SUMMARY OF THE WELD COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING Tuesday, April 17, 2018 A regular meeting of the Weld County Planning Commission was held in the Weld County Administration Building, Hearing Room, 1150 O Street, Greeley, Colorado. This meeting was called to order by Chair, Terry Cross, at 12:30 pm. Roll Call. Present: Bruce Sparrow, Gene Stille, Jordan Jemiola, Michael Wailes, Terry Cross, Tom Cope, Lonnie Ford, Richard Beck. Absent: Bruce Johnson. Also Present: Kim Ogle and Michael Hall, Department of Planning Services; Lauren Light and Ben Frissell, Department of Health; Evan Pinkham and Hayley Balzano, Public Works; Bob Choate, County Attorney, and Kris Ranslem, Secretary. Motion: Approve the April 3, 2018 Weld County Planning Commission minutes, Moved by Bruce Sparrow, Seconded by Gene Stille. Motion passed unanimously. CASE NUMBER: APPLICANT: PLANNER: REQUEST: USR18-0007 DISCOVERY DJ SERVICES, LLC KIM OGLE A SITE SPECIFIC DEVELOPMENT PLAN AND SPECIAL REVIEW PERMIT FOR A GREATER THAN 12-INCH HIGH PRESSURE NATURAL GAS PIPELINE APPROXIMATELY 14 MILES LONG (20-INCH NATURAL GAS PIPELINE) IN THE A (AGRICULTURAL) ZONE DISTRICT LEGAL DESCRIPTION: THE PIPELINE WILL CROSS SECTION 4, T1N, R65W; SECTIONS 2, 3, 10, 15, 22, 27, 28, AND 33 IN T2N, R65W; SECTIONS 25, 35, AND 36 IN T3N, R65W; SECTION 7, 12, 18, 19, AND 30 IN T3N, R64W OF THE 6TH P.M., WELD COUNTY, COLORADO. LOCATION: GENERALLY LOCATED NORTH OF CR 12; EAST OF CR 41; SOUTH OF CR 36 AND WEST OF CR 51. Kim Ogle, Planning Services, presented Case USR18-0007, reading the recommendation and comments into the record. The Department of Planning Services recommends approval of this application with the attached conditions of approval and development standards. Hayley Balzano, Public Works, reported on the classification of the roads which will be crossed by this proposed pipeline. Additionally, she reviewed the access to the site, tracking control and the required Road Maintenance Agreement. Ms. Balzano requested the removal of Condition of Approval 1.E.32 as it is duplicated in Condition of Approval 1.E.20 and removing Condition of Approval 1.E.33 and replace it with a proposed development standard. Ms. Balzano also requested the removal of Development Standard 8 and the addition of three development standards: 1) Any oil and gas pipeline crossing an arterial road shall be bored a minimum of twenty (20) feet below arterial roads, fifteen (15) feet below collector and paved local roads, and ten (10) feet below gravel local roads. This depth shall be measured below the lowest roadside ditch flowing elevation, for the full width of the future right-of-way, 2) Any damage occurring to the right-of-way, caused by the pipeline, will be the responsibility of the operator, and 3) With the exception of perpendicular crossings, oil and gas pipelines, are not to be located within Weld County right-of-way. Ben Frissell, Environmental Health, reviewed the public water and sanitary sewer requirements, on-site dust control, and the Waste Handling Plan. Lito White, Discovery DJ Services, LLC, 540 East Burch Street, Brighton, Colorado, stated Discovery DJ Services is proposing a 20-inch natural gas pipeline approximately 16 miles in length. The pipeline will 1
originate at County Road 49 and County Road 36 and will terminate 0.5 miles east of the intersection of State Highway 52 and County Road 41. Mr. White stated that the pipeline is monitored 24/7 and will provide any reports of leak detection, line balancing, pressure monitoring and cleaning. He added that automatic shutdown of the facility is also available and routine inspections are performed on the system regularly. Commissioner Cope referred to Mr. White s comment of sharing the easement with other pipelines and asked what distance they will be from the other pipelines. Mr. White said that the other pipelines are Discovery DJ Services and is a 30-foot right-of-way. He added that they try to keep 8 to 