El Paso County Board of Adjustment approves private indoor riding arena at 10890 Sellback Lane
February 12, 2026 | El Paso County, Colorado
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The El Paso County Board of Adjustment on Feb. 12 approved a dimensional variance allowing a 29,250-square-foot indoor riding arena at 10890 Sellback Lane.
Maria Linkdoe, a senior planner with the county, told the board the property is zoned RR-5 and that the county’s land development code generally limits residential accessory structures to the lesser of twice the footprint of the principal building or 4,200 square feet under Section 5.2.2(k). She said the 10.3-acre lot and other code criteria were presented to support a variance request to accommodate an indoor arena in the same footprint as an existing outdoor arena.
Joe Sandstrom of the Department of Public Works said the parcel is not in a regulatory floodplain, a drainage report was not required for this application, and the estimated runoff increase from the roof would be small (staff estimated roughly 1–2 cubic feet per second). He also said access is from an unpaved, privately maintained road and that the El Paso County road-impact fee program did not apply because the facility is for private use.
Applicant Tobin Allen told the board he and his wife built their home in 2010 and that he previously expected to obtain an agricultural permit. "I was ignorant of this regulation," Allen said, explaining he had planned the arena for years and intended it for private use for his six horses and two mules. He confirmed the facility would not be used for boarding horses.
The chair, after reviewing the approval criteria, said requiring the applicant to build a larger residence to avoid the variance would be inequitable and described the circumstances as a "unique situation" meriting an equitable exception. A motion to approve the variance, incorporating staff recommendations, conditions and notations, passed on a 5–0 roll-call vote.
The board recorded no formal opposition from notified neighbors; staff said 17 nearby property owners were notified on Jan. 14, 2026. With the variance approved, county permitting and any required building-code reviews would follow before construction proceeds.
What happens next: the applicant may apply for permits consistent with the board’s conditions; the county will enforce the conditions and any applicable building-code requirements.
Maria Linkdoe, a senior planner with the county, told the board the property is zoned RR-5 and that the county’s land development code generally limits residential accessory structures to the lesser of twice the footprint of the principal building or 4,200 square feet under Section 5.2.2(k). She said the 10.3-acre lot and other code criteria were presented to support a variance request to accommodate an indoor arena in the same footprint as an existing outdoor arena.
Joe Sandstrom of the Department of Public Works said the parcel is not in a regulatory floodplain, a drainage report was not required for this application, and the estimated runoff increase from the roof would be small (staff estimated roughly 1–2 cubic feet per second). He also said access is from an unpaved, privately maintained road and that the El Paso County road-impact fee program did not apply because the facility is for private use.
Applicant Tobin Allen told the board he and his wife built their home in 2010 and that he previously expected to obtain an agricultural permit. "I was ignorant of this regulation," Allen said, explaining he had planned the arena for years and intended it for private use for his six horses and two mules. He confirmed the facility would not be used for boarding horses.
The chair, after reviewing the approval criteria, said requiring the applicant to build a larger residence to avoid the variance would be inequitable and described the circumstances as a "unique situation" meriting an equitable exception. A motion to approve the variance, incorporating staff recommendations, conditions and notations, passed on a 5–0 roll-call vote.
The board recorded no formal opposition from notified neighbors; staff said 17 nearby property owners were notified on Jan. 14, 2026. With the variance approved, county permitting and any required building-code reviews would follow before construction proceeds.
What happens next: the applicant may apply for permits consistent with the board’s conditions; the county will enforce the conditions and any applicable building-code requirements.
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