Elbert County commissioners postpone Wildfire Resiliency Code vote to May 27

ELBERT COUNTY, Colo. — The Elbert County Board of County Commissioners on April 2 opened a public hearing on a proposed Wildfire Resiliency Code but voted to delay a final decision until the board's regular meeting on May 27 at 9:00 a.m.

James Trout, interim building official for Elbert County, was introduced as the presenter and stood by to answer final questions about the code. After the presentation, a commissioner who was called on to speak (transcript label: Commissioner Sharter) said the proposal has been contentious across the state and that Elbert County's map for applying the code was not yet finalized. "I would hate to go ahead and approve this and then that go through and have handcuffed ourselves by doing that," the commissioner said, urging a postponement so the county could review a corrected map and wait for state action.

Commissioner McDaniel said he agreed with the concerns and supported postponing until the General Assembly's action on a bill that one commissioner said is scheduled to be heard next week; that bill, as referenced during the meeting, would extend implementation of the code by one year if enacted. Another commissioner described the process as rushed and said more detail about ramifications was needed before the board should adopt the code.

After discussion, a motion to continue consideration of the Wildfire Resiliency Code to May 27 at 9:00 a.m. passed unanimously. The board also formally opened and then closed the public hearing as part of the special meeting and adjourned.

What the board said and did

- The board opened a public hearing on the Wildfire Resiliency Code and heard remarks from county staff and commissioners. - Citing an incomplete map and a pending state bill that could alter implementation timing, commissioners voted to continue consideration to the May 27 regular meeting.

The meeting record shows unanimous board approval of procedural motions to open the hearing, continue consideration, close the hearing and adjourn. The transcript labels the commissioner who spoke at length as "Commissioner Sharter" when asked to comment; the roll call near the start of the meeting listed Commissioner Schroeder, Commissioner McDaniel and Commissioner Buck as present. The transcript consequently contains inconsistent name references; the remarks and the vote to continue are recorded in the official proceeding.

Next steps

The board will revisit the Wildfire Resiliency Code at its regular meeting on May 27 at 9:00 a.m. Staff and commissioners indicated they expect to review a revised map and monitor the General Assembly's action on the bill referenced during the hearing before deciding whether to adopt the code.