City Attorney’s Office
Reference: Brighton Municipal Code Updates to Right of Entry, Municipal Court Failure to Appear Charges, and Restitution
To: Mayor Gregory Mills and Members of City Council
Through: Michael P. Martinez, City Manager
Prepared By: Jeanette Gallagher, Certified Paralegal and Michael Davis, Assistant City Attorney
Date Prepared: November 17, 2025
PURPOSE
To provide City Council with updates to the Brighton Municipal Code regarding right of entry, municipal court charges for failure to appear, and municipal court restitution that will better align with the State statutes.
BACKGROUND
The current Brighton Municipal Code (“BMC”) sections regarding right of entry, municipal court’s failure to appear charge, and municipal restitution no longer align with the constitution and/or new state laws.
Section 1-20-10 currently allows entry into a private property for inspection without a warrant; such entry goes against state and federal law. While this has not been applied or used for some time, making these changes will protect both the City as a whole and City staff since the U.S. and Colorado Constitutions prevent unreasonable searches of private property. The code is being updated to remove the allowance of entry into private property for inspection without a search warrant.
On April 17, 2025, the Governor signed Senate Bill 25-062 which prohibits municipal courts from charging a person for failing to appear as the sole basis for a criminal charge. Section 2-16-100 outlines what the penalty is for contempt of court, which includes language to allow the failure to appear for a municipal court hearing as a basis to charge a person. The code is being updated to remove the wording of failure to appear as a sole basis for charging a person for contempt.
Section 1-24-30 currently establishes a 90-day deadline for requesting and entering an order for restitution in a municipal court case. On May 30, 2025, the Governor signed House Bill 25-1304 which changed the deadline to request restitution to 63-days following the entry of a conviction order. The code is being updated to change the deadline the prosecuting attorney has to request restitution to 63-days and adding the language that extends the deadline the court has to enter an order for restitution to be 63 days after the prosecution has submitted the request.
CRITERIA BY WHICH COUNCIL MUST CONSIDER THE ITEM
The proposed changes will allow the code to be consistent with the state and federal laws.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
None
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
The City Attorney’s Office recommends approval of the proposed changes.
OPTIONS FOR COUNCIL CONSIDERATION
• Approve the Ordinance.
• Reject the Ordinance.
• Provide further guidance.
ATTACHMENTS
• Ordinance
• Redlines of Proposed Code Changes
• PowerPoint Presentation