Folks who were planning to attend tonight’s Archuleta County Planning Commission meeting, to testify against (or in favor of?) the proposed Dutton Ranch gravel pit Conditional Use Permit, were either elated or disappointed by the change to the Planning Commission’s agenda, as revised at about 2:30pm yesterday.
This item, which had appeared on an earlier version of the agenda, had been removed:
D. (PLN21-144) Public Hearing For Oakbrush Hill Major Sand & Gravel Permit Application Review
C&J Gravel, represented by Wasteline Inc, has applied for a Major Sand & Gravel Permit to operate a full-service gravel mining operation at 3801 County Rd 600.
Yesterday morning, Tuesday, February 22, a couple of emails had arrived at our Daily Post office address, suggesting that the site of a proposed gravel pit on the Dutton Ranch, near Lake Hatcher, had been successfully purchased by one of the families owning adjacent property… property that would have provided front-row seats to the proposed gravel mining operation.
The County permit would approve or deny the gravel mining use on the ranch was scheduled to undergo a public hearing at the Archuleta County Administration Office tonight at 6pm.
One of yesterday’s emails read like this:
From: BRYANT W. LEMON, SR.
Dear Friends and Community Members,
The Lemon Family was finally able to purchase the land containing the proposed Oakbrush Hill Gravel Pit. It has been a long difficult negotiation, but the sale papers were signed today (2/21/22). The Lemon Family will never start a gravel pit on Oakbrush Hill. The immense amount of pressure applied by you, Stop the Rocks participants, was a MAJOR factor in getting the “gravel people” to come around. You do not know how much thanks we owe you. You really brought the best in community effort. It was a tough, coordinated, smart, and effective resistance put up by all participants!
The Gravel People have agreed to STOP mining at the site. They wish to crush the existing stockpiles down to 3/4” gravel and haul it by back roads to gravel their ranch roads. This crushing/hauling will be allowed until July 30, 2022. They will NOT haul on Piedra Road. They will withdraw the Gravel Permit Application immediately. They will do reclamation to the pit site according to the Colorado State Standards starting no later than August 1, 2022.
What an amazing effort this has been and what wonderful people we’ve met along the way! We worked together and we have all won! You all are wonderful!!!
Bryant Lemon Sr.
The email does not clearly identify “The Gravel People”, but we might assume Mr. Lemon is referring to the Urbanczyk family, who purchased the Dutton Ranch in 2021. My previous research suggests the ranch originally encompassed about 2,500 acres, including the Oakbrush Hill gravel site. Exactly how many of those acres the Lemon family may have purchased is not immediately clear.
After receiving the emails yesterday morning, I placed a call to County Development Director Pamela Flowers yesterday morning, to find out if tonight’s public hearing was still pending. She told me that the gravel mine applicants — C&J Gravel and Wasteline — had not yet been able to confirm the real estate sale.
Ms. Flowers called back later (as she had promised to do) to let me know the gravel pit Conditional Use Permit hearing had been removed from tonight’s agenda.
Presumably, her three-day weekend had already been spoiled, posting documents for a hearing at which literally dozens of citizens were eager to testify.
An email sent to the ‘Stop The Rocks’ citizen group, by its organizer, Michael Caponnetto, also celebrated the real estate purchase and the demise of the gravel pit proposal. It read, in part:
To the Pagosa Springs community,
Lay down your arms, the fight for Oakbrush Hill is won. The Lemon family who lives on top of Oakbrush Hill have purchased the site of the proposed mine and a large sub-division around the mine. They have done this for their own interests as well as the community in which they have been members of for over 30 years. This means there will be no mine and you can all continue to enjoy a quiet tranquil life near Piedra Road in Pagosa Springs. Wildlife will continue to follow their migratory paths and you will be able to enjoy what you have come accustomed to seeing and hearing in this beautiful wilderness area…
…Now raise a glass to the Lemon family, the supportive community members, our attorneys, wildlife expert, engineers, and the warriors of StopTheRocks.com.
Now that the Conditional Use Permit public hearing is off the table, folks attending tonight’s meeting (at 398 Lewis Street or via Zoom) can focus their attention on a couple of other important community issues.
C. (PLN21-118) Public Hearing For Conditional Use Permit Application Review For Verizon Wireless For A Commercial Mobile Radio System
Verizon Wireless, represented by Kappa Consulting, has applied for a Board Conditional Use Permit for a Commercial Mobile Radio System at 329 Cloman Blvd.
In the past, a Conditional Use Permit for a a new Verizon tower has typically attracted a crowd. This one, however, seems to be non-controversial. So far.
This one might be more controversial:
E. Public Meeting To Review And Approve Proposed Amendments To The Land Use Regulations
Proposed Amendments to the Land Use Regulations regarding personal and medical marijuana cultivation.
Like Conditional Use Permits, changes to the County Land Use Regulations require a public hearing. (I do believe.) In Colorado, we have a constitutional right to grow and possess marijuana for personal use. It’s not just a law; it’s part of the state’s Constitution. From the Colorado Constitution, Article XVIII, § 16: “Personal use and regulation of marijuana”
(3) Personal use of marijuana.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the following acts are not unlawful and shall not be an offense under Colorado law or the law of any locality within Colorado or be a basis for seizure or forfeiture of assets under Colorado law for persons twenty-one years of age or older:
(a) Possessing, using, displaying, purchasing, or transporting marijuana accessories or one ounce or less of marijuana.
(b) Possessing, growing, processing, or transporting no more than six marijuana plants, with three or fewer being mature, flowering plants, and possession of the marijuana produced by the plants on the premises where the plants were grown, provided that the growing takes place in an enclosed, locked space, is not conducted openly or publicly, and is not made available for sale.
Do the proposed changes to the Archuleta County Land Use Regulations violate these Constitutional protections?
You can download the County’s proposed limits and prohibitions here.