The Town of Paonia, Colorado (Town) is seeking proposals from qualified consultants to complete a comprehensive municipal code revision (Code Revision) and assessment of resolutions and ordinances to assure consistency, comprehensiveness, and legal defensibility.
The Town of Paonia is situated on Colorado’s Western Slope in the North Fork Valley in eastern Delta County. It is 230 miles southwest of Denver. Primary access is by Highway 133, which connects to I70 and US50. The Town encompasses 0.85 square miles and has a population of approximately 1,500. It is renowned for its high-quality fruit orchards, vineyards, and sustainable and organic foods. It is the home of the High Country News. The economy also benefits from the one coal mining company that continues to operate in the valley. The Town has been designated as one of Colorado’s Certified Art Districts.
The current code contains many conflicts including dead-end or circular citations and references. Utility code only addresses some situations and, in some cases, contradicts other sections. It does not contain any requirements for out-of-town water companies the Town serves, including maintenance or repairs. The land use section(s) are contradictory, do not always conform to land use law and have resulted in poor interpretation. In 2018, the land use code was mistakenly integrated into the building code and will need to be separated. The Town is also currently working on a Comprehensive (Master) Plan rewrite. The administrative sections of the Town’s existing code, includes irrelevant language to what the Town is actually doing and contains vague language resulting in chain of command confusion and personnel liability amongst staff. The current code has resulted in disputes and threats of legal action.
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