Larimer County to seek district-court authority in two long-running code cases

Amy White, Larimer County code compliance supervisor, told the Board of County Commissioners on Monday that staff will seek legal authorization to take two longstanding code-enforcement cases to district court. White said the cases have been under enforcement for about a decade and that staff recently consolidated related complaints so the matters fall under the county's updated code.

White said one case involves a storage facility in South Loveland where people are living in storage units and where staff have documented construction without permits, solar panels placed on unit roofs, an unapproved expansion of a special-review approval, outdoor storage of debris and a blocked fire lane. "We have people living in the storage units. We've got construction without permits, including placing solar panels on top of units, expansion of a special review approval without approval, outdoor storage of junk and debris, and then blocking the fire lane," White said.

She described the other case as originating in 2016 and involving a short-term rental that county records indicate continues to operate without the required approvals. White said the short-term rental matter had been in county court and staff had prepared to file in district court after recent advertising was removed; she told commissioners the advertising has since returned and staff will pursue an injunction if authorized. "We were about to file in district court, and he took the advertising down. We've now been made aware that it's back up. So we're gonna take him over there and see what we can do, get an injunction of some sort," White said.

White said the two matters have been active for roughly 12 years and that staff consolidated related complaints — "it looks like they're 25 cases" — so the matters would be subject to the county's updated code and new complaints. Commissioners did not take a vote during the work session; White asked only whether the board had questions and said she would return with formal agenda items as needed.

No statutory citations, ordinance numbers or formal motions were presented during the update. The county attorney's office reviewed the consolidation, White said, and any court filing would be handled through the county's legal counsel and the courts. The board thanked staff for the work and asked no additional directions during the meeting.

Next steps: staff will seek county authorization to pursue district-court filings and possible injunctive relief; timing for any formal agenda item or vote was not specified during the session.