MAPLETON — Like an upset ball python, a snake breeder who was shooed out of a Mapleton neighborhood is poised and ready to strike.

For Mapleton city, which recently denied Dan Sutherland the necessary permit to bring 1,500 ball pythons to the neighborhood, escaping that bite — the threat of litigation — is worth more than $250,000.

The City Council voted Tuesday to allow Mayor Jim Brady to begin negotiating a settlement with Sutherland.

The snake breeder filed a petition with the 4th District Court Aug. 18 for review of the City Council's decision to deny him a conditional-use permit. He also submitted a claim to the city outlining more than $1 million in damages. The mayor said the City Council's action was consistent with the city attorney's recommendation but would not discuss Thursday the council's specific reasons for negotiating a settlement with Sutherland.

"The City Council feels there is justification," he said. "We have already reviewed our legal position."

If the two parties agree on a settlement, Sutherland will abandon his case in the 4th District Court. Brady said, though, that the petition for review is not the city's main concern.

"The issue is not whether he has the right to have snakes; the issue is whether he's been damaged," he said.

When Sutherland moved to Mapleton from California, he obtained a business license and made arrangements with the city planning division to set up two barns to house the snakes and the rodents to feed them. Neighbors were upset, however, and city officials, who claimed Sutherland represented his online business as a hobby, re-evaluated the issue. After a series of heated public meetings spanning 18 months, Sutherland's conditional-use permit was denied.

Sutherland's attorney, Randy Spencer, said the snake breeder was always up-front with the city about the scale of his business. He said the city denied the conditional-use permit because of an "irrational fear of snakes.

"The city led Mr. Sutherland to believe he could bring his business to Mapleton," Spencer said. "As a result of the about-face, he suffered a pretty severe loss in business."

In addition to the price of developing the land to accommodate the snakes, Spencer said Sutherland lost money because the snakes, agitated by an unnecessary and badly timed move, did not breed successfully. Sutherland also spent money finding an alternative home for his snakes while the City Council considered the conditional-use permit.

The council suggested the city dispense the $250,000 pay-out over five years, giving Sutherland $50,000 annually. They agreed to apply a 7 percent interest rate to the funds.

When Brady approached Sutherland with the offer Wednesday, however, he was not satisfied. The two parties are still wrangling over an appropriate interest rate.

Brady said, though, the city is "very close" to coming to an agreement with the snake breeder.

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