April 18, 2016

To: Dan Foote, City Attorney; Gary Suiter, City Manager of Steamboat Springs
I request that you take the appropriate action to put this item on the agenda of the City Council of
Steamboat Springs
Subject: Request for investigation into Walter Magill
Dear City Council:
City Council President Walter Magill has crossed the line on the issues that I describe below. I request
the City Council to investigate these issues.
Request
In order to maintain the integrity of the democratic process of the City of Steamboat Springs in Routt
County Colorado, USA the following items require investigation by the City of Steamboat Springs Council
and the results of this investigation require full publication to the public domain to maintain the City of
Steamboat Springs governance transparency
Background
I applied for a variance to a deck in a lot line set back to the Board of Adjustment (BOA) on January 21st
2016. The City of Steamboat Springs Planning Department fully supported my request in their Staff
Report submitted to the BOA. At the variance hearing, the Planning Department again recommended to
the BOA that the variance be granted. Walter Magill was called as a witness by the attorney of the sole
opponent to my variance and spoke against approval of my variance.
The items requiring investigation are detailed below (the words below denoted within the quotation
marks are the recorded minutes from the BOA hearing).
1. Hired Gun
Magill testified under oath at a public hearing on January 21st 2016 in front of the City of Steamboat
Springs BOA, a board whose members are appointed by the City Council he leads and can be removed
by that City Council, only on the basis that he was a for revenue service provider to the variance
opponent he supported. Magill testified against a variance in a district of the City he does not live in nor
does he represent. There was no other reason for him to be present other than business income. If
Magill was testifying as a surveyor he could simply have sent his employee who actually surveyed the lot
line to testify. Presumably, he chose not to do this because he and the sole opponents Attorney, Mr. M.
Holloran, decided that he, as the President of City Council, had more influence over the BOA.
2. Purchased Leverage as Council President
My neighbor Mr. F. Wittern Jr., the sole opponent to my requested variance, had previously hired Brian
Kelly of BTK Surveys to survey his lot line. In preparing for the opposition to my deck variance Wittern
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hired Magill. Magill then proceeded to speak clearly beyond the premise of a surveyor and into the
premise of a city official advising the BOA, which is subordinate to him and the rest of the City Council,
to deny my variance to avoid setting precedence. From the sound of his testimony, Magill spoke to the
BOA as if President of the Steamboat Springs City Council.
Magills recorded statement is I quote from the BOA recorded minutes - If you go back to the BTK
survey I think it clearly depicts that theres other areas that decks could be expanded. Mr. DeWardt has
a deck at grade above here again set back directly north, and that back building 24x17 is a covered deck.
So he certainly enjoys the outside on his property, but I dont think its necessary to have an additional
encroachment here. So if the deck can be trimmed back the 30-40% thats encroaching, I think that
would be the better precedent for this kind of situation. These are NOT the words of a surveyor.
Furthermore, Attorney Holloran asked Magill to demonstrate what other areas are available for deck
construction that do not encroach into the setback area; Magill obligingly did so. Then Holloran asked
how many decks DeWardt currently has on the property; Magill pointed out four outdoor spaces
(decks/patios). Holloran then used Magills assessment of my decks and other locations for a deck as a
reason to deny my variance. Magills testimony was outside his role as a surveyor and was used as one
of the two cited reasons to deny my City Planning Department supported variance.
3. Respect for Rules of Office
During his presentation to the BOA, Magill never disclosed his conflict of interest. He made no attempt
whatsoever to distinguish his role as a surveyor hired by the opponent to my variance request and his
role as City Council President representing all citizens of Steamboat Springs, a role in which he and the
Council appoint and fire the members of the Board of Adjustment.
This misrepresentation of himself and his role is a direct conflict of interest as defined in the CDC section
2-96
4. Corruption of my hearing process
Magills participation by testifying at the BOA hearing with his strident statements on denial and
precedent corrupted the legitimate process I should have been afforded by the City of Steamboat
Springs at the BOA hearing. He spoke against the recommendation of the City Planning Department to
approve my variance. As such he corrupted the variance hearing and negatively impacted the rights I am
afforded as a citizen of Steamboat Springs.
5. Should Walter Magill offer his resignation as City Council President to the City Council?
In baseball, Mr. Magill would have three strikes and would leave the field of play. He accrued all three
strikes by failing to adhere to 3 of the 4 City of Steamboat Springs policy directives for Council members
which clearly and publically state:
All councilmembers and board members shall be guided by the following general directives in dealing
with potential conflicts of interest:
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(1) All councilmembers and board members shall avoid any conflicts of interest or appearance of
conflicts of interest.
(2) The city council and city manager shall thoroughly examine the background of all applicants for
real or potential conflicts of interest, and the appearance thereof, prior to appointing any board
member.
(3) All councilmembers and board members shall avoid the receipt of any compensation, gift,
payment of expense, reward, gratuity or any item of value tendered by a person where such
person has an interest in some particular matter pending before the council or board.
(4) A councilmember or board member may be a member of a firm which represents another
person before the city council or a board; except, such circumstances shall be conclusively
deemed to be a conflict of interest for such councilmember or board member

I look forward to the City Council resolving the conflict of interest by City Council President Walter Magill
which directly harmed me.
Submitted by John de Wardt, Citizen of Steamboat Springs.