MAPLETON— Mapleton city agreed Friday to pay $303,958 to a python breeder whose business was ousted from a residential area because disgruntled neighbors feared the snakes' presence would damage the value of surrounding land.

Mayor Jim Brady said the city misled Dan Sutherland by counseling him to purchase the land for his business and granting him a business license and building permit for two barns to house the animals and their prey — rats and mice.

The city planner at the time advised Sutherland he did not need to conduct a public hearing before moving in with his 1,500 ball pythons, he said.

"If the city planner had not made the representations he made, Mr. Sutherland would not have spent the money he spent," Brady said. "We (the City Council) felt responsible for his expenditures."

The settlement money covers only the difference between the current price tag on Sutherland's property and the snake breeder's total out-of-pocket expenses.

A complete list of damages, which includes lost profits and damage to the snakes' breeding cycle caused by unnecessary moving, rings in at more than $1 million, said Randy Spencer, Sutherland's lawyer.

The settlement also puts a stop to Sutherland's case against the city in 4th District Court. The snake breeder petitioned the court Aug. 18 for the review of the city's decision to deny him the necessary permit to keep his snakes in the neighborhood.

Brady said Sutherland contacted Mapleton to discuss his business before moving from California in 2006. After looking at the breeder's Web site, thesnakekeeper.com, the city planner advised him he could breed snakes in Mapleton. Sutherland originally selected a piece of property in a remote area bordered by two streets and a railroad track. He was advised, however, that he must move his business to an area zoned for residential use.

After Sutherland was issued a business license, the City Council, concerned that there were no public hearings about the matter, interceded in the process. In July, after nearly 18 months of heated meetings with the snake breeder's neighbors, the city denied Sutherland a conditional use permit for his snakes.

The city will pay the settlement over a five-year period in payments ranging from $55,000 to $65,000. The money will come from the city's contingency fund.

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