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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 05/09/2023 PUBLIC HEARING . May 9, 2023 Present: Kathy Chandler-Henry Chairman Matt Scherr Commissioner Jeanne McQueeney Commissioner Jeff Shroll County Manager Matt Peterson Assistant County Attorney Kathy Scriver Deputy Clerk to the Board This being a scheduled Public Hearing,the following items were presented to the Board of County Commissioners for their consideration: Constituent Input Chairman Chandler-Henry opened and closed constituent input, as there was none. Commissioner Updates Commissioner Scherr thanked the local representative who had been engaged with the county and municipalities during the legislative session. The Colorado Sun listed all the 101 bills and was an interesting article. Commissioner McQueeney stated that she would be doing the office hours in Basalt, at the.Basalt Library on Thursday. Chairman Chandler-Henry thanked everyone who participated in the highway cleanup. She also reminded folks in the Roaring Fork area or heading that way,that there was a Watershed Summit on Thursday,May 11th in Carbondale. County Manager Updates Jeff Shroll stated that the commissioners worked hard on communicating the things that were important to Eagle County during the legislative session and acknowledged their hard work. He also shared that the county had just finished three weeks of Diversity Equity and Inclusion training. There was just a little over 80%participation from all Eagle County employees. This would continue to be an ongoing priority for Eagle County and round two was coming. Also, as the river was beginning to rise he reminded folks to stay safe. Consent Agenda 1. Agreement for Services Between Eagle County and Rocky Mountain Steel Structures,Inc. for Roof Work at the Fairgrounds Ron Siebert, Facilities Management 05/09/2023 2.Agreement for Professional Services between Eagle County and Schmueser Gordon Meyer,Inc dba SGM,Inc for Geothermal Design Services for County Locations Ron Siebert,Facilities Management 3.Agreement Between Colorado Public Health&Environment and Eagle County for Tobacco STEPP Program 2023 Contract Maria Gonzalez,Public&Environmental Health 4. Amendment 7 to Agreement Between Colorado Public Health&Environment and Eagle County for the Nurse-Family Partnership Maria Gonzalez,Public Health&Environment 5. Approval of the Minutes for the Board of County Commissioner Meetings for April 18,April 25,2023 Kathy Scriver, Clerk&Recorder's Office Commissioner Scherr moved to approve the Consent Agenda for May 9, 2023 as presented. Commissioner McQueeney seconded the motion. The vote was declared unanimous. Business Item(s) 1. Resolution 2023-028 Between Eagle County, Towns and Fire Districts Designating May as Wildfire Preparedness Month Katie Jenkins,Emergency Management Executive Summary: Warmer temperatures, drought, and continued development in the wildland-urban interface have made wildfire mitigation a top priority for Eagle County and the surrounding jurisdictions. By signing a joint resolution between the County,the Towns, and the Fire Districts to collectively recognize May as Wildfire Preparedness Month,we are acknowledging that we must all work together to protect our communities from the threat of wildfire. All fire districts will be signing onto the resolution as well as Towns of Gypsum(before council on April 25),Minturn(before council on May 3), Red Cliff(confirmed with their council),Vail(before council May 2),Eagle(before council May 9), and Avon(before council May 9). Ms. Jenkins provided details about the resolution and stressed the importance of bringing awareness to the community. Folks were welcome to reach out to her office for more information. Commissioner McQueeney moved to approve the Resolution between Eagle County,Towns and Fire Districts Designating May as Wildfire Preparedness Month. Commissioner Scherr seconded the motion. The vote was declared unanimous. 2. Resolution 2023-029 Concerning Appointments to the Roaring Fork Valley Regional Planning Commission Bill Gibson, Community Development Executive Summary: Staff is recommending Roaring Fork Valley Regional Planning Commission members for the Board of County Commissioners consideration for appointment. 2 05/09/2023 Recommended re-appoints Laura Smith as a regular member and appoint candidates Matt Harder and Barry Rabe as alternate members. Commissioner Scherr moved to approve the Resolution concerning Appointments to the Roaring Fork Valley Regional Planning Commission. Commissioner McQueeney seconded the motion. The vote was declared unanimous. 