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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 08/08/17 PUBLIC HEARING August 8, 2017 Present: Jillian Ryan Chairman Kathy Chandler-Henry Commissioner Jeanne McQueeney Commissioner Bryan Treu Interim County Manager Beth Oliver Interim County Attorney Christina Hooper Assistant County Attorney Holly Strablizky 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: Commissioner Updates Commissioner McQueeney thanked the owners of the Climax Mine. They took a number of people on a tour last week. The purpose of the tour was to educated people on the importance of the mine and how it contributed to the economy. Commissioner Chandler-Henry provided a final report on the 2017 Eagle County Fair and Rodeo. She thanked all the staff and community sponsors. There were 30 exhibits from 4-H kids going to the State Fair in Pueblo,and the livestock auction raised$307,000. Chairman Ryan thanked the Town of Basalt and the Roaring Fork Regional Planning Commission for participating in a couple of recent meetings about the future of the area and development. She believed they were able to get more aligned and get towards a more shared vision. Consent Agenda 1. SMB-6984 The Pointe at Edwards,Tract A, Lots 5 Kris Valdez,Planning 2. Resolution 2017-049 Approving Special Use Permit For Pleasant Valley Marijuana Cultivation Facility Kris Valdez,Planning 3. Agreement between Eagle County and Gillig, LLC for the Purchase of Two Forty-Foot Replacement Buses Chris Lubbers,ECO Transit 4. Agreement between Eagle County and Gillig, LLC for the Purchase of One Forty-Foot Expansion Bus Chris Lubbers, ECO Transit 5. Community Services Block Grant Contract Amendment#3 Megan Burch,Human Services Commissioner Chandler-Henry moved to approve the Consent Agenda for August 8,2017, as presented. Commissioner McQueeney seconded the motion. The vote was declared unanimous. 1 08/08/2017 Constituent Input Chairman Ryan opened and closed constituent input, as there was none. Business Items 1. Resolution 2017-050 Adopting Eagle County Road Use Regulations Barry Smith,Emergency Management Mr. Smith stated that what was being proposed were road use regulations specific to Cottonwood Pass.The road had been problematic when used as a detour route during closures in Glenwood Canyon. The goal was to better manage traffic flow on Cottonwood Pass. Currently Garfield County had regulations in place but Eagle County did not. With the upcoming closure of the Grand Avenue Bridge in Glenwood Springs,they anticipated a lot more traffic on Cottonwood Pass than normal. Due to the road conditions and limited site distance,the regulations would provide the ability to restrict large vehicles without a permit. The Eagle County Road and Bridge Office would issue the permits and require flaggers to facilitate travel. Chairman Ryan stated that these were permanent regulations for Cottonwood Pass that staff had been contemplating for a while.The regulations would go into effect before the Grand Avenue Bridge closure. Mr. Smith stated that the attempt was to help keep the pass open for commuters. Holly Strablizky,Assistant County Attorney, stated that she assisted the group with putting together the regulations. She stated that the proposed regulations were drafted pursuant to C.R.S. 42-4-511 which required a draft be provided to CDOT 30 days prior to the public hearing and publication in a newspaper 8 days prior. Eagle County also provided information to news outlets, consulted internally, communicated and worked closely with Garfield County, discussed this with the Town of Basalt, and consulted with law enforcement, engineering, and property owners along the roadway. Ben Gerdes,Eagle County Engineer,spoke about the proposed signage that would notify people of the road restrictions before they got to Cottonwood Pass. Commissioner McQueeney asked about the system in place for permitting and who paid for the flaggers. John Harris,Road and Bridge Director, stated that they were working on the system. The information would be posted on signs. Their goal was to limit traffic to just locals. They hoped to have the ability to do an online permitting process. Because the road was not plowed if there was a winter storm,the road would be closed. They did not have the resources to maintain the road during the winter months. Chairman Ryan asked about some of the potential safety issues. Mr. Harris stated that it was a dirt road, and it was a one-lane road in many places. They would monitor the road, and if there was a huge influx of traffic,something would need to be done. They had only a small amount of money set aside for flagging. Road and Bridge would try to work with people and try to keep the road open as long as they could. Commissioner Chandler-Henry asked about compliance. Sherriff Van Beek stated that regulations would allow for fines and penalties. Chairman Ryan opened public comment. Fred Gannet,Basalt resident spoke. He believed that over his 30 years of commuting he had traveled the road 4,500 times. He believed the road in its present state was very accommodating. He expressed concerned with the 45 foot limit. He'd witnessed a lot of construction traffic and trucks pulling trailers recently. He encouraged permitting vehicles of 30 feet or less. Regardless of the signage,there would people who take the road anyway. Larry Woodword,resident and business owner of Cottonwood Pass spoke. He believed that traffic had increase dramatically and something was needed to control it. He believed that people disregarded the speed limits and improvements were needed to slow people down. Chris Montera, Chief Executive Officer of Eagle County Paramedics spoke. He supported the regulations and believed it was a proactive approach. He agreed with the enforcement piece. They would do everything possible to mitigate patients concerns during the closure. Chairman Ryan closed public comment. Commissioner Chandler-Henry wondered if it would be possible to reduce the vehicle length to 30 feet temporarily. 