Cheyenne committee delays administrative-inspection-warrant ordinance after public objections
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Summary
The City of Cheyenne Public Service Committee voted to postpone for two weeks a proposed ordinance creating administrative inspection warrants after residents and real-estate representatives raised constitutional and process concerns and asked for time to review revised language.
The City of Cheyenne Public Service Committee voted on Jan. 20 to recommend a two-week postponement of a proposed ordinance that would allow certain city officials to apply for administrative inspection warrants.
The ordinance, read as Item 10, would create a new chapter (1.2a) authorizing administrative inspection warrants and amend the municipal code to identify which city officials could seek such warrants. City Attorney John Bridal said he had prepared a substitute at the request of Cheyenne Fire Rescue and the chief building official and that his office had not received public comment on the substitute yet.
During public comment, residents and real-estate representatives urged delay. Patricia McCoy said elected officials had narrowed authority “strictly and exclusively to abandoned and unoccupied properties” and urged that any final language be “bulletproof,” citing Wyoming Supreme Court decisions such as O’Boyle v. State and Vasquez v. State to underscore constitutional protections. Jerry Chadwick, representing the Board of Realtors, and Ben Rael asked for postponement to review documentation. Steve Jacobson told the committee he believed state statute 35-7-1046 already addresses inspections and questioned why the city would create a separate administrative process.
Councilmembers said they wanted time to reconcile multiple drafts and to circulate the city attorney’s memo for wider review. Council members and staff discussed whether a substitute included the term “probable cause” and City Attorney Bridal explained that probable cause functions differently in administrative contexts than in the criminal context.
Building officials told the committee an example of an abandoned property at Hot Springs and 17th that staff has been unable to secure, and acknowledged some properties may require prompt attention. Chair noted there will be one more reading at the full council meeting next Monday, giving the public roughly five days to review any changes before that meeting.
After discussion, Councilwoman Aldridge moved to postpone consideration for two weeks; the committee voted to recommend postponement to the full council.
The postponement provides staff and council time to reconcile competing drafts and to consider the public-submitted amendments before the ordinance returns for further consideration.