3. Resolution 2023-030 Concerning Appointments to the Eagle County Planning Commission Bill Gibson, Community Development Executive Summary: Staff is recommending Eagle County Planning Commission members for the Board of County Commissioners consideration for appointment. Recommended re-appoints Leah Mayer as a regular member and appointments of Mark Szczeny as a regular member and Craig Kish and Corrine Hara as associate. Commissioner McQueeney moved to approve the Resolution concerning Appointments to the Eagle County Planning Commission. Commissioner Scherr seconded the motion. The vote was declared unanimous. Work Session - Eagle County Room 1. Eagle River Water& Sanitation District: Regional Water and Wastewater Service—Priorities and Challenges Site Visit - Wolcott 1. Site Visit For Zip Adventures ZS-009284 Special Use Permit Executive Summary: The purpose of the site visit is to consider an application for amending an existing Special Use Permit to add an outdoor paintball area, a bungee jump feature and a Canyon Plunge feature to the existing zipline uses. The location of the site visit is on Hwy 131 approximately 1 mile north of the Hwy 131 and Hwy 6 intersection, in the Wolcott Area(Assessor's Parcel#1941-103-00-010 & 1941-161-00-03) Planning File - Eagle County Room 1. Zip Adventures ZS-009284 Special Use Permit Vince Hooper,Planning Executive Summary: The purpose of the public hearing is to consider an application to amend an existing Special Use Permit to add an outdoor paintball area,a bungee jump feature,and a Canyon Plunge to the existing zipline uses. 3 05/09/2023 Project Name: Zip Adventures File No.: ZS 009284-2022 Location: North of Hwy 131 mile marker 1,Wolcott area Owners/Applicants: Zip Adventures of Vail Representative: MPG-Dominic Mauriello Staff Planner: Vince Hooper Staff Engineer: Taylor Ryan County Attorney: Matt Peterson Recommendation: Approval with Conditions Vince Hooper,Eagle County Staff Planner,provided a brief introduction to the file. The application was sent out for a 21-day referral period, 19 total requests for comments, and received 8 back. The application had been adequately public noticed in the newspaper and adjacent property owners were notified with letters. Staff received multiple public comments and all the comments were part of the staff packet. The property consisted of two separate parcels and were owned by the Denver Water Board and leased to 4 Eagle Ranch and subleased to Zip Adventures. Dominic Mauriello with Mariello Planning presented on behalf of the applicant. Zip Adventures started in 2007, and the new owners purchased the business in 2017. He showed a map of the area and indicated where the paintball course would be and where loading and unloading would take place. Folks would arrive at 4 Eagle Ranch, get outfitted, sign a release, load into a truck, and travel to the site. The tour size was approximately 12 guests and the Zip Adventure was limited to 70 people per day. The applicant wished to add an outdoor paintball area, and a Canyon Plunge feature, a bungee operation. The site was contained within two parcels, approximately 219 acres. The current Zip Adventures operation was based out of the 4 Eagle Ranch Headquarters at 4098 Hwy 131. He provided an aerial view and indicated the location of the cables. In addition to the summer use,the applicant was requesting to operate the bungee operation from December 1st through April 30th annually,which would make the bungee jump the only activity offered during the winter months. The winter bungee jump tour would be limited to 10 participants with three tours a day between the hours of 10 a.m. -2p.m. In terms of regulation and oversight, an application to amend the Special Use Permit was submitted in July of 2022.All aerial adventure course activities were regulated by the State of Colorado. The applicant had been fully compliant with all the state requirements. He noted that page 7 of the staff report listed all the issues that were raised by referral agencies,and he believed all were remedied except for the CPW issues around wildlife and winter use. He gave a summary of their wildlife approach and mitigation methods. There was no elk critical range in the area, and the site was well south of the currently occupied sage grouse range. In terms of raptors, in the 16 years of operation there had been no raptor collisions with the cables. The applicant had agreed to do whatever was recommended by CPW in terms of raptors. The applicant was proposing that the bird deterrence be placed on the zip lines during the winter. Since 2007 the zip-line has closed seasonally from December to April to minimize deer impacts. The applicant was now requesting to operate the bungee jump in the winter. He showed a map of the bungee location and where the mule deer winter concentration area was located. There would be no paint ball or zip