(A) A Code Enforcement Officer shall be employed by the town to address any complaints received from town residents of an alleged nuisance and to address obvious investigation and inspection requirements. The Chief of Police shall also be consulted if the complaint concerns possible criminal conduct and/or if needed to maintain peace during the complaint, inspection or abatement process. The Code Enforcement Officer, upon notification of an apparent nuisance problem, shall first make informal contact with the owner and occupant of the alleged offending property, either by letter or personal contact, informing the owner/occupant of the complaint and the action needed to remedy the problem. If the informal contact with the owner/occupant does not remedy the problem, the Code Enforcement Officer shall serve upon the owner and occupant a formal notice of violation and order for action to be taken. The notice shall refer to the applicable portions of the town code, the action to be taken by the owner/occupant and the possible penalties and abatement procedures available to the town, including having the matter set before the town’s Municipal Court. As indicated above, any notice given shall include the requirements of C.R.S. §§ 31-15-401(1)(c) and 31-15-402 in those instances when the alleged offending property is occupied by someone other than the owner.
(B) Nothing in division (A) above shall prevent the town, through its designated officers and agents, from taking immediate abatement action, including the use of force, when an emergency situation exists which in the reasoned opinion of the town officers warrant immediate action. Such action may be taken in instances which include, but are not limited to, blockage of public roads and rights-of-way, danger to the town water supply, dangerous chemical exposure and similar concerns. Further, abatement remedies do not necessarily have to be brought through the town’s Municipal Court, but may be exercised at the discretion of the Code Enforcement Officer after consultation with the Police Chief.
(Prior Code, § 520.5) (Ord. 170, passed 7-28-1958; Ord. 411, passed 1-2-1994; Ord. 584, passed 10-1-2015)