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Resident alleges Fruita is developer and permittee in Skiff Avenue wetlands work
Summary
At the Jan. 9 meeting, resident Paul Schultz told the council he had submitted a forensic report and asserted the City of Fruita is the developer and permittee for dredging and paving at Skiff Avenue Wetlands, urged suspension of bond releases, and asked for public reporting on related Army Corps cases.
Paul Schultz, a Fruita resident, told the City Council on Jan. 9 that he had emailed a forensic investigative report to the city clerk and council and urged officials to treat recent work at the Skiff Avenue Wetlands as an activity the city itself developed and permitted. "You are the developer. You are the permittee," Schultz said, asserting documents in the council's inbox show the city is named as the owner and project manager on record.
Schultz told the council that Mesa County issued a notice of violation in October to the city project manager for substantial erosion at the Palmer Drain and said a retroactive permit application was filed with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Dec. 22, 2025. He argued that filing after the fact was "a de facto admission of unpermitted activity" and warned taxpayers could be liable for remediation costs.
He asked the council to take four actions: stop being a party to unpermitted construction, stop destroying wetlands and tributaries to the Colorado River, publicly report the status of Army Corps cases (SPA20250069 and SPA20250079), and administratively freeze any bond releases for Iron Wheel Filing 3 and 4 until required stormwater controls are installed and federal permits secured. "The private project defense ends tonight," Schultz said. "The liability is yours."
Council did not respond to the allegations during public comment; the mayor closed public comment and moved on to the consent agenda. No council action on Schultz's requests was recorded during the meeting minutes. The city clerk was identified in the meeting as Deb Woods, and Schultz said he had sent his report to the clerk and council for the public record.
Next steps: Schultz asked for public reporting on the Army Corps cases and for administrative action on bond releases; the council did not announce a follow-up during the meeting.
