SAN MIGUEL COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION  MINUTES-REGULAR MEETING  October 12, 2023 333 West Colorado Avenue Lee Taylor, Chair Josselin Lifton-Zoline, Vice-Chair Ian Bald, Member M.J. Schillaci, Secretary Tobin Brown, Sr. Alternate Matthew Bayma, Member Galena Gleason, Alternate Kaye Simonson, Planning Director John Huebner, Senior Planner Nicola Kerr, Planning Technician  Present:  Absent:  Planning Staff Present:  10:37 a.m. Chair called the meeting to order. Applicant: Andres Michelich and Kerstin May Location: Tract 2, Panorama Acres PIN: 430117302002 Parcel size: 40.05 acres  10:45A.M. PUBLICI HEARING:LANDI USE APPLICATION  Zone District: Forestry, Agriculture and Open (F) or fewer guests - Continued from September 14, 2023 Tobin Brown recused himself from this item.  Proposal: Special Use Permit for Social and Scenic Uses with attendance of two hundred (200)  A Site Visit was. held prior to the meeting with Commissioners, Josselin Lifton-Zoline, MJ John Huebner, Senior Planner, presented a PowerPoint presentation to the Commission. Josselin Lifton-Zoline asked if the Road and Bridge Director Ryan Righetti indicated whether any John Huebner responded that the road does need improvements though none are scheduled at this time. Lee Taylor asked who owns the property with the easement to access the subject property. John Huebner responded that he would not characterize it as an easement but their access is in the  Schillaci, and Ian Bald present.  improvements to the road are scheduled.  conditions of purchase. He is not sure who ist the owner.  1Page    Lee' Taylor asked who ist responsible to providing fire response. John Huebner responded Telluride Fire Protection District.  Lee' Taylor replied that this would signify Placerville's Fire Department Station.  Lee Taylor asked, if the applicant were to take prospective clients to the site in the May through June Kaye Simonson, Planning Director responded that yes this would be considered commercial. Josselin Lifton-Zoline stated that during the site visit the applicant indicated there may be plans fora John Huebner responded that they would need al Development Permit but approval for the well through Andy Michelich responded that a well installation has not been evaluated. A future well would not bea a commercial well asi iti is costly and metrics produced on the mesa are less than other areas. He continued that he would haul in water and pay for trash removal. The easement for access is within the property boundaries. He expressed his gratitude for the neighbors and he appreciates their concerns. When they purchased the property they did not have plans to build a residence. They would never expect to have over 100 guests, they have max transportation for 100 guests, typically it will be between 60-80. The types of events that they are applying for are smaller gatherings to share the beauty and serenity. There won'tbe al large structure or noise and light pollution, no lodging, more ofal boutique event. They have been working with event planners in the San Miguel area that they know and trust. Ini regards to road access, State highway 62 and County Road 60x is a substandard intersection, buti it is existing. Although the Sherrif stated there shouldn't be additional uses added to the intersection the applicant feels there is no way to control that. The applicant pointed outt that aj propane delivery tank can weigh more than 10,000 pounds and a fully loaded passenger vehicle will weigh only 7,400. There are tents that can withstand high winds. Some event caterers use mobile bathrooms which work well. Trash will be removed. He is willing to move the window of operation to fit elk migration and only start July 1st. Iti is unlikely that Josselin Lifton-Zoline pointed out that in the packet there are discrepancies in the application, and asked The. Applicant responded that yes there will be lighting during the event as well as for people to walk to Josselin Lifton-Zoline stated that the number ofe events hei is requesting is much higher than a normal application and she finds it unlikely that trash would be removed, tents taken down and all set back up The. Applicant responded that they are not expecting events every Friday Saturday and Sunday. Iti is more likely toj just be one event a weekend on Saturday but they do not want to cut themselves short. Josselin Lifton-Zoline asked if maintenance for the road is paid for by the people who live on that road.  window, would this access be considered commercial?  commercial well would the county need to approve as well as the state?  the state.  there would be 48 events int that 3-month span.  ifthere will there be lighting?  the transportation service, with at temporary generator used for the event.  with less than a day ofturn around.  2Page    Andy Michelich responded that he does not know.  Josselin Lifton-Zoline asked ifhe had spoken to any neighbors about road maintenance Andy Michelich responded no he has not and that he does not have winter access, he is under the impression year round residents snow-mobile to their property during the winter. Josselin Lifton-Zoline stated that Colorado Parks and Wildlife asked for no use of the property in June, and for no use in the evening in September which leaves only a two month window for your vision. Andy Michelich responded that he would consider it and wants to accommodate, he has already Ian Bald asked ift the Applicant is already running special events somewhere else.  contemplated only doing day lightevents.  