Agenda - Planning Commission - 11/07/1996

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~Page 6 -- October 1996 goB, ~Environmental Issues-- Fire chief, wildlife department and others oppose i subdivision near forest - Board of County Commissioners of Routt County v. O'Dell, 920 P. 2d 48 - (Colorado) J996 O'Dell owned property next to a forest in the Aspen Grove Subdivision of ~Routt County, Colo. He wanted to subdivide his property into two lots. ' The county's master plan did not allow subdivisions to be remote from Calready developed land. Maps of the area around O'Dell's property allegedly }showed the area was not clearly developed. The county's zoning laws recom- 5mended against development in areas characterized as high or extreme wildfire i hazards; the wildfire hazard on O'Dell's property was rated as iow to medium. ~Zoning laws also recommended against development in areas with certain char- ~acteristics, such as limited access or single access by road. /. O'DelI applied to the county Planning Commission for the subdivision. (The chief of the North Routt Fire Protection District sent the commission a ~letter expressing what he considered "major" concerns that needed to be ad- ~ dressed before construction. He said there was only one road for emergency vehicles to access O'Dell's property, and that was a timber access road. The ! road also apparently had four different names, none of which was listed with !:the emergency dispatch center. In addition, the chief said, there was no water supply in the area to put out a fire. i The Department of Wildlife also voiced its concern about the possible sub- ~:division. According to the Wildlife Department, large lots that were heavily ~/timbered, such as O'Dell's, were used by large game animals. Subdividing the ~property would threaten elk habitat and infringe upon their calving area. A !department representative said he had personally seen up to 40 elk on and ~around the property. i According to the Soil Conservation District, any construction on O'Dell's ~land would be severely limited because of high clay content and steep slopes. ~The conservation district also said roads in the area would be limited due to ~high shrink swell and soil strength. ~ Following the Planning Commission's recommendation, the Board of County ~ Commissioners denied O'Dell's application. The board said the property was ~_in critical elk range and lacked water for fire suppression; it also said emer- ~gency vehicles could not easily access the area, the soil and slopes limited ~ building sites, and the application violated zoning and the county's master plan. i: O'Dell appealed to court, which upheld the board's decision, finding it was i supported by the evidence. He appealed again. _ The appeals court found that since the wildfire hazard on O'DelI's property was rated low to medium, the board improperly denied the application. It re- versed the trial court's decision and returned the case with instructions for the