Following an unrelated report from the Archuleta County Department of Human Services at the October 20 meeting, the Board of County Commissioners convened as the ‘Board of Adjustments’ to consider a resolution. Basically, a bookkeeping item.
The resolution documented a previous August 18 decision by the BOCC, granting a variance to Brian Wattier and 84 Ranch, setting aside certain land use requirements to facilitate the operation of Mr. Wattier’s ‘agritourism’ farm 6 miles south of downtown Pagosa Springs. That vote in August had been unanimous.
Earlier in the meeting, Mr. Wattier’s neighbors, Dawn and Bill Vrastil, had protested the the current resolution, and had handed a stack of papers to County Attorney Cathie Giovannini. Presumably, the papers documented alleged violations committed by 84 Ranch.
Commissioner Veronica Medina asked Attorney Giovannini if the BOCC could proceed with approving the resolution, given the alleged violations. Ms. Giovannini confirmed that the resolution was mainly a bookkeeping item, and that its approval did not prevent a subsequent review of any alleged land use violations.
In making these allegations, the Vrastils had also accused the County commissioners and staff of impropriety and lack of transparency.
Commissioner Ranson responded to those accusations.
He turned in his chair and looked at the ‘Core Values’ plaques mounted on the wall behind the dais.
“Yes, I look back at these signs as well.
“I’ve been accused of corruption in this thing — online — with no truth, or fact, or proof of any of that. I’ve had to listen to criticism of our County Manager, who’s doing his job the best he can. I’ve watched a businessman come into this community and get treated like crap.
“This [commission] made a decision 3-to-0 with the best information we had at hand. And as [Mr. Wattier] stated, he’s dealt with [staff changes in Planning Department] over 15 months. That’s bad on us. It shouldn’t be bad on him.
“So, we’re… I can’t say much, because I’ve had it presented to me in writing that a lawsuit is coming. And when that transpires, it needs to go through the County Attorney.
The commissioner then addressed Mr. Wattier in the audience.
“But I’m sorry you’ve had to go through this. I know how much money you’ve invested. Have you done things right? Probably not. You’re a lot like me. I don’t do things well. If it wasn’t for my wife, my administrative skills are zero. So I’m sorry you’re going through this. I know how much money you’ve invested in this community. I’m not saying you’ve done everything right. And I hope whatever needs to be corrected, we can correct.
The next comment appeared to be directed to the Vrastils, also in the audience.
“But that’s no reason to treat a businessman that’s coming and putting his life savings into this community. And to be honest with you, I’m ashamed.”
Commission chair Warren Brown then asked County Manager Longinos Gonzalez to read the resolution at hand, which was done, concluding with:
The Board of Adjustment approves the request for general variance of the landscaping, paving, and commercial kitchen requirements at 6252A U.S. Highway 84 with the following conditions. One, dust suppression methods must be applied to the driveway. Two, the commercial kitchen shall be completed and approved within two years of the date of this resolution approved and adopted is 28th of October 2026, in Pagosa Springs, Archuleta County, Colorado.
Commissioner Ranson moved to approve the consent agenda item; Commissioner Medina seconded, and the three commissioners voted “Aye”.
I’ve been writing about problematic issues in Pagosa Springs since 2004, and have seen elected officials and government employees make what I considered to be foolish and inept decisions — and in some cases, violations of the law. I’ve also heard elected and appointed officials claim that laws and regulations are merely “guidelines” that ought to be ignored when they posed an inconvenience.
Citizens do not have an obvious mechanism for enforcement of our governments, to ensure that laws and regulations are followed… other than casting a ballot every four years…
…or filing a lawsuit.
I’ve filed a few myself, when I perceived a local board or official acting outside the law. It’s a good way to spend a lot of money on lawyers. It’s not a great way to make yourself popular with government leaders.
I guess I don’t view life as a popularity contest. But it’s occasionally a contest of some kind, and sometimes the contest takes place in a courtroom.
In this editorial series, I’ve expressed my opinion that the Archuleta County zoning map and the related Land Use Regulations, created in 2006, essentially “froze” land uses where they were in 2006. Land that appeared to be “agricultural” was zoned “agricultural”. Land that appeared to be “residential” was zoned “residential”.
The folks who made those simplistic zoning decisions did not have a clear plan for allowing land uses to change as the community changed and as the community’s needs changed. Zoning offers property owners plenty of ammunition to challenge how a neighbor might want to use their property.
As mentioned in an earlier installment, about 1 in 6 American counties do not have zoning regulations.
Our current County commissioners find themselves between a rock and a hard place. The “rock” is the current zoning and land use regulations. The “hard place” is the desire to encourage innovative uses of property to support a lively local economy, by allowing property owners to use their property creatively.
I quoted Commissioner Medina a couple of weeks ago:
“Why don’t we just start from ‘scratch’? Because we definitely have too many regulations that we are not enforcing. We just don’t have the staff to do it, even before what happened last week. But if we just started with what is required by state statute, throw everything else out the window, and work on building whatever else Archuleta County needs, I think that would be a great start, with a clean slate and things that we could do better.”
One of the things that could be thrown out the window: zoning.
Bill Hudson began sharing his opinions in the Pagosa Daily Post in 2004 and can't seem to break the habit. He claims that, in Pagosa Springs, opinions are like pickup trucks: everybody has one.