Boulder City Council approves partial Police Oversight Panel morator…

The Boulder City Council at a Thursday special meeting approved an emergency ordinance to place a partial moratorium on the work of the city’s Police Oversight Panel.

The council previously agreed to draft the partial moratorium, saying it’s a way to support the panel in pausing some of its work while possible changes to the ordinance that created the panel are discussed.

“The purpose of this is to remove the threat of legal action and complaints from the Police Oversight Panel members while they are doing the work of revising the ordinance,” Mayor Aaron Brockett said.

Last month, the panel voted to suspend most of its operations after former panelist Lisa Sweeney-Miran was removed by City Council over allegations of bias.

Panelists agreed that their priority was to make changes to the Police Oversight Ordinance, which governs the POP, and that they would stop considering new police oversight cases and other panel work not related to the ordinance for the time being. However, the panel has continued to review police oversight cases it had already committed to reviewing.

Boulder resident Max Weller has since filed a Code of Conduct complaint against the panel for refusing to review new police complaints. Deputy City Attorney Erin Poe said Thursday that waiting several months to investigate so the the POP ordinance could revised — potentially rendering the complaint irrelevant because work would have resumed — likely would be too long and could prompt more complaints.

The City Council moratorium will be in effect until Oct. 20. Until then, the panel is asked to complete a case review of complaints filed prior to May 10 and to provide input on ordinance revisions. The moratorium was approved 7-2, with Mark Wallach and Bob Yates voting “no.”

Their main concerns were that the moratorium would set a bad precedent, giving other boards and commissions a way to essentially hold the council hostage if their members weren’t happy with a council decision.

“It sends a rather bizarre message,” Wallach said. “You can go on strike. You can refuse to perform the role for which your were appointed. You can leave important work undone. But not to worry, there will be no consequences for doing so.”

They also questioned if the POP even wanted a council moratorium. Yates noted the group did not ask council for a moratorium, while several members rejected the idea because they “wanted to send a signal to council.”

At a study session following the special meeting, the council heard an update on ballot measures for the November election and the city’s plans to update its Energy Conservation Code, with the updates set to go into effect in 2024.

Both of the resident-initiated ballot measures collected enough signatures to be included on the ballot, according to the City Clerk’s Office.

The “Safe Zones 4 Kids” measure would amend the city’s prohibited items ordinance, creating a prioritized enforcement zone that’s 500 feet from school property lines and 50 feet from multi-use paths and sidewalks.

Within these zones, the removal of tents, propane tanks and other prohibited items associated with homeless encampments would be prioritized. Organizers have said the goal “is to provide distance between children and the illegal activity that is occurring in our public spaces.”

The second resident-initiated measure would renew an expiring 0.15% sales tax and dedicate the money to arts and culture initiatives. Examples include supporting arts and cultural nonprofits, murals, professional artists, and arts education.

The energy building code, first approved in 2017, is updated about every three years. City staff members are proposing changes that focus on on enhancing energy performance criteria, including all-electric and electric ready construction, with a goal of a 70% reduction in emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2035.

Potential updates also include revising the 2031 goal from net-zero energy codes for all buildings to net-zero greenhouse gas codes for all buildings. Another proposed change is adding targets for a reduction in embodied carbon — carbon that is released in the manufacturing, production and transportation of building materials — for new commercial construction.

“(Embodied carbon) is something that we really want to look at and focus on because it’s something we can actually impact,” said Josh Hanson, Boulder’s energy code compliance principal examiner.