2 08/08/2017 Ms. Strablizky believed that there were a large amount of vehicles that they were not trying to capture in the regulations, and as a result they decided on the 45 feet. If they permitted for 30 to40 feet, it could turn into a permitting nightmare for Road and Bridge. Commissioner McQueeney wondered if a change was made would CDOT need to be notified. Ms. Strablizky stated that CDOT suggested 35 feet initially but supported the 45 foot proposal. Mr. Harris believed that permitting 45 feet allowed for recreational uses and kept the semis off the road. Chairman Ryan believed that commuters wanted a level of predictability to know that they had a relatively good chance of making it from point A to point B. She wondered if the 35 foot limit would increase safety and predictability of keeping the road open. Mr. Harris believed it had been mostly semis that closed the road, and there would continue to be construction traffic.The 35 foot regulation would make it safer.He just was not sure how to keep everyone happy. He suggested monitoring the peak travel times. Commissioner Chandler-Henry didn't want to prohibit people from getting to their jobs on time. She believed that changing the regulations from 45 feet to 35 feet would just create work for Road and Bridge and aggravation for people going through the process. She supported staff's recommendation. Commissioner McQueeney wondered if the regulations could be strengthened if problems were to arise. Ms. Strablizky stated that based on the comments by CDOT she thought they may have the ability to reduce the size,but she wanted to check with CDOT. Sherriff Van Beek suggested giving Road and Bridge the option during specific times and terms. Mr. Treu believed that additional signage would be required because tickets could not be issued without people knowing the regulations Chairman Ryan re-opened public comment. Mr. Gannet stated that he was more concerned with the recreational vehicles in the problem areas. Heather Bruce, Cottonwood Pass resident spoke. She suggested more signage that identified the sharp turns and narrow roadway. Chairman Ryan closed public comment. Commissioner Chandler-Henry was in favor of tableting the file based on some of the suggestions and public comments. Commissioner McQueeney stated that she preferred that the regulations be simple and there to be any enforceability issues. She supported more signage,making it clear of the road conditions. Commissioner Chandler-Henry suggested RV language as well. Chairman Ryan stated that her biggest concern was with the increase in volume and people driving the road for the first time in RVs or trailers. Public safety was the most important, and she wanted to discourage some of the bigger vehicles from trying to take the short cut. Ms. Strablizky stated that they would have to ask CDOT to review the number of axels with regard to trailer length. Chairman Ryan asked if it would be possible to do 35 feet for 95 days. Ms. Strablizky stated something could be drafted,and she would check with CDOT. Commissioner McQueeney stated that she would be in favor of approving the regulations with revised language restricting the length to 35 feet for the next 95 days. Mr. Treu indicated that this would be possible. Commissioner Chandler-Henry suggested making it through the end of the year. Commissioner Chandler-Henry moved to approve the resolution adopting the Eagle County Road Use Regulations with the revised language allowing 35 feet through the end of the year. Commissioner McQueeney seconded the motion. The vote was declared unanimous. 3 08/08/2017 Planning File 1.PDA-6408 Roundup River Ranch PUD Amendment Kris Valdez, Planning File NO./Process: PDA-6408,Amendment of Planned Unit Development Project Name: Roundup River Ranch PUD Amendment Location: 8333 Colorado River Road Applicant/Owner: Roundup River Ranch Representative: Rick Pylman,Pylman&Associates,Inc. Staff Planner: Kris Valdez Staff Engineer: Nicole Mosby Tabled from June 27,June 20, and May 2, 2017 Ms.Valdez presented some additional letters that were emailed to the commissioners earlier but were not available on the website. She reviewed the request and the proposed changes.The applicant was requesting an increase of square footage in some planning areas, an increase in allowable square footage for some buildings, - adding uses in areas, and redefming uses in other areas. She indicated that the proposal met the PUD amendment standards. Public concerns included: smell from wastewater treatment plant,weed spraying and the killing of bees on an adjacent property,rodent infestation,an inadequate irrigation system, loss of views to the mountains.The public recommended that a design review board be established with the neighbors for any future development. The applicant believed they responded to the public concerns and there had been no proposed changes to the vision of the camp or the original premise. The Planning Commission found that the PUD amendment and preliminary plan application