clearly distinguish between them.
§ 6: Language has been added to clarify where complaints are to be directed and that the county is not obligated to investigate complaints that do not meet the definition.
§ 7.3: Notice requirements for enforcement are revised to limit a violator’s ability to evade enforcement while still ensuring due process requirements are met.
§ 12: The penalty for violations of the ordinance has been updated from a Class a 2 Petty Offense to a Civil infraction in accordance with Senate Bill 21-271.
§§ 17-18: Language was added to provide for the effective date of any new ordinance and revocation of the current ordinance.
