County repeals Ordinance 987 after court finds related lawsuit moot; council cites SB26 changes

Summit County officials voted Sept. 3 to repeal Ordinance 987 by adopting Ordinance 987-A after a court concluded the related lawsuit was moot, County Attorney Dave Thomas told the council.

Thomas said Dakota Pacific withdrew the application the original ordinance was meant to address, leaving an "orphaned" ordinance. He added that Senate Bill 26, a recent change in state law, converted the county’s land-use approval for that application from a legislative action to an administrative one and the County Manager subsequently signed the application under that statute.

"It's simply we have an orphaned ordinance here and there's no reason, in my mind, there's no reason to leave that on the books," Thomas said, explaining why county staff recommended repeal.

Council members said the court’s determination of mootness and the withdrawal of the applicant left no functional purpose for Ordinance 987. Council member Megan said she had voted to repeal the ordinance two weeks earlier and again supported repeal on Sept. 3. Council member Janice thanked staff and criticized what she described as personal attacks on county staff that arose in the matter but supported moving forward with repeal.

The council adopted Ordinance 987-A in the form provided in the meeting packet. The record shows the motion was made and seconded and the council voted in favor; the clerk recorded the motion as carried.

What it means: Repeal removes the ordinance from the county code; county staff said it does not reflect a judgment about the clerk’s actions or the Lieutenant Governor’s guidance on election matters, but rather the lack of an active application and the court’s mootness finding. The council’s action aligns county code with current administrative practice under SB26.