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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1.04 Waivers Request Letter March 27, 2022 Sheryl Bower Garfield County Community Development Director 108 8th Street, Suite 401 Glenwood Springs, CO 81601 RE: Nutrient Farm Planned Unit Development (PUD) – Waivers of Submission Requirements • Site Plan (4-203.D.) • Floodplain Analysis (4-203.O.) Ms. Bower, As you know, we had been working with Patrick Waller on the Nutrient Farm PUD request and he provided us a Pre-Application Conference Summary (Summary) for the project. After further reviewing the Summary and the Garfield County Land Use and Development Code (LUDC) during the preparation of the PUD application package, we have found two submittal items that we believe are either not applicable to the application or the information is unattainable. These two items are the requirement for a Site Plan (4-203.D.) and a Flood Plain Analysis (4-203.O.). Site Plan (4-203.D.) Table 6-301. Application Submittal Requirements for a PUD requires the submittal of a Site Plan according to 4-203.D. of the LUDC. The content requirements for a Site Plan (4-203.D.) seem to be written for the review of a site-specific development application. As we had discussed this in the past with Mr. Waller, no improvements are proposed at this time with the PUD request. The PUD application is merely for a zoning designation of the property, and an articulation and allowance of potential future uses. In lieu of such a site plan, we have prepared a Conceptual Development Plan/PUD Plan Map that lays out, with a considerable level of detail, not only the location of the proposed possible future uses, but the structures and activities related thereto, and the general area of the improvements that will be tied to such uses. This Conceptual Development Plan is very descriptive, though of course not to the level of specificity associated with a site plan. Said Development Plan fully enables the County to assess not only the uses proposed but how they are situated upon and fit within the Property. Moreover, all future improvements within the PUD area will follow all applicable Garfield County submittal, review, and approval processes—be it through the Planning Nutrient Farm Planned Unit Development – Waivers of Submission Requirements Page 2 Department and/or the Building Department. To help facilitate this, the proposed PUD Guide also contains a Land Use Table with the various levels of development review for the future improvements. This submittal package also contains many other plans—the PUD Plan Map per 6-302.A.3., as noted, a Conceptual Access, Circulation and Parking Plan attached as Exhibit C to the PUD Guide, and a Water and Sewer Plan containing water and wastewater layout information, which include many of the same content items required for a Site Plan. Thus, a Site Plan has been provided, but does not meet the specific requirements of 4-203.D. because no improvements are proposed at this time (i.e., location and dimensions of all structures, elevation drawings, proposed topography, signs, etc.) and/or the information can be found on the Conceptual Development Plan/PUD Plan Map, the Conceptual Access, Circulation and Parking Plan, or on the Water and Sewer Plan. (I.e., Legal description, existing topography, roads, parking, etc.) Mr. Waller understood our situation and thought many of these Site Plan requirements could be waived and encouraged us to submit a waiver request. Floodplain Analysis (4-203.O.) Table 6-301. also requires the submission of a Floodplain Analysis per 4-203.O. This section requires the submission of a Floodplain Specific Site Plan containing existing flood/floodway boundary, water course, and topography information, as well as specific information for proposed improvements (i.e., proposed finished floor levels, flood-proof elevations, impervious surface boundaries/calculations, etc.) Once again, no improvements are proposed at this time with the PUD request. In order to meet the requirements of this section as much as possible, SGM extensively researched the Colorado River area adjacent to Nutrient Farm and their findings have been included in the Impact Analysis Report which is part of this application package. According to the Impact Analysis Report, the area adjacent to the Colorado River is within the County’s Floodplain Overlay District and contains land within the designated 100-year floodplain. However, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has not mapped the floodplain in this specific area. The area was previously surveyed and studied on several occasions by FEMA and the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) but the studies were not officially adopted for this reach of the Colorado River adjacent to Nutrient Farm. The effective FEMA panel is 0802051020B dated 12/15/1977 (not printed). All areas are assigned Zone D areas of