By Maximus Vogt
The Ramspondents
During a city council meeting on Nov. 3, the council decided to postpone voting until Dec. 16 on proposed ordinances 172 and 174 that propose new policy around the city’s trees.
Postponement was due to both the council and community members requesting further clarification in the proposed code and sparked Councilmember (District 5) Kelly Ohlson to speak on affordable housing.
Of the seven ordinances introduced, the other five ordinances were adopted unanimously on second reading. These introduce commercial tree removal permits, update tree mitigation exemptions, increase protection of trees during construction and update requirements on spacing and tree maintenance. For a more in-depth look on these ordinances take a look at our past tree ordinance story.
Ordinance 172 proposes an establishment period for street trees before the city takes over maintenance. This policy sparked conversation around responsibility for trees while properties are in escrow.
City Forester Kendra Boot said that the policy does not propose any changes in the city’s escrow policy. Dean Klinger, director of community services, further said that the current escrow policy as it relates to tree policy allows for the flexibility as the city is protected while construction can move forward.
In response, Mayor pro-tem Emily Francis said that there exists a lot of unpredictability even in this “three year warranty period” and proposed to postpone voting to give staff members time to propose a clearer policy.
“So we can get it right the first time, instead of having to come back,” Francis said.
Klinger said that it would be unrealistic to rethink the entire escrow policy before the end of the year, which actually falls outside of tree policy and purview of these ordinances proposed. However, he said that staff could come up with more clarifications in the proposed policy.
“The escrow policy is not in the tree policies, it is separately in the code, so it would not be realistic to rethink an entire escrow policy by the end of the year,” Kinger said. “If what we are talking about is a conversation around where we might not be communicating, then I think we can be back in two weeks.”
Ohlson said that while he does not support delaying policy any further, he agrees with this delay as it would stop “diluting” tree policy.
Ohlson said he sees the tree policy as a metaphor for the affordable housing discussion that has become an “obsession.” He said that while he supports affordable housing, the tree policy will have little impact on affordability.
“This has grown tiresome to me,” Ohlson said. “The tree policies will have no discernible impact on affordable housing, it would be minuscule if any.”
Ohlson said new policies that aim at affordable housing often impact the standard of living in Fort Collins without doing much to solve the problem.
“It's this race to the bottom of deregulation, de-feeing, de-planning, de-treeing, under this misguided notion that it will lead to affordable housing,” he said.
“If we want affordable housing then the specific projects through catalysts, through habitat, then if we need to work on fees there, then we need to walk the talk,” he said. “But you don't de-fee all of the market housing either.”
In a presentation for the proposed policy by Boot and Senior Policy and Project Manager Sylvia Tatman-Burruss, supporting mixed-use and affordable housing is directly mentioned. In a previous interview with Boot she said that the new mitigation policies attempt to lower costs and burdens on developers when building high-density housing, which often is how affordable housing is built.
“Its one of our priorities to make it more affordable to live here, and a big part of affordability means higher density,” she said.
Little was said on policy 174 other than the policy should be further clarified to include that double row trees do not impact emergency fire procedures.
Maximus Vogt is an art history major and journalism minor at CSU, active in fine art happenings on campus. He is interested in the intersection of art, community and news.
Loveland man charged in 2023 hoax bomb case
By Chloe Waskey
The Ramspondents
The Larimer County Sheriff's Office issued a press release Nov. 5 announcing the arrest of Loveland man Harold West, who has been accused of placing a suspicious device outside the Larimer County Justice Center in 2023.
A suspicious device was reported outside the building on the morning of July 31, 2023, resulting in the evacuation of patrons in surrounding buildings and cancellation of court proceedings for the day. Upon removal and further inspection, the Northern Colorado Bomb Squad determined the device was a fake explosive intentionally designed to look like a bomb.
LCSO investigators and the FBI believe the false explosive was placed to delay a court hearing scheduled that day. Online records reveal West was slated to appear in court that morning to be sentenced in a felony burglary case, for which he was later sentenced to five years in prison.
West, 43, was arrested Nov. 4, 2025, on charges of attempting to influence a public servant, a Class 4 felony; possession of explosives or incendiary devices as a hoax, a Class 5 felony; and obstruction of government operations, a Class 2 misdemeanor.
LCSO noted that West is to be presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Chloe Waskey is a CSU student majoring in journalism and media communication with a minor in political science.