County attorney says renewable-energy moratorium review, notices of claim and a court dismissal are pending

Montezuma County’s attorney, Steven Tarnowski, told commissioners on Sept. 23 the county is preparing draft amendments to the land-use code governing renewable-energy development because a moratorium the board enacted is set to expire Oct. 15.

Tarnowski said staff and planning will "really try to make a good faith effort to get something back to the board" before the moratorium expires; if not, the board may need to hold another public hearing to extend the moratorium. He also reported receiving another notice of claim last week related to a March traffic accident on Highway 491; that was the third notice of claim tied to that incident and may precede litigation. Separately, Tarnowski said the county obtained a court order granting his office's motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Ellis Lewis challenging a subdivision denial.

Tarnowski recommended county staff continue coordination with planning on possible code changes and said his office expects a busier court schedule in the coming weeks for child-protection-related matters and other civil cases. He also suggested restarting a county tire-collection cleanup with public health, noting the county previously collected more than 30,000 tires in a similar event.

Why it matters: upcoming code amendments could affect renewable energy proposals in the county; notices of claim potentially indicate pending litigation tied to a traffic incident; the court dismissal resolves one land-use challenge for the board.

Commissioners did not take immediate action; staff will return with draft code language or with options to extend the moratorium if needed.