met conditions or could meet all applicable standards for a PUD amendment. Rick Pylman introduced Ruth Johnson,Roundup River Ranch President and CEO, and Sterling Nell Leija, Executive Camp Director. Mr. Pylman reviewed the history of the facility and reviewed its mission. He provided a summary of the request. Commissioner McQueeney commented on the standards for compatibility. Mr. Pylman stated that there were two documents and an environment base line that went out to referral. The Wild Life Mitigation Agreement was a condition of the 2008 PUD approval. Staff carried forward the condition on the 2017 staff recommendation. He believed they addressed the concerns by removing the fencing in the wildlife corridor. He provided some diagrams that showed the two 4000 square foot. Lodges,two single family houses, a duplex building, and possibly some small cabins as funds become available.Planning area three and four were approved for 32,000 square feet of programming space that included uses such as a theater,indoor recreation, pool, arts and crafts, and general activities. The revised plan would move some of the programing space. They removed fencing from the coral area and along the river so the elk could move freely through the property. He spoke about the wastewater treatment plant capacity. The current design capacity was 8000 gallons per day(GPD) average; they were under their design capacity. The applicant was taking the complaints about smell, seriously. He reviewed all they did to control odor since May. Staff had been observing any odor issues and keeping daily logs. The applicant asked the neighbors to notify them immediately if there were any odor issues and each time the system was working properly. Anna Moderski with JVA consulting explained how the wastewater treatment plant operated at the ranch. She talked about the hydrogen sulfide(H2S)levels and explained that weather conditions could intensify the smell. They were proactively looking at where the odors were coming from. Based on the feedback they installed a hydrogen sulfide monitor at nine locations on site, four feet above the ground.The data readings were extremely low. Commissioner Chandler-Henry wondered if there could be another cause for the smell. Ms. Moderski stated that they were focused on the hydrogen sulfide because the reports were for a rotten egg smell. The most number of hits were areas nearest the river. No recorded readings exceeded 2 parts per million parts per million(ppm). The treatment plant was at a higher elevation that adjacent homes. It was likely that the gas was accumulating in low lying areas and impacting the adjacent property owners. The plant was operating as expected, functioning properly, and operating within the design parameters. Standard operating procedures were being followed.It was unclear whether the river was contributing to the odor. There ranch had 4 08/08/2017 been proactively investigating the odor since 2015. They had data to support the claims that no odor source to date had been identified. Commissioner McQueeney expressed concern that staff had not had a chance to review the report prior to the meeting. There also seemed to be a lack of trust between the neighbors and the applicant. Mr. Pylman stated that he understood Commissioner McQueeney's point. He had not received the report ahead of the meeting and lacked the expertise to present the findings. Commissioner Chandler-Henry wondered how the medication waste would be handled. Ms.Nell Leija stated that there were no medications dumped down drains. Mr. Pylman explained the updated landscaping plan. They rebuilt the entire irrigation system. Currently there were 434 trees on site, and the irrigation system was running properly. They were also working on a front entry roadside beautification plan. Groundcover would be a low water xeriscape design. He reviewed the standard for compatibility and indicated that the applicant addressed all the issues. Commissioner McQueeney wanted some assurance that there would be no impacts to the adjacent properties. Ms.Valdez stated that staff determined that the file and proposed PUD amendment did not expand to the point where it would impact adjacent properties. Mr. Pylman summarized by stating that the applicant was confident the revisions allowed the ranch to operate better and more efficiently, and the proposed revisions met the spirit and intent of the original PUD approval.He confirmed that the applicant was in agreement with the conditions proposed by staff. The wastewater issue was the most perplexing one, and they didn't have an answer to curing the odor issue but believed that moving forward with the PUD amendment wasn't exacerbating it in any way. They were willing to work with the neighbors to try to identify things off site. Commissioner Chandler-Henry asked about the use of insecticides and herbicides on the property. Ryan Pendergast,Round Up River Ranch Facilities Director stated that they hadn't fertilized any trees this year. They sprayed twice for mosquitos using a company based out of Denver. He met with Mr. Luark prior to the first application.They were working within the recommendations and formalizing a noxious weed program. Commissioner Chandler-Henry asked to hear from Ray Merry,Eagle County Environment Health Department Director's evaluation of the H2S report. Mr. Merry believed the science was good,but he had some questions. He asked Ms.Moderski if the hydrogen sulfide was working its way through the activated carbon filters. Ms. Moderski stated