It took more than four hours, but the Chaffee Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) managed to address the appeal of the Planning Commissioners’ 6-1 approval of the Aspire Tours Limited Impact Review, ultimately rejecting the appeal and supporting the Planning Commission’s’decision. But reaching that point involved a laborious discussion, an executive session, and finally a detailed walkthrough of a proposed resolution that will ultimately result in county approval.
The BoCC noted that it was very aware that application has been contentious. They took a careful approach, as Chair Greg Felt said “always just trying to get to the truth” … and trying to focus on the operations of the applicant.
Aspire Tours Site Plan at 11302 CR 190 West. Image courtesy of Board of Chaffee County Commissioners
The session did not include a full public hearing (several public hearings have been allowed during the months-long review process) but it did include additional applicant testimony and new information. Specifically, the well, which wasn’t drilled until Jan. 22, the day after a discussion about water availability by the Planning Commission, is adequate to meet the 15 gallons per minute permitted amount. The well is 300 feet deep, and the water table within the area surrounding it varies.
The months-long process of approving an outfitting facility including camping, and onsite recreational business on 44 acres of rural-zoned land on a county road within view of U.S. 285 (the Collegiate Peaks Scenic Byway ) had ended in the Planning Commission approval that was not unanimous: The 6-1 decision included detailed findings, but county residents objecting to the decision filed an appeal to the BoCC, asking for a review of the decision.
Asked about the potential for the Denver-based outfitting company to grow beyond the limits of the permitted activities and size, the applicant Katherine Troxler explained they have 15, 14-person vans at their facility in Denver, located at 6000 West 30th Avenue. The company employs 25 full-time guides. “We’ve grown organic growth, we’re still also changing. We’re open to new products, we’re extending our fly fishing department. We grew fairly quickly, now we can refine what we are doing,” she explained. “I’m confident of our business operations; we’ve had more than 5,000 5-star ratings of our concept, and we can transfer the concept.”
The commissioners walked through the concerns over the approach on the steep gravel road, neighbors concerns about current traffic (which neighbors say is moving too fast), water sustainability, and a commercial operation in a rural zone. Each commissioner indicated their positive impressions of the proposed operations, while each had several concerns as they walked through what became a resolution of approval, amended with several conditions.
What was actually approved was a land-use change permit on appeal of a Planning Commission decision dated April 1. This marked-up document will substitute for the original notice of decision issued by the Chaffee Planning Commission, which was superseded by the appeal.
The motion to approve the Aspire Tours land-use change permit was made by Commissioner Rusty Granzella, seconded by Commissioner Keith Baker, and passed unanimously.
“The appeal didn’t allow for overturning the Planning Commission decision, but it allowed us to improve upon it,” said Chair Greg Felt.” We hope the neighbors and Aspire look forward to working with the county to improve the road situation and make it something that is good for the neighborhood.”
Credit: Source link
