HomeMy WebLinkAbout2.0 Staff Report BOCC 8.20.01ao
REQUEST
APPLICANT:
LOCATION:
SITE DATA:
WATER:
SEWER:
ACCESS
EXISTING ZONING:
PROJECT INFORMATION AND STAFF COMMENTS
BOCC 8l20l0r
An exemption from the definition of
subdivision.
C. Lucille Fischer, et al
A tract ofland located in Section 21,
T65, R89W of the 6th P.M.; located
near the Cardiffbridge, on the west
side of the Glenwood Springs citY
limits.
Approximately 90 acres
Shared well
Individual Sewage Disposal Systems
(rsDS)
County Road 127 (Three Mile Road)
Via an easement
R/L/SD
ADJACENT ZONING:
I RELATIONSHIP TO TIIE COMPREIIENSIVE PLAN
The subject tract is located in the Medium Density Residential (6 to less than IO acres per dwelling
unit) pioposed Land Use District Map, Study Areas l-3, as designated in the Garfield County
Comprehensive Plan of 2000.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSAL
A. Site Description. The subjecttractis approximately 90 acres in size, located
"dl"*"t t"the City of GlLnwood Springs, west of the CardiffBridge area. There is
an existing dwelling located on a knoll that is reached from an easement that
North; East. City of Glenwood
Springs
South: R/L/SD
West: OiS
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intersects County Road 127. Slope across the tract is steep, generally in excess of
50%o, hower.., ih. area around the existing residence has slopes between 2lo/o and
36%.
B. proposal: The applicant proposes to subdivide the tract, by exemption, into three (3)
ffiels with lot-sizes of the new parcels of approximately 2.6l9.and 3.09 acres each,
with a remaining parcel of 86.07 acres. See sketch map in the application. Each
parcel would share a domestic well for water and utilize individual sewage disposal
systems for sewage treatment. Access to the property is vial an access easement off of
Three Mile Road (CR 127).
C. History: The applicant submitted an application in late 1997 and reviewed in February
of 1998. The Board conditionally approved the request, subject to the applicant
meeting various conditions of approval The approval expired due to the applicant not
submitiing the information and documents necessary to meet the conditional approval
given by the Board.
MAIOR ISSUES AND CONCERNS
A. Subdivision Regulations-. Section 8'.52 (A) of the Garfield County Subdivision
n.grlutiors states that "No more than a total of four (4) lots, parcels, interests or
awahng units will be created from any parcel, as that parcel was described in the
recordi of the Garfiekl County Clerk and Recorder's Office on January l, 1973. In
order to qualtfufor exemption, the parcel as it existed on January l, 1973, must have
been larfer than 35 acres in size at that time and not Part of a recorded subdivision;
however, any parcel to be divided by exemption that is split by a public right-of-way
(Stare o, i"iurol higlnuay, County road or railroad), preventing ioint use of the
proposed tracts, and the division occurs along the public right-of-way, such parcels
-theieby
created may, in the discretion of the Board, not be considered to have been
creatid by exemption with regard to the four (4) lot, parcel, interest or &ttelling unit
limlafion otherwise applicabie. For the purposes of definition, all tracts of land j5
acres or greater in size, created after January l, lg 73, will count as parcels of land
created by exemption since Jonuary l, 19 73;
The applicant's ownership originally consisted of three parcels, all of which existed
prior to January l, 1973. As a result of making some boundary line adjustments in
ih"r. pur..|s, t-he application is now being made on the largest remaining tract. Staff
had pieviously reseiiched the Assessor's records and determined that all of the original
pur""l, re in iheir original configurations. Based on this analysis, this petition would
comply with Section 8.52 (A) of the Subdivision Regulations.
B Zoning.. The entire tract is zoned R/L/SD, which mandates lot sizes of at least 20,000
,qu*. f..t. However, due to the utilization of well water and individual sewage
disposal systems, the minimum lot size is required to be two (2.0) acres. All proposed
lots would comply with this minimum, lot size requirement'
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Slope: Section 5.04.02(2) of the Garfield County Zoning Resolution, requires that all
l,16;least two (2) acres in size, must have at least one (1) contiguous acre of land, less
than 4Oo/o in slope. Based on staffs review of a topographic map submitted as a part of
the 1998 applicition, it is apparent that a majority of the property has slopes over 40o/o.
