County clarifies legal notice rules; meeting notices may go on website but public hearings still require newspaper publication

Summary

San Miguel County staff told commissioners that while routine meeting notices may be posted on the county website, land‑use/public hearing notices remain a legal newspaper publication requirement (14–21 day time frames), so the county will continue using its newspaper of record for such legal notices.

At the Nov. 12 work session, county staff raised whether the county could use its website in place of newspapers for public hearing notices. Staff and legal counsel clarified that meeting notices may be posted on the county website but that certain land‑use public hearing notices are quasi‑judicial legal notices that must still be published in the county's newspaper of record and typically require 14–21 days' notice. The county's newspaper of record is the Telluride Times (formerly Daily Planet) and related local publications; staff said they would not recommend changing the legal‑notice process at this time.

County staff advised that a change in legal‑notice practice could create delays of a few days to a week in scheduling planning commission and commissioner public hearings, because of differing publication frequencies. The commissioners accepted the clarification and agreed the immediate request to move public hearing legal notices to the website is "off the table" until statute or policy guidance changes.