Planning commission continues CUP hearing for Browns Canyon contractor's yard after neighbors, engineers raise safety and boundary concerns

Laura Carmayer, a county planner, opened the public hearing on a conditional-use permit for a contractor's yard at 4782 West Browns Canyon and walked commissioners through the application's history, violations and the current plan.

"There was a notice of violation issued on the property for operating a contractor's yard without a conditional use permit," Carmayer said, and she told the commission the applicant later submitted a CUP application and removed equipment after an administrative law judge ordered that step. She described the proposed use as storage for equipment and materials connected to the applicant's landscaping, construction and snow-removal business, with no new structures, hours of 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and roughly "10 to 15 employees generally" onsite.

County engineering concerns were central to the discussion. Carmayer said the driveway grade is "about 12%," which staff said exceeds the typical engineering threshold, and that parts of the site plan appear to double-count an area as both driveway and parking. The county engineer (Mike) told the commission he found the design "very close" to minimum requirements but recommended additional retaining-wall height and flattening the driveway so the slope complies, and advised a more detailed field survey to resolve sight-line questions.

Adjacent property owner Russ Witt told the commission he believes the applicant graded about 100 feet onto his land, removed survey stakes and destroyed native sagebrush and oak brush. "All I want is my property restored, and him to be on his own property and my property to be reclaimed," Witt said, urging the commission to wait for the court dispute to resolve and for third-party remediation rather than letting the applicant perform the restoration.

The applicant's attorney, TJ Stevens of Hogan Lee Hutchinson, said his client filed a CUP application on Oct. 28, 2022, provided revised plans in August 2023, and is prepared to accept the county's engineering revisions and any conditions of approval, including extending the driveway if required. "We're agreeable to all the conditions in the planning commission report," Stevens said, and he offered to supply formal surveys and to construct retaining measures to shore up adjacent areas.

Several neighbors raised safety and land-use concerns. Stuart Grow, a Browns Canyon resident of 30 years, warned about the safety impact of heavy truck traffic on a rural canyon road with 55 mph limits and limited passing areas, saying the corridor has become increasingly industrial. He urged the commission to consider restricting additional CUPs in the corridor.

Commissioners debated whether the pending quiet-title litigation over grading on adjacent land should block action. Legal counsel said the commission might lack authority to impose conditions forcing restoration of parcels not part of the application, and that the commission could prudently delay approval while staff verifies survey and litigation records.

On a motion to continue the public hearing for additional counsel review, surveys and revised engineering, the commission voted to continue the item to Jan. 4, 2024, and left the record open for further materials. The motion was carried by voice vote.

Next steps: staff said it will return to the commission on Jan. 4 with survey exhibits, any updated engineering findings and counsel's opinion on what conditions the commission could lawfully require.