The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Allowing long comment period
On Tuesday, June 18, the Gunnison County Commissioners adopted the first reading of an ordinance that would ban the sale, growing and manufacturing of marijuana in unincorporated parts of the county. The county attorney’s office wrote the draft at the commissioners’ request, and while they moved the ordinance one step closer to final adoption, they’re adding time into the process to allow for public input.
County attorney David Baumgarten explained, “Those activities which you can approve or disapprove in whole or in part are all disapproved in this draft.” If they liked the way it read, the commissioners could adopt the ordinance, order that it be published and then set a second reading before final adoption.
Commissioner Jonathon Houck said he was fine moving the draft toward a second reading but wanted to make sure the schedule allowed for plenty of feedback from the public.
“I think the direction we’re taking is based on good thought and being considerate of needs but we’re also receiving some input from folks that perhaps what they voted for in Amendment 64 and what we’re doing are in conflict with each other,” he said. “At a personal level and for the responsibilities I have as a commissioner I feel good about moving this down the road, but I think… maybe this one needs a little bit more time.”
Typically the process allows for two weeks between the first and second reading of an ordinance, but the commissioners decided to schedule the second reading on August 6, which allows for seven weeks for public input. Commissioners also discussed publishing the ordinance on the website.
“What’s the process if the board decided it wanted to change this amendment?” asked Commissioner Phil Chamberland.
“You can change it the second time. This is not a quasi-judicial act by the board, it’s quasi-legislative. You can certainly speak with people about it, and that’s what this time is for,” Baumgarten explained. “As we get closer to August 6, you’re going to know how many people are speaking to you and we’ll let staff know to set some time on the agenda accordingly.”
No formal comment process was established, but contact information for Gunnison County and the commissioners is available at www.gunnisoncounty.org.
To read the ordinance, see page 50.