line operations in the winter. The applicant believed that the overall impacts to deer would not be significant. The applicant agreed with all the conditions except Conditions#1 and#2. They did receive 40 letters of support from local businesses as well as 108 signatures of support. Mr. Hooper gave a staff presentation. He stated that there were a lot of conditions from the original application and pointed out a few of them as they would be important moving forward. The business did receive a notice of violation for the construction of the bungee jump and additional construction for the paintball operation and other improvements. In reviewing the referral responses,he noted that CPW did provide comments and would form some of the focus of the conditions of approval. Their primary recommendation was that the uses remain closed during the winter,provide visual deterrence for the cables, and utilize bird friendly fencing. The Geological Survey provided concerns based on Alkali Creek and potential erosion. The Eagle River Watershed Council raised concerns over impacts to Alkali Creek and recommended that the paintball area be excluded from the riparian zones. Eagle County Environmental Health originally wanted to see a vault privy 4 05/09/2023 onsite but had since changed their recommendation that they could continue to use a portable out house if they didn't have winter use. Eagle County Open Space provided comments and highlighted their support for CPW's full closure for winter use and the"off-season"time period to be specifically defined. There was a set of defined uses for this zone district and the proposed uses were not included in the resource zone district, so in order for the use to be consistent with the zone district,the planning director would have to make a finding that the uses were similar to an existing listed use. In the past it was determined that the use was based on a resort recreation facility use. He reviewed the standards of approval and 12 conditions and indicated that staff recommended approval of the application with the recommended conditions. Commissioner Scherr asked if all the referral comments had been addressed except CPW. Mr. Hooper stated that they worked through most of them except the one related to winter use. Commissioner McQueeney asked about the disagreements with CPW on the conditions. Brian Woodrich, CPW District Wildlife Manager expressed concern for the mule deer population within this area. Areas where this project site was as well as the surrounding areas of BLM and natural areas were important to make sure the wintering wildlife could survive. If there was not a good winter range,the population would be lost. In 2007 he commented that the winter closure was absolutely important within the Special Use Permit. In the years since then,there had been many deer in the area that utilized the area. Since 2007,the summer uses had a limited impact on wildlife because wildlife were in their summer ranges. But during the winter months the deer were on the east side of the zipline facility. Commissioner McQueeney appreciated Mr.Woodrich's expertise and understood that it was difficult to mitigate the sounds of people. Mr. Woodrich believed that winter closures were the only way to mitigate people and wildlife. He believed it was important to stand behind the winter closures. Commissioner Scherr wondered if there was a disagreement between the applicant's wildlife expert and his opinion on impacts or just the consequences of impacts. Kelly Colfer with Western Bionomics stated that he'd been working with the applicant to try to mitigate the wildlife impact. He did not disagree with Mr.Woodrich, and understood that any activity in the critical winter range would result in additional mortality to the mule deer. Recreation did have impacts on wildlife. It was his professional opinion that Zip Adventures had gone to great extent to mitigate their impact on wildlife by reducing their days and hours of operation and were not responsible for the accumulated impacts that had already been approved. Chairman Chandler-Henry asked about the health of the mule deer population in the area. Mr. Woodrich stated that the current population was roughly 13,600, in range of their population objective. However due to human impacts,the population used to be much larger and the range was much higher. If human occupancy was permitted during the winter months, it would negatively impact the deer population. Commissioner Scherr stated that in the previous approval it was stated that there would be no annual review for snowpack and temperature and wondered what that meant. Mr. Woodrich stated that it had to do with the definition of severe winter range. Commissioner Scherr asked if additional