The Boulder County Commissioners Tuesday voted unanimously to allow a forced cleanup of rubbish including inoperable vehicles, scrap metal, scrap wood, tarps, buckets, garbage cans and unhinged doors from the property at 14096 Lefthand Drive.
The owners of the property — Valerie Montez and John Dewey — have violated the Boulder County Land Use code which prohibits rubbish such as “garbage, trash and junk,” on their property, according to a staff report to the commissioners.
The commissioners, by their vote, authorized Boulder County Community Planning & Permitting to seek an administrative entry and seizure warrant from Boulder District Court to remove the trash.
Acting on complaints, Boulder County Health officials inspected the property and found large amounts of junk and debris along Lefthand Creek as well as rubbish located on the primary structure on the property, according to the staff report..
Material found on the property, including piles of rubbish located close to Lefthand Creek, could become a hazard in the event of a flood in Lefthand Canyon, the report states.
There have been several attempts to work with Montez and Dewey — who appear to be residents of Ward — including mailing multiple letters with information regarding the nature of the violations and potential penalties and consequences for not resolving the violations, the report states.
Montez and Dewey also did not attend an online Feb. 22 public hearing on the complaints.
The cost of the abatement, an inspection fee of 5% and any other costs associated with the cleanup will be billed to the property owners, the report states.
.