Building en "lop"s
smaller than one (1) acre in size may be approved by the Board,
providj the certain information is submitted and reviewed by the Board as a part of the
Lxemption. No such documentation has been submitted for review, therefore it will be
n"".rrury for the applicant to demonstrate that there is at least one (1) acre of land less
than 4Oi/o on each lot. This information was a condition of approval attached to the
previous approval given by the Board. Staff suggests that the Board attach this
requirement as a condition of approval.
Water Supply.- The existing dwelling is served by a permitted, domestic-use well and the
-propor"b-
lots would be served by an exempt, domestic well. The applicant has
iubmitted a copy of well permit No. 206246, approved November 24,7997 and with an
expiration date,iwo years later. The permit was extended to November 24,2000 The
*.ll *u, drilled in April of 2000, to a depth of 440 ft. and a production rate of l5 gpm.
A subsequent four hbur pump test confirmed the 15 gpm pump rate, with a water level
of 324 ft. and a drawdow, oi tO ft.. It has the been the County's policy to require an
applicant to provide the following information as a part of any approval of an
exemption:
1) That a four hour pump test be performed on the well to be used;
2) A well completion r.port demonstrating the depth of the well, the characteristics of
the aquifer and the static water level;
3) The results of the four hour pump test indicating the pumping rate in gallons per
minute and information showing down draw and recharge;
4) A written opinion of the person conducting the well test that this well should be
adequate to supply to the number of proposed lots;
5) An assumption olan average or no less than 3.5 people per dwelling unit, using 100
gallons of water Per Person, Per daY;
6) ihe water quality be tested by an approved laboratory and meet State guidelines
concerning bacteria, nitrates and suspended solids;
7) A water iharing agreement will be filed with the exemption plat that defines the
right of the property owners to water from the well.
The applicant has addressed numbers 1-5. It will be necessary to address numbers 6 and
7, alongwith the surveying of the well location showing a 10 ft. square around the well
and a 10 ft. wide well access and maintenance easement'
Soils/Sewer: The method of wastewater treatment is proposed to be individual sewage
airp*uf rystems (ISDS). According to the Soil Conservation Service, the soils are
considered to be Toriiorthents-Rock outcrop complex, which are not specifrcally
evaluated for constraints to building site development and sanitary facilities, but the
report does state that community development is limited by the rock outcrop, steep
slop"s and stoniness. However, the Service states that constraints may be mitigated
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through appropriate design and construction. Staff recommends that, if approved, all
building foundations and ISD systems be engineered.
Not noted in the soils information, but a known circumstance for the area, is the rock fall
hazard due to the steep and stoney slopes. If all of the construction is done in areas
with gentler slopes, there may not be a hazard to the new structure from rolling rocks,
but an=y construction done wiih uphill slopes may need to have the construction mitigated
to deai with the rock fall hazard. Additionally, any construction done with steep slopes
below the building area will need to take extra precaution to insure that structures below
the construction site are not subjected to falling rocks. A plat note stating that falling
rocks are a hazard in this area and that any construction of new buildings needs to
mitigate the hazard by protecting the new structure from uphill rock fall and insure that
down hill structures wilf not be subjected to any rock fall due to construction activities.
Access: Access to the property is via an easement, apparently 50 feet in width, which
lntor..tr County Road 121. The easement appears to be a non-exclusive, assignable
easement of indeterminate width, perhaps as wide as 50 feet'
Fire Protection: The Glenwood Springs Department of Emergency Services has provided
u l.tt", noting the property is aciessed via a nonconforming access that is not consistent
with SectiongOZ of the t-qq+ Uniform Fire Code ([IFC). To meet the UFC standards,
the roadway will have to be upgraded or all new buildings will have to be completely
protected by an approved automatic sprinkler syst€m.
