Aspen City Council unanimously overhauled the city’s criminal code at its May 26 regular meeting to comply with a December 2025 Colorado Supreme Court ruling — removing assault, indecent exposure, and several other serious offenses from municipal jurisdiction — while splitting 4-1 on a $120,000 emergency irrigation contract at Cozy Point Ranch over a pointed disagreement about whether the city should own the property at all.
Criminal Code Gets First Major Rewrite Since 1998
The council approved Ordinance 10, Series of 2026, repealing and replacing Title 15 of the Aspen Municipal Code after the Colorado Supreme Court ruled in In Re People v. Camp that home-rule municipalities cannot sentence defendants more harshly than state courts for identical conduct.
Assistant City Attorney Luisa Berne said the ruling exposed a gap with real consequences. Under the old code, someone convicted of indecent exposure in Aspen Municipal Court received a fine or jail — no sex offender registration, no treatment, no probation. Under state law, the same conviction requires registration, mandatory treatment, and can escalate to a felony with multiple violations.
The ordinance removes assault and battery, resisting or interfering with a police officer, carrying a concealed weapon, and indecent exposure from municipal jurisdiction, routing them to Pitkin County courts. It eliminates a 1992 ban on selling furs from leg-hold traps — superseded by a 1996 state constitutional amendment — and a prohibition on owning endangered species, which Berne said Colorado Parks and Wildlife handles more effectively. Three theft provisions were consolidated into one mirroring state standards, with thefts over $300 directed to county court. Disorderly conduct was simplified, removing the term “obstreperous,” which Berne called difficult to define and likely unenforceable. Title 15 was reorganized from a single chapter into nine sections. Most of it had not been updated since 1998.
Council members asked whether the changes would increase Pitkin County’s caseload. Berne said the offenses being removed are ones those courts already handle. Chief of Police Kim Ferber noted the department’s two-year-old High Utilizer Program, built in cooperation with county and district courts, was already reducing repeat offenders cycling through municipal court.
Councilor Guth pressed Berne on whether non-financial, non-jail penalties could supplement the changes for repeat offenders. Berne said community service, probation, and problem-solving courts are all options but require staff the city does not currently have. She pointed to Boulder’s community court as a model worth studying. Guth said he wanted follow-up on whether enforcement work could be contracted out rather than adding city employees. No members of the public commented. The vote was 5-0.
Cozy Point Ranch Irrigation Passes 4-1
The council approved a $119,674 contract for three automated irrigation water reels at Cozy Point Ranch, with Councilor Guth voting no.
Guth said he does not understand why the city owns Cozy Point Ranch or why it grows hay. He said the Farm Collaborative might be a more appropriate steward and that the city has spent heavily on the property throughout his time on council. Mayor Richards said she was on council when the property was purchased in 1999, when the alternative was several large free-market homes on the Cozy Point meadow. She said the ranch serves as western heritage, wildlife habitat, and a place where children learn to grow things. Guth clarified he was not advocating redevelopment — only questioning city ownership.
Parks and Open Space Director Matt Kuhn and Senior Manager John Spiess brought the contract forward as an emergency drought response. The existing system requires workers to manually move irrigation equipment from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.; the automated reels would run overnight, meeting the city’s Stage 3 water restrictions without putting workers in the field through the night. Other council members cited the Farm Collaborative’s new third space at the ranch as evidence of its evolving value. A work session on Cozy Point is scheduled for Monday.
Maroon Creek Wetlands Restoration Approved
The council unanimously approved a contract for Maroon Creek wetlands restoration. City Attorney Kate Johnson said she expects the city to recover the full cost of the work, either through a written agreement currently being negotiated with the landowner or through other action including potential legal remedies. The landowner has been communicating in good faith, Johnson said, and the city wanted council’s authority to move quickly if a rain event occurs before restoration is complete. The vote was 5-0.
Three Officers Sworn In
Officers Berta Rivera, Tatum Hunsader, and Trey Fabrocini were sworn in at the start of the meeting. Fabrocini grew up in Aspen, graduated from Aspen High School in 2020, and returned to pursue law enforcement. His father, Rob, is an APD sergeant with nearly three decades of service. Hunsader transitioned from community service officer to certified patrol officer in January 2025. Rivera grew up in the Roaring Fork Valley and is multilingual.
Other Business
The council confirmed Matthew Butt as Assistant City Attorney through Resolution 75. City Attorney Johnson said Butt graduated from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law in 2024 and worked at Garfield & Hecht before joining the city. The council also approved the transfer of up to $712,733 to APCHA to purchase two aging mobile home properties in the Woody Creek subdivision for replacement with modern modular units. The remaining consent calendar — two Ford F-150 hybrid police trucks at $104,712, a federal Safe Streets grant application, and the May 12 draft minutes — passed unanimously.
During public comment, a resident praised the city’s bicycle and pedestrian safety signs on Hopkins and Hyman and asked for better sustainable packaging options and composting bins near the downtown gas station. Kenny and Robin Smith, owners of Meridian Jewelers, expressed strong support for the city’s license plate reader program as a crime-solving tool and deterrent. Birmingham Phase One resident Ian Metcalf asked the council about reclassifying his APCHA unit from category four to category five to recover renovation costs; council took the packet he distributed and said it would review the matter.
The council proclaimed June 6 as Arbor Day, marking the city’s 34th year as a Tree City USA, with a celebration planned at Paepcke Park. A used bike drop-off is scheduled June 5 from 2 to 4:30 p.m. at the Rio Grande Cycling Center. The city is transitioning its business licensing and short-term rental permitting software to LocalGov on June 1. A new public art mural by local artist Chris Erickson is going up on Galena Street. The next work session is June 1 at 3:30 p.m. at 320 West Main Street for a site visit.
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