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MEMORANDUM
DATE: January 12, 2009
TO: Board of County Commissioners
FROM: Paul Blikstad, Senior Planner
RE: Event venue text amendment and pending code enforcement
Text Amendment Procedure:
In addition to conducting preliminary discussions with the applicant, as well as having meetings
with the applicant after the text amendment was submitted, staff has reviewed two separate text
amendment submittals regarding the draft code, both of which required substantial time to
review and critique (including 3 planning staff members and County Counsel). Additional
submittals from the applicant may be required to develop final language that could potentially be
adopted by the Board.
In the interest of streamlining the process to allow for a quicker recommendation to the Board,
and for Board discussion, deliberation and decision, it is possible for staff to draft language
rather than the applicant. Although this is not usually done in an applicant driven text
amendment, it may be prudent in the interest of shortening the process in this case (see
discussion item below). Staff would take great care to assure the public that this effort is not
meant to influence the decision one way or another, but rather to streamline the process and
allow decision makers to focus on policy, rather than technical issues.
Pending Code Enforcement:
At the public hearing on January 8, 2009, the Planning Commission unanimously directed Legal
staff to prepare a resolution, indicating a recommendation to the Board of County
Commissioners that code enforcement activity with respect to existing wedding event venue
operators be suspended through 2009, to allow time for the code amendment process to be
completed. Staff is requesting input and direction from the Board in this area.