that the carbon filters were on all the vents. Mr.Merry believed there may be some opportunity to further reduce odors. Off gassing happens,and to have an expectation that there would be zero odors was not really reasonable. He believed there was an opportunity to draw attention and light to the subject. He believed the odor could be coming from various sources. Approving the PUD amendment would not make the odor issue worse. Chairman Ryan opened public comment. Levi Schofield, lived near the ranch and was a wastewater installer. Before the ranch was built,there wasn't an issue. The increase in size may not make it worse,but there has to be an improvement in the sewer smell. Jane Long spoke. She'd been involved with the ranch. She supported the amendment for approval for the camp. They had always been in compliance with the rules and served an amazing purpose. Clint Oliver spoke. He drove by the ranch every day, and some days there were no odors and on some days,the smell was intense. He wondered how doubling the size would not impact the adjoining neighbors. Susie Davis spoke. She spoke about here experience14*non-profit sector. She supported the applicant's efforts in moving forward and continuing to bu' - h ahthoughtful manner. Chuppa Nelson spoke. As he saw it,no one oppc ed to the Fljpf amendment but there were some operational issues that needed to be solved. He believed everyone could develop a strategic plan to solve the issues, as they were all solvable. He urged the board to support the expansion'of the facility. Chairman Ryan closed public comment. Commissioner McQueeney wondered if there was a standard or condition that could require everyone get together and solve the problem. 5 08/08/2017 Christina Hooper, Eagle County Assistant Attorney,believed there was willingness by the applicant to continue to work with the neighbors. The standards that seemed to be an issue were impact on adjacent property owners,compatibility with the surrounding neighborhood, and adequate facilities. What the board needed to remember was that the standards were not being applied to the existing use already approved. The question was what impacts the request would have if approved. Some of the more subject concerns could be considered. The question was what impacts this would have if the application as presented was approved. Commissioner Chandler-Henry asked Mr. Merry about the odor recommendations and whether they should be included in the conditions. Mr. Merry referred to the October 3,2016 Aquarius Report,that indicated that there was a Cadillac approach and a less expensive approach to the odor control. He was certain that there may be ways to improve the odor control. Commissioner Chandler-Henry wondered if the applicant should be required to work with Environmental Health to develop a mitigation plan. Mr.Merry believed there were other opportunities to improve on the odor situation. Commissioner McQueeney wondered how this could be conditioned. She saw benefit in continuing to work with the staff Commissioner Chandler-Henry believed a proactive approach in addition to the complaint approach was appropriate. Ms. Hooper was concerned that the condition would have to be tied closely to one of the standards. If a condition of approval was made for an application based on something that was subjective and not proven or tied to certainty,there would be no way to enforce it. There was a standard of approval that required an applicant to adhere to all material representations made during an application hearing. Commissioner McQueeney stated that she admired the applicants work and appreciated the tour. It was amazing program, and she understood the justification for the needed space. She believed the applicant had addressed most of the issues. The biggest concern for her was the odor and impact to adjacent properties. Commissioner Chandler-Henry added her thanks for the work being done at the facility. She believed the request met the standards and the amendment was a better use of the property. The standard most concerning to her was also the odor but she had no doubt that approving the application would make anything worse. She believed the applicant was meeting the Strategic Plan goals of making Eagle County a healthy community. Chairman Ryan thanked the applicant and everyone that wrote in support of the program. She thanked the neighbors for attending the meetings and for providing their testimony. It was helpful to hear the scientific information. She did not think that expanding the ranch would make the odors worse and was not a reason to deny the application. She believed it was in keeping with the original intent. Ms. Hooper suggested the following condition: the approval was contingent on proper revisions to the PUD guide that were consistent with the representations made by the applicant in the application and in the hearing on this matter. Commissioner Chandler-Henry asked the applicant if the condition was acceptable. Mr. Plyman indicated that the condition was acceptable. Commissioner McQueeney moved to approve file no.PDA-6408 incorporating staffs findings and staff's conditions because the application met all the standards for approval of an amendment to a Planned Unit Development, including the additional condition as presented. Commissioner Chandler-Henry seconded the motion. The vote was declared unanimous. There being no further business be tilt.4=•., . the meeting was adjourned . til .gust 15, 2017. * Attest: l// o' er o the Board °%ORP°" ��rman 6 08/08/2017