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To meet this requirement, the
water supply system has to be capable of delivering the fire flow required per UFC
Section 903. In addition to this requirement staffsuggests the inclusion of the standard
plat note addressing wildfire protection, due to the steep slopes and heavy vegetation on
the property..
Easements- All required easements for access, utilities, water supply, etc', will be
required to be shown on an exemption plat.
IV. SUGGESTED FINDINGS
That proper posting and public notice was provided as required for the meeting before
the Board of County Commissioners.
That the meeting before the Board of County Commissioners was extensive and
complete, that all pertinent facts, matters and issues were submitted and that all
interested parties were heard at that meeting.
That for the above stated and other reasons, the proposed exemption is in the best
interest of the health, safety, morals, convenience, order, prosperity and welfare of the
citizens of Garfield CountY.
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V RECOMMENDATION
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Staffrecommends APPROVAL of the application, pursuant to the following conditions:
1. That a representations of the applicant, either within the application or stated at the meeting
before the Board of County Commissioners, shall be considered conditions of approval.
Z. A Final Exemption Plat shall be submitted, indicating the legal description of the property,
dimension und ur.u of the proposed lots, access easement to a public right-of-way, and any
proposed easements for setbacks, drainage, irrigation ditches, access, utilities, etc.' Building
en elopes shall be shown on the plat, that identifies at least one acre of land less than 4002
slope.
That the applicant shall have 120 days to present a plat to the Commissioners for signature,
from the date of approval of the exemption. The Board may grant extensions of up to one (1)
year from the original date ofapproval.
That the exemption plat submittal include a copy of a computer disk of the plat data, formatted
for use on the County Assessor's CAD system.
That all proposed lots shall comply with the Garfield County Zoning Resolution of 1978, as
amended, and any building shall iomply with the 1994 Uniform Building Code, as adopted by
Garfield County.
prior to final approval, the applicant will provide copies of the following documents:
a) The water quality be tested by an approved laboratory and meet State guidelines
concerning bacteria, nitrates and suspended solids;
b) A water sharing agreement that will be filed with the exemption plat that defines the right
of the property owners to water from the well'
That the following plat notes shall be included on the exemption plat:
',All building foundations and individual sewage disposal systems shall be engineered."
',The minimum defensible space distance for structures shall be 30 feet on level terrain, plus
appropriate modification to recognizethe increased rate of fire spread at sloped sites. The
methodology described in "Determining Safety Zone Dimensions, Wildfire Safety Guidelines
for rural Homeowners," (Colorado State Forest Service) shall be used to determine defensible
space requirements for the required defensible space within building envelopes in areas
exceeding five (5) percent grade."
,,The individual lot owners shall be responsible for the control of noxious weeds.
,,One (1) dog will be allowed for each residential unit within an exemption and the dog shall be
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required to be confined within the owner's property boundaries, with enforcement provisions
allowing for the removal of a dog from the area as a final remedy in worst cases. "
,'No open hearth solid fuel fireplaces will be allowed anywhere within an exemption. One (1)
,r"* ,olid-fuel burning stove as defined by C.R. 5.25-7-40 1, et. seq., and the regulations
promulgated thereunder, will be allowed in any dwelling unit. All dwelling units will be
utto*.d an unrestricted number of natural gas burning stoves and appliances."
"All exterior lighting shall be the minimum amount necessary and that all exterior lighting be
directed inward, towards the interior of the subdivision, except that provisions may be made to
allow for safety lighting that goes beyond the property boundaries."
"There shall be no more exemptions from definition of subdivision allowed on either parcel
created by this approval."
,,All new dwellings will be required to install an automatic sprinkler system approved by the
Glenwood Springs Fire Department."
"Al1 buildings shall be located within the identified building envelope."
,,Falling rocks are a hazard in this area and any construction of new buildings must mitigate the
hazard-by protecting the new structure from uphill rock fall and insure 9u\ dry\ $11 strygtyes
will not be-subjecteJ to *y rock fall due to construction activities."- g"('/{'?/n/) C'l-/
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