It’s Not Forever, Just to Allow Completion of Some Code Update Efforts
This morning, June 7, the Chaffee County Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) unanimously voted to adopt a temporary moratorium on the acceptance of certain types of land use applications, effective June 7, through Dec. 31, 2022. The decision was not without a lengthy debate over concern for those who may be in some stage of development proposal being made aware of the steps being taken to listen to their needs while addressing this county goal.
Chaffee County Administration Building. Photo by Jan Wondra.
Resolution 2022-41, outlining a hiatus on acceptance of applications was adopted unanimously. It allows the county time to get further along on its current update of the Chaffee Land Use Code (LUC). The BoCC expressed concerns that long-term land-use decisions, and the realities of the county’s water resources, should align with the updated LUC standards and procedures.
In this county, water hydrology can be just as critical as land use. The county’s pause on accepting new development applications gives the county opportunity to work on developing water adequacy standards for proposed land use reviews, while it also pursues more comprehensive studies evaluating water adequacy and availability for long-range planning.
The temporary moratorium will be in place through December 31, and it applies to the acceptance of applications for:
- Major Subdivisions
- Minor Subdivisions
- Conservation Subdivisions
- Land Use Change applications requiring Major or Limited Impact Reviews.
Other application types, including Heritage Water and Agricultural Subdivision Exemptions, boundary line adjustments, and special event permit applications are not subject to the moratorium.
In-Process Applications Can Continue
The moratorium does not apply to land use applications that are already in process with the County Planning Department before June 7, those that have pre-application meetings for Minor Subdivisions that have been scheduled before June 15, and that have a complete application submitted to the Planning Department before July 15, 2022.
Applications meeting these deadlines will follow the existing process and policies under the current effective LUC. Aware that the county was moving ahead with the new LUC, many major developers moved quickly this spring to get their proposals into the county’s Planning Department and it has already been a busy spring.
Chaffee County engaged consultant firm, Logan Simpson, to draft the LUC update. The firm is already working with the county on the land subdivision standards and land-use change procedures in the next phase of the code update.
Development of this module of code update is anticipated to run from August through December, 2022. Once these segments of code are amended, land use applications will be accepted and considered through the updated LUC policies. This timeline is anticipated to coincide with the end of the temporary moratorium.
The current Land Use Code was last fully updated in 2014. The Chaffee County Land Use Code update project began in January 2022 and is forecast to be completed in late 2023. The Land Use Code Update project is an outgrowth of the priorities and goals named within the Chaffee County Comprehensive Plan adopted in December 2020. The LUC Update project’s objective is to assess and holistically update the County’s current Land Use Code and related processes, incorporating the key principles and recommendations from the 2020 Comprehensive Plan in order to codify new Land Use policy.
Information and ongoing updates for the Land Use Code Update project can be followed at TogetherChaffeeCounty.org, where the public can also sign up for the mailing list to receive updates directly through email.
If the public has questions regarding Land Use Applications or the temporary moratorium, the County Planning Department can be reached at 719-530-5566 or via email to Greg Laudenslager at glaudenslager@chaffeecounty.org.
One change that should be implemented immediately for any new residential builds in the county is a ban on grass lawns and any new golf courses. Not only are they a huge waste a water, they’re also boring and unnatural monocultures that do nothing to help native plants and animals to thrive.
If that sounds extreme, maybe take a look at the recent studies that predict that Colorado will be more like dry, hot, and arid Arizona in 50 years. We should do anything that we can, now, to protect aquifer into the future.