work would have to be done in order to evaluate or if an annual review would be necessary. Mr. Woodrich stated that it would be extra work to evaluate the herd numbers. He was very cautious to throw out numbers due to their migratory habits. Chairman Chandler-Henry stated that in the letter from CPW there was a statement that says"undisturbed winter range in the Eagle Valley corridor continues to diminis111. She asked Mr. Woodrich to elaborate on whether any degradation to the wildlife herd is an acceptable ris Mr. Woodrich stated that with all the development wit ' towns,wildlife has been pushed to the outskirts of what was truly winter range. They were forced#o 4.pecific areas that they could survive through s winter months. The animals could not survive unless they had- .... -refuge. Commissioner McQueeney stated that there was new'infdrmation introduced as to how the application would mitigate for the birds. Mr. Woodrich stated that the CPW was simply requesting a visual deterrent to prevent the birds from hitting the lines. There were different bird species of concern that.occupy the area at different months of the year. 5 05/09/2023 The project did fall within historic sage grouse habitat. Winter closures were protection across the board for the birds and mule deer. Commissioner McQueeney wondered if the winter closure would change as the climate shifted, say 10 years from now. She wondered if there was a way to write the condition more broadly. Matt Peterson,Assistant Eagle County Attorney, did not believe there was a way to write it more broadly. The board could put a review timeline on the condition to analyze the winter closure in the future. Mr. Woodrich believed the winter range dates were not always on point. Commissioner Chandler-Henry asked about Mr. Woodrich's thoughts on the summer operations. Mr. Woodrich stated that the summertime use didn't spark any CPW concerns. Commissioner Chandler-Henry asked about the mitigation measures for Harrington's penstemon. Mr. Hooper stated that it was primarily avoidance of an area where the plants were located. Mr. Mauriello stated that it was trying to be mindful of the plant. The plants were on the sides of the footpaths and more related to the paintball area. Chairman Chandler-Henry opened and closed public comment, as there was none. Commissioner Scherr agreed with staff that as conditioned the application met the standards and was consistent with the comprehensive plan. He appreciated the design and work being done to mitigate the concerns. He was ready to approve the application with staff's proposed conditions. Commissioner McQueeney believed this was a balancing act. She was happy to approve the Special Use Permit for the proposed uses but felt obligated to protect the wildlife. This area was a gem and the birds and the animals were a part of what makes it so special. The Wolcott area Community Plan prioritized goals around wildlife and wildlife population. She believed the conditions as staff had listed them were necessary to mitigate the impact to the wildlife. She was prepared to approve the application as conditioned. Commissioner Chandler-Henry concurred with her fellow commissioners. It was exciting to have this summer use there that gave folks a chance to see the area but the recreation use of winter habitat would diminish the habitat to such a degree that the natural resources would be diminished. She believed that the file met the standards as conditioned. She requested that as part of conditions 5,that the conditions be spelled out for clarity and that it be noted that other concerns had been met as far as emergency services,traffic, and porta potties. Mr. Peterson proposed for condition 1, a second sentence that stated that the winter closure shall be reviewed by the community development director in consultation with the applicant and CPW to determine whether the closure dates may be altered. He asked the applicant if they were agreeable to the language he proposed regarding the review every three years or so. Mr. Mauriello suggested five years. Mr. Peterson asked the applicant if it would be okay if the resolution was drafted based on the commissioners motion and that the prior conditions be added with condition number five. Mr. Mauriello agreed that they should be included. Commissioner McQueeney moved to approve file no. ZS 009284-2022,incorporating staff's findings and recommended conditions,because this application, as conditioned, meets the standards for approval of a Special Event Permit. Commissioner Scherr seconded the m(OAG1E ff.e he vote was declared unanimous. There bein no further business b.,.o . -di the meeting as adjourned until May 16,20 3. eo Yhhittil' Attest: r 71/7/17 lerk to the Board Chairman 6 05/09/2023