10 feet distance between pipelines. Commissioner Wailes asked how far along they are with securing the easements. Mr. White replied that they are closing in on 100 percent. The Chair asked if there was anyone in the audience who wished to speak for or against this application. Pam Nichols Kretzer, 21480 CR 43, Hudson, Colorado, stated that Discovery DJ Services had put a pipeline through her property and when they came through the property they were to clean a row of trees up and not to remove any live trees. However, the dead trees that were taken out were pushed to the side and not cleaned up. She added that where the pipeline came through there was an old house basement that they agreed to haul off everything; however, they piled up the dirt and cement on her property. Mr. White said he was not made aware of these issues and would like to learn more about it. He added that he would like to visit with Ms. Nichols Kretzer. The Chair referred to the requested changes to the Staff Report. Motion: Amend the Staff Report, as stated in the Memorandum, Moved by Tom Cope, Seconded by Bruce Sparrow. Vote: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 8). Yes: Bruce Sparrow, Gene Stille, Jordan Jemiola, Lonnie Ford, Michael Wailes, Richard Beck, Terry Cross, Tom Cope. Motion: Delete Development Standard 8, as recommended by Staff, Moved by Michael Wailes, Seconded by Tom Cope. Vote: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 8). Yes: Bruce Sparrow, Gene Stille, Jordan Jemiola, Lonnie Ford, Michael Wailes, Richard Beck, Terry Cross, Tom Cope. The Chair asked the applicant if they have read through the amended Development Standards and Conditions of Approval and if they are in agreement with those. The applicant replied that they are in agreement. Commissioner Stille and Commissioner Cope recommended that the applicant visit with the surrounding property owner to resolve her issues prior to the Board of County Commissioners hearing. Motion: Forward Case USR18-0007 to the Board of County Commissioners along with the amended Conditions of Approval and Development Standards with the Planning Commission s recommendation of approval, Moved by Tom Cope, Seconded by Gene Stille. Vote: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 8). Yes: Bruce Sparrow, Gene Stille, Jordan Jemiola, Lonnie Ford, Michael Wailes, Richard Beck, Terry Cross, Tom Cope. CASE NUMBER: APPLICANT: PLANNER: REQUEST: USR17-0076 DE JAGER 2007 LIVING TRUST, C/O ICON HOLSTEINS, LLC MICHAEL HALL A SITE SPECIFIC DEVELOPMENT PLAN AND USE BY SPECIAL REVIEW PERMIT FOR AGRICULTURAL SERVICE ESTABLISHMENTS PRIMARILY 2
ENGAGED IN PERFORMING AGRICULTURAL, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY OR HORTICULTURAL SERVICES ON A FEE OR CONTRACT BASIS, INCLUDING A LIVESTOCK CONFINEMENT OPERATION (5,000 HEAD ROBOTIC DAIRY) AND ONE SINGLE FAMILY DWELLING UNIT PER LOT OTHER THAN THOSE PERMITTED UNDER SECTION 23-3-20.A (SECOND SINGLE FAMILY DWELLING FOR FARM EMPLOYEE RESIDENCE) IN THE A (AGRICULTURAL) ZONE DISTRICT. LEGAL DESCRIPTION: NE4 SECTION 4, T4N, R64W OF THE 6TH P.M., WELD COUNTY, COLORADO. LOCATION: SOUTH OF AND ADJACENT TO CR 50; WEST OF AND ADJACENT TO CR 55. Michael Hall, Planning Services, presented Case USR17-0076, reading the recommendation and comments into the record. Mr. Hall noted that staff received three letters, one email and one phone call with questions and concerns of this project. He added that the two letters received outlined concerns of pest control, odor, traffic, wastewater transfer and animal waste manure management. Mr. Hall noted that during his site visit on April 5, 2018 he noticed that a large portion of the east half of the site where the proposed dairy would be located was already actively being graded. Additionally, large dirt operations were underway on the site without an approved Grading Permit. A Grading Permit, GRD18-0013, was submitted on April 4 th and had not been currently released. Mr. Hall noted that