possible flooding. An approximate Floodplain Zone A was created and published for public review and comment in the Garfield County Preliminary study circa 2011. The Preliminary Flood Insurance Study and accompanying maps and GIS digital data were made available on the County website and was widely used as the “best available” information. SGM obtained updated 2015 DFIRM metadata published by FEMA on 7/31/2015 and used these GIS layers as the best available information for Nutrient Farm. This reach of the Colorado River remains as an approximate Zone A floodplain without water surface elevations. SGM understands that FEMA is very near publishing a new detailed floodplain study for this reach. That study will Nutrient Farm Planned Unit Development – Waivers of Submission Requirements Page 3 use a reduced 100-year flowrate and is expected to result in 100-year water surface elevations that are lower than shown in previous studies. Invariably, any Nutrient Farm PUD improvements, with respect to all flood study information referenced above, will necessarily comply with all applicable FEMA, National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), CWCB and Garfield County floodplain regulations—Floodplain Overlay Regulation of sections 3-102 and 3-301 and the Floodplain Specific Site Plan requirements of 4 - 203.O.1. of the LUDC. In addition, any future improvements near the Colorado River must abide by section 7-203. Protection of Waterbodies of the LUDC. This includes the required setbacks for structures and activities near a waterbody and compliance with all applicable State and Federal regulations and permitting requirements including, but not limited to, section 404 of the Federal Clean Water Act administered by the Army Corps. of Engineers. Waiver of Submission Requirements (4-202.) Section 4-202. of the LUDC allows the Planning Director to waive or alter any of the submittal requirements if they are determined to be inappropriate or unnecessary and describes the review process and criteria for doing so. Per Section 4-202.: B. Review Process. 1. Applicant shall request the waiver of a submission requirement in writing as part of an application submission. 2. The Director shall review the request as part of the completeness review and make a determination regarding whether to waive or require the information. The Director may refer the waiver request to the BOCC for consideration at a Public Meeting. 3. The Director shall notify the Applicant in writing of the determination whether to waive submission requirements and include a summary of the decision in the staff report. 4. The Director’s determination regarding waiver of submission requirements is subject to call -up pursuant to section 4-112. C. Review Criteria. A waiver request shall be considered based on the following criteria: 1. The Applicant shows good cause for the requested waiver; 2. The project size, complexity, anticipated impacts, or other factors support a waiver; 3. The waiver does not compromise a proper and complete review; and 4. The information is not material to describing the proposal or demonstrating compliance with approval criteria. We respectfully request the aforementioned waivers of the contents of the Site Plan and Floodplain Analysis not met, or waivers of the entire requirement to submit them. We believe that waiving the submittal requirements for various elements of the Site Plan per section 4-203.D. and waiving the submittal requirement for a Floodplain Analysis per section 4-203.O. are appropriate in this instance. We are confident that you will agree that the very comprehensive PUD application which we have submitted addresses all salient issues with an ample level of detail and specificity. It follows that having a site plan or flood plain plan as part of the submittals, which would inevitably have to come with the caveat that any future development may alter such submittals, render them functionally moot for the specific purposes of this PUD review, which does not serve as a permit to commence any specific development in any manner. The Nutrient Farm PUD application is a zoning request, and no improvements are proposed at this time in connection with it. Rather, all future improvements on the property will follow—and of course must follow Nutrient Farm Planned Unit Development – Waivers of Submission Requirements Page 4 all applicable Garfield County submittal, review and approval processes. As much information has been provided as possible, and many of the Site Plan required contents can be found on other plans submitted in the application package. Thus, we believe that a proper and complete review of the Nutrient Farm PUD request is possible based on the submitted information. Thank you for your consideration of the waivers. We will be glad to discuss this request with you or provide any other additional information that may be helpful to you. Respectfully, Daniel Teodoru, Esq.