Town planner updates commission on staffing, council goals and code-enforcement penalty at 5 Collado; commissioners raise SB 9 questions

Town planning staff used the April 23 meeting to introduce planning staff changes, summarize updated city council goals and report on an enforcement action at 5 Collado that arose from unauthorized tree work.

Town planner reported that Tom Ford is stepping in as senior planner and will assume planning commission clerk duties as staff roles transition. Staff distributed the city council’s updated goal statements and the monthly staff report to give commissioners context on ongoing work.

Staff also updated the commission on enforcement at 5 Collado. During a prior hearing staff had supported a TPZ request, but the property owner’s contractor began work early and allegedly deviated from approved conditions. Code enforcement issued an immediate stop-work order, and the town is assessing penalties; staff stated a penalty amount of $41,800 tied to damage to Tree 1 and said the town is seeking additional permit/fee penalties. Town arborist Sally Vance has requested quarterly arborist reports for the next three years to document tree health; staff said they are treating this as a code-enforcement matter and currently do not expect to return the item to the planning commission unless additional action is needed.

In the commission report portion of the meeting, a commissioner raised operational questions about SB 9 lot splits — specifically who must reside in a parcel, timing and enforcement of owner-occupancy or three-year requirements, and what penalties are available when a lot split is used by a developer rather than an owner. Staff said it has engaged legal counsel and is investigating how the town will track and enforce SB 9-related operational concerns and will bring findings to the commission as needed.

Commissioners thanked staff for the enforcement update and for distributing the council goals and monthly report.