Andy Michellich responded that the company has been in operation more than 10 years, providing Lee Taylor stated that this venue would be able to be in operation for a maximum of8-12 weekends with restrictions, which would result in 20-30 vehicles trips for every given event and 12 events x 20 vehicle Andy Michelich responded that their passenger vehicles seat between 10-14 sO there would only be 5  transportation for clients to venues around Telluride.  trips is the added stress to the road.  vehicles in total.  Lee Taylor asked ifi individuals would be given the option of driving themselves. Andy Michelich responded that the intent is for everyone to be ferried. Kaye Simonson asked ifv vendors etc. would be transported. Andy Michelich responded that he would transport all guests and clients. Lee Taylor opened the floor to public comment at 11:18  Steve Thomas, neighbor, stated that he has lived here since 1999 and has 1400 acres. Hei is opposed to the application. His family has experienced Elk calfbirthing all the way until the end of. July in extremely close proximity to the venue. The breeding cycle commences in the middle of August and is still happening on top of the mesa now. Vendors will clearly have their own vehicles. Will the applicant have ap parking lot for people to park and pick up and shuttle? Steve uses Bruin Waste Management, the venue is going to generate multiple bins oftrash requiring pickup, Steve has spoken to Bruin Waste and they only pick up once every two weeks. In 2004 it was being proposed that Old Dave Wood Road that historically ran through his ranch would be opened to traffic to support golf courses, in the county of Montrose and decided this was not a good place for traffic, and as a result put deed restrictions on property limiting development to 100 acre lots. It seems contrary to the wild nature of the area when the community has been trying to keep the place open. Is this the final body and is it appealable? Chris Vincent, who owns property in the San Juan Ranch, asserted that discussions of estimates are meaningless and only what is stated on the permit matters. If the road gets more traveled the government  3Page    will take over maintenance and that'st not what anyone wants at all. The County pays for the maintenance Teky Inglese stated that no matter how many restrictions you put on this permit it will destroy the Alex Padilla one of the closest neighbors to the proposed permit, agreed with Steve and the others in opposition. Does the 10 vehicles per event include vendors? Does not sound like it. Panorama Lane is a private road, on al bad day at peak there are only 2 cars, this venue would increase traffic by 500%. He noted that he did not see a plan for maintaining Panorama Lane as aj private road. This would change the aesthetic of the neighborhood. Alex and his wife moved up to the mesa to keep their children away from high traffic areas, they don'tv want tol have to tell children to avoid roads during events and additionally they won'tk know when the events are happening. Finally, last year there was aj private event with about Chris Chaput, who owns al house on Panorama Lane, stated that the majority of] Panorama is an easement through this property. The road proposed to being used is 30y yards from their house, they have livestock and are using the land as iti is intended per the zoning. The impacts will be detrimental to their quality of life. They chose this place because it is quiet and remote. They have children and safety concerns, and road concerns. Panorama Lane is maintained out of! pocket and not well maintained as he uses his own dump truck. Seasonal flows are washing out culverts. Last year the neighborhood went through 1500 gallons ofi fuel to keep the road open. These are all expenses and hardships they take on because theyl love living there. Ifthe Planning Commission allows this event not only will it destroy their quality of life, but everyone in a 10 mile radius is opposed. Wildfire danger is very concerning and hei is in the profession. The road is ill equipped for response including medical emergencies. Safety concerns abound for families and for the participants. This place was designed and intended for residential use, everyone who bought property and live in the area were led to understand this, this venue would be quite a departure from that. Caroline Richardson, who lives inl Placerville and on Horsefly Mesa, wonders how long the applicant has owned the property and wonders ifH he has ever spent a full season there. She continued thati iti is a sacred place and one oft the last wild places for animals. To commercialize such a sacred piece ofthe country would be a crime. Some of the hardships on the Mesa include pulling people out of ditches and rescuing newcomers, sometimes putting yourselfi in danger by! helping others. She is worried about the strain on emergency services in Placerville, when there are residents in need, being pulled up to the mesa for Samuel Nolan thanked the staff and commissioners attention to the issue and won'trepeat concerns addressed in his letter. There are inconsistencies with the application. Generators are another aspect he had not even considered. The Applicant stated that music will end at 9pm and the event will end at 9pm which does not make sense. The eventi includes trash trucks, breakdown, and water trucks, is that going on until midnight? Traffic safety and fire safety have