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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1.02 Request for Administrative InterpretationSiting and Land Rights 1800 Larimer Street, 4th Floor Denver, CO 80202 1 REQUEST FOR ADMINISTRATIVE INTERPRETATION GARFIELD COUNTY LAND USE AND DEVELOPMENT CODE ARTICLE 4, DIVISION 1., SECTION 4-116 BY XCEL ENERGY/PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY OF COLORADO JUNE 23, 2020 I. Nature of the Request for Administrative Interpretation. This request seeks an administrative determination by the Director which interprets the county’s Land Use and Development Code (the “Code”) as allowing a temporary construction staging yard (the “Staging Yard”), without a separate Development Permit, as an incidental use ancillary to maintenance and repair activities customarily related to the project described below. II. The Project: Electrical Transmission Line #9256 – Structure Maintenance and Repair, Including a Temporary Construction Staging Yard. The project is an existing public utility “transmission line” which is a permitted use under the “Utilities Use Category” in Table 3-403 of the Code (the “Project”). The Project, as that term is defined in the Code (Article 15) consists of an existing permitted and operational electrical transmission line which includes all ancillary structures, facilities, improvements and activities, and any land uses directly related to the Project. The Staging Yard is an integral component of the permitted Project regarding maintenance and repair activities from time to time pursuant to the Code definition. III. The Project: Maintenance and Repair Work Overview. Xcel Energy is committed to safety and reliability of its utility facilities, and regularly evaluates existing electrical transmission lines across the State as part of this commitment. Annual investigations are performed to identify structural deficiencies and clearance issues with each transmission line to maintain compliance with Xcel Energy standards and Federal Regulations. These regular evaluations, in part, ensure asset renewal for the company, and support wildfire mitigation measures for the community. As a result of recent inspections of Xcel Energy Line #9256 located in Garfield and Eagle counties, Xcel Energy will need to replace five transmission structures, and repair individual components on six additional structures. Because some of the structures are in areas of rough terrain with limited or no access roads, Xcel Energy must use a small helicopter (Huey or Black Hawk) to assist in performing these maintenance and repair activities. Using the helicopter for certain structure maintenance activities 2 allows Xcel Energy to quickly address the required repairs and minimize the time the transmission line is taken out of service. Material for the repairs will be delivered to a property adjacent to the Project site to serve as the Staging Yard. This is also the location that the helicopter will briefly fly to and from to pick up material and crew members. Below is a map showing the location of the transmission line and the temporary Staging Yard that is the subject of this request. IV. Description of Temporary Construction Staging Yard. Xcel Energy has secured a temporary construction easement with the Neislanik family for the Staging Yard which is located adjacent to the Project site. This Staging Yard is the same one Xcel Energy has used in the past on similar maintenance efforts in Garfield County. The Staging Yard will be used for a 2- month period which is tentatively scheduled to begin July 1st. Pursuant to this schedule, the helicopter will be flown to and from the Staging Yard for a two-week period from July 15th to July 31st, weather permitting. Xcel Energy anticipates roughly 5-7 material deliveries to the Staging Yard beginning in early July. Upon completion of the maintenance work, Xcel Energy will remove any leftover material and restore the Staging Yard, if needed. No grading, grubbing or vegetation clearing is required to use the Staging Yard. Access to the Staging Yard will be through an existing fence opening off Red Canyon Road. V. Pre-Application Conference Summary. Xcel Energy reached out to Garfield County staff to inquire about any permits that may be required for Xcel Energy’s use of the Staging Yard. This inquiry was made because Xcel Energy wanted to confirm if any new code provisions had been adopted that may concern the Project, and no definitive language was found in the Code that discussed use regulations for a temporary staging yard or required Development Permits. After a Pre-Application Conference with County staff, Xcel Energy learned that 3 County staff viewed the Staging Yard use as a “Contractor’s Yard, Small” as defined by the Code, which is subject to a Land Use Change Permit. VI. Additional Information in Support of This Administrative Interpretation Request. As noted above, the Project is an existing, permitted electrical transmission line which allows periodic maintenance and repair work. Pursuant to the definition of “Project” in the Code, it is contemplated that any maintenance and repair work from time to time such as that which is proposed is an integral component part of the permitted Project. No material alteration to the permitted Project is being proposed. Accordingly, no new Development Permit, or amendment to an existing permit is or should be required for the transmission line. And, similarly, no additional Development Permit should be required for activities, facilities or uses related to the work itself when those activities, facilities or uses are incidental and ancillary to the maintenance and repair activities customarily associated with the permitted transmission line. A temporary construction staging yard with a two-month duration for maintenance activities in this case is an incidental, ancillary activity or facility related to a separate primary land use in the form of the permitted transmission line. The Staging Yard itself is not a separate, primary land use which rises to the level of triggering a Land Use Change Permit pursuant to the Code. There is no provision in the Code in support of such a conclusion. Moreover, the Staging Yard does not fit the Code definition of a “Contractor’s Yard, Small” as a separate “Service Industrial Use”, and there are no provisions in the Code which support forcing that definition to fit the nature and function of the Staging Yard. In summary, it is respectfully requested that the Staging Yard associated with the Project be considered under the Code as a use which is incidental and ancillary to the allowed maintenance and repair of the Project, and as such, is an integral part of the permitted transmission line. Therefore, no separate Land Use Change Permit or other Development Permit will be required for the Staging Yard as part of the proposed transmission line maintenance and repair.