HARC chair to face ethics complaint

By Douglas McDaniel

Telluride Town Councilman Stu Fraser has filed an ethics violation complaint against Chance Leoff, the chairman of the Telluride Historic Architectural Review Commission, over his participation in a Clark’s Market application hearings when he should have been recused.
The Ethics Commission will meet Monday at 11 a.m. at Rebekah Hall to review the case.
“It appeared there was a potential violation,” Fraser said. “On Monday they will make a decision on whether it’s frivolous or whether there is a merit. If they find there is merit, then they will conduct a hearing right after that.”
Fraser alleges violations on two separate occasions, one during a hearing on Clark’s on July 19, and another on Dec. 13, both meetings in which the controversial Clark’s Market expansion was discussed.
At the HARC meeting of July 19, 2006, Leoff “presided over the proceedings and did not recuse himself, and actually developed the motion used for the application’s continuance,” according to the complaint.
“The Chairperson created a motion and voted to continue the application to another meeting,” the complaint states. It states Leoff presided as HARC chairman at the July 19 meeting when the Clark’s project was discussed but he lives within 150 feet of the grocery store applicant’s property. The Town of Telluride’s rules on ethics for public officials state, “a town official shall also be prohibited from voting on any motions directly arising out of the discussions on the matter.”
In addition, the complaint states, on Dec. 13, 2006, while Leoff recused himself from the Clark’s hearing “witnesses will testify that he returned to the meeting in violation of the Ethics Code.”
The witnesses listed in the document include Leoff, Fraser, HARC boardmember Sonchia Jilek, Town Clerk Michelle Haynes and Town Planning Director Chris Hawkins.
On the night that HARC denied the Clark’s application based, for the most part, on issues related to “mass and scale,“ Leoff recused himself from the meeting, “but showed up during the meeting and was asked to leave by the Assistant Town Clerk Michelle Haynes and then by Town Attorney Kevin Geiger. He left, but not after challenging the individuals on their rights to request his departure.”
The complaint states that after the between the meetings of July 19 and Dec. 13, the HARC chairman had been counseled by Town Attorney Kevin Geiger about the relevant provisions of the Ethics Code regarding recusal. In fact, Leoff is a former member of the Ethics Commission that created the revised code.
“Unethical behavior, those are big words for not having recused myself,” Leoff said. “A lot of people (public officials) will tell you they make mistakes in that proximity issue. It’s a lay board. These things happen.”
He said as far as the meeting in December goes, “I walked in, walked out.” After the July meeting, he said, Fraser had confronted Leoff over the recusal issue and his “handling of the meeting,” asking the chairman to resign.
“He wanted me to step down as chair or there’s going to be an ethics violation,” he said.
But Fraser denied asking Leoff to resign.
“I told him in August that there were some problems, but I didn’t ask him to resign,” Fraser said. “I’m only speaking of a narrow situation. In terms of the way he handles meetings, I think he has done a very good job on some things.”