been reviewed by professionals and have found it unsuitable. He asked if you could imagine the chaos of people fleeing ai fire on Panorama Lane while a fire truck is coming up - or maybe you wouldn'tl have to because it would take the fire trucks at least 45 minutes to respond. This area is at tinder box, cigarette smoking, fireworks etc., arel huge hazards. Water trucks, trash trucks, catering trucks, tent erectors, guest trucks, bride and groom coming separate, toilet trucks, vendor staff. All oft these stressors are: not equivalent to an occasional propane truck coming up to service the entire neighborhood, all three oft the neighboring HOAS are opposed, every letter received  of the road in summer and the neighborhood pays for the plowingi in the winter. character of the mesa and open the doort to more unwanted development.  20 people and there was not a single person on the mesa who did not! hear it.  events.  opposes.  4Page    Emily Laidlaw, owns a house on CR Z60 and has been a full-time year-round resident for 13 years. She hopes that all the comments the Planning Commission have received have led them to realize that there is at tight knit community across the mesa. The community's! biggest concern is that there was no attempt for the applicant to reach out to the neighborhood. If she were to submit an application oft this nature she would have reached out to build relationships and address conçerns while trying to get the community on board, no one heard anything about the application. Everyone heard the party all over the mesa last year even people in McKenzie Springs, with loud music until late int the night. The applicant was not concerned. This neighborhood is out in the middle ofr fnowhere and they are left to settle disputes together with out outside agency, no relations have been made to signal that the Applicant would be willing to Blake Beyea stated that hopefully the site visit illuminated some issues. Iti is easy to see the extent to which people care about the mesa to even deed restrict their properties. It is very difficult to maintain road surfaces. The proposal is in conflict with the efforts of many individuals over decades. There would be broader ecological impacts to conservation areas within a mile oft the area. Protected flora, fish and wildlife, and sage grouse are in the area. Environmental sensitivity is very high. The applicant has not reached out to any ofthe neighbors. Please listen to the experts regarding road and fire safety. He urged Randy Podolsky said that he echoes all the other comments made. He is an owner in Brown Ranch. There are many inconsistencies in the application, there are nine Saturdays in July and August. The fact that the Applicant has not met with the neighbors ist telling, the Applicant does not know how the roads are maintained or what it takes for people to live there. Most mapping apps send people through Brown Ranch which is gated, and willl be detrimental to Brown Ranch road. There are four associations opposed. Amy Laubenstein stated that, speaking as ai mother, they love their surroundings and spending time outdoors. The thought of all the traffic on the poorly maintained road is disturbing. Ifs she had raised this proposition and received this sort of response from neighbors she would immediately take it off the table. Samuel Nolan stated that noise really travels on the mesa. For a commercial venture to come set upi in the Caroline Richardson spoke again saying that there would be immense problems with wildlife, wind, and Eldred Ranch representative asserted that ifai fire was started by an inebriated guest, al bottle of water will not suppress that fire. The grasses in that area are 18 inches tall and ready to burn. Iti is also an elk calving and migration area. Elk migration continues year round. Music and alcohol will create problems on site Kaye Simonson addressed the question of appeal stating that, in the F Zone, Special Uses can be considered under Planning Commission review for events with under 200 people; the decision is appealable to the Board of County Commissioners. Parking would have to occur in the communities not on State Highway 62. Road maintenance and fire danger would need to be addressed. Lee Taylor commented that another aspect oft the process, ifit was approved, there would be very specific numbers for events and trips. What is the practicality about garbage pick up?  work together.  the Planning Commission to deny.  Everyone will hear the noise impacting humans and wildlife for miles around.  middle of a residential area, is selfish. Gunnison Sage Grouse.  and traffic. Please deny this request.  5Page    Andres Michelich responded that hel has spoken with three event planners who confirmed that the trash generated by a group of up to 80 people would not require a commercial container, he further stated that  he would demand the client remove: any trash the following day.  MOTION by Josselin Lifton Zoline to deny the application based on the findings that  1.  The proposed use will result int traffic impacts on County Roads 60X and Z60 and the intersection with State Highway 62 that cannot be mitigated, which isi inconsistent The proposed use is not compatible with the surrounding neighborhood character and  with LUC Sections 5-1002 B. V.a and B. V.Iand 5-1002C C. agricultural land uses, and isi inconsistent with 5-1002 B.1 III.  2.  SECONDED By M.J. Schillaci  AMENDMENT TO MOTION to add the following finding as suggested by Lee' Taylor and Ian  Bald ACCEPTED BY Josselin Lifton-Zoline and M.J. Schillaci  3.  The proposed use would pose a risk to public health, safety and welfare in that it increases potential wildfire hazards and emergency and public safety resources and  response are limited.  VOTE DENIED 4-0  Lee Taylor Ianl Bald M.J. Schillaci Josselin Lifton-Zoline Matthew Bayma Tobin Brown Galena Gleason  Aye Nay Abstain Absent Aye Nay Abstain Absent Aye Nay Abstain Absent Ave Nay Abstain Absent Aye Nay Abstain Absent Aye Nay Abstain Absent Aye Nay Abstain Absent  Recessed at 12:25 p.m. Reconvened. at 12:30 p.m.  Tobin Brown entered the meeting at 12:30 p.m.  LAND USE CODE AMENDMENT RECCOMENDATION  Amending Land Use Code Section 5-23. Air Quality adding definitions and' Telluride. Air John Huebner, Senior Planner, presented a power point about an update to the Land Use Code pertaining  Quality Region map.  to the Telluride Air Quality Region.  6Page    Josselin Lifton Zoline asked ifthere are residents in the expanded area with wood burning stoves.  Kaye Simonson responded that the area is not expanding.  Tobin Brown asked why there are. lots in Sunnyside Ranch pushing out ofthe boundaries.  Kaye Simonson responded that the original area crosses some property lines and the County would like to  do outreach before amending to include full properties.  Tobin Brown stated that it is only covering a portion ofthe Aldasoro PUD.  Lee Taylor affirmed that ift the County plans to change the map boundaries, rather than just the language, Kaye Simonson added that the County would have to look through building permits for who has wood burning devices. It would be nonsensical to expand the boundary to match the East End Master Plan, MOTION by Ian Bald to recommend to the Board of County Commissioners to adopt the proposed amendments to SMC Land Use Code based on the finding that they comply with Land Use Code Section  we will want to do outreach.  because that is not the area where air quality is a concern.  1-4.  SECONDED By Josselin Lifton Zoline VOTE PASSED 5-0  Lee Taylor Ianl Bald M.J. Schillaci Josselin Lifton-Zoline Matthew Bayma Tobin Brown Galena Gleason  Ave Nay Abstain Absent Ave Nay Abstain Absent Ave Nay Abstain Absent Aye Nay Abstain Absent Aye Nay Abstain Absent Ave Nay Abstain Absent Aye Nay Abstain Absent  APPROVALOF MINUTES  MOTION by Ian Bald to approve the September 14th minutes SECONDED by Josselin Lifton Zoline VOTE PASSED 5-0  Lee Taylor Ian Bald M.J.Schillaci Josselin Lifton-Zoline Matthew Bayma Tobin Brown Galena Gleason  Aye Nay Abstain Absent Aye Nay Abstain Absent Ave Nay Abstain Absent Ave Nay Abstain Absent Aye Nay Abstain Absent Ave Nay Abstain Absent Aye Nay Abstain Absent  STAFF UPDATES  The County hosted a Solar Open House with good attendance of around 80 people. The posters which  received feedback are on the Solar and Natural Resources update page.  7IPage    There will be aj joint Planning Commission and BOCC workshop session when the next draft oft the There is an application coming for Clear Networx Contractor Office and Staging Area expected to be on  Natural Resources update is complete and will be open to the public.  the December calendar.  There will be al Master Plan work session on October 25th beginning at 4 pm.  EAST END MASTER PLANUPDATE ready to begin the adoption process.  Kaye Simonson stated that after the 25th the PC will decide if it needs more work sessions or ifthey are Josselin Lifton-Zoline stated that up to this point it has been presented piece by piece, now we havea work session with the public, which is great, but we need another work session with the Planning Commission to dissect, and go through the plan with a more local narrative voice. Kaye Simonson informed the Commission that Design Workshop's last meeting is the 25th. Tobin Brown asked how could the County extend their relationship with Design Workshop, a budget  override?  Kaye Simonson responded that the County has already done a budget override.  Tobin Brown said that he has received some comments regarding environmental stewardship and carrying Kaye Simonson responded that the Planning Commission is in the drivers seat as far as dates and work  capacity. sessions  Lee Taylor noted that people would like more dialogue.  Kaye Simonson responded that the Commission can structure their meetings however they would like. Tobin Brown stated that the Commission should budget al long time for the 25th meeting.  Josselin Lifton- Zoline asked ift the Commission will circle back around to work with the EEMP advisory  group.  Kaye responded that the Planning Commission could schedule a meeting of that nature.  MJ Schillaci asked ift the Master Plan was ever sent out to someone to edit someone who has nothing to  with planning.  Kaye Simonson responded not yet. presenting it to the rest of the group  MJ Schillaci affirmed that she likes the idea ofs splitting it up and becoming an expert of one section and  8Page    Lee Taylor stated that he would like to meet to create aj plan of expectations for the 25th. Nick Farkouh said thank you for finally having the meeting we have been asking for.  Pam Bennet commented that no substantial conversation will happen until 6 and we won't! have enough  time to really review the document. 1:35 p.m. Adjourned.  Respectfully Submitted, Tl Nicola Kerr, Planning Technician  Approved on  17 2023.  SAN MIGUEL COUNTYPLANNINGCOMMISSION Eha PCI Planning Commission'PC Minutes2023pe.10.12.minutes.docx)  M.J. Schillaci,  Secretary  9Page