3 Laws you didn’t know were a thing in Fort Collins
Ain’t nobody got time to read laws. So I did it for you.
1. Party hosts are responsible for damages to neighboring property made by their guests.
College parties can be an entirely different animal on their own. Take a bunch of twenty-somethings away from their parents, and in an oddly democratic way, watch as they designate a host to nurse every vice and need they could have. But if parties start to get rowdy on someone’s property, then guess who’s taking the fall? Well maybe you, but so’s the host.
Fort Collins has had a Nuisance Gathering Ordinance since 2005 which states that party hosts can be charged with a misdemeanor if their party commits property damage on a public area or on another person’s private property. The punishments can also include a $1,000 fine, along possible jail time or community service. The host can also be held responsible for public repair fees, private compensation, and overtime for public services.
So if you’re the guy in the meme, be prepared to clutch hardcore
2. Your house could get cited
Not even your house is safe from citations. According to the Public Nuisance Ordinance passed in 2000, Fort Collins considers a property a public nuisance if:
1. Two citations of the same kind are received within six months.
2. Three citations of any kind are received within a year
3. Five citations of any kind are received in two years
Because the City monitors the house, it’s possible for new tenants moving into a “nuisance property” to be fined more or evicted if issues with the house continue. CSU’s Off-Campus Life recommends calling the City’s Neighborhood Services to check the rental history of properties students may be interested in leasing.
But fret not because the City is actually pretty lenient when it comes to public nuisances. Owners and tenants have 45 days to correct the problem before a police officer has to personally determine if the issue is legitimate.
3. You could be charged for watching a riot
Imagine this: there’s trash everywhere, someone’s been breaking someone’s furniture, and a three-way to-the-death fist fight’s broken amongst your company. You can’t tell what’s going on, but you seem to hear the wee-woos of a police siren. Congratulations, you may have a riot on your hands. And no, I’m not being hyperbolic.
Rioting in Fort Collins is defined as “a public disturbance involving three or more people whose conduct creates a danger of damage or injury to people or substantially disrupts the performance of any government function.” And under a Colorado law passed in 2002, those charged with engaging in a riot may have to pay up to $1,000 in fines, alongside a possible 12-month jail sentence and a mandatary one year suspension from any state university in Colorado. But, you could also be charged with rioting if you’ve been caught watching a riot, even if you were just a bystander.
Your best bet is to leave the scene as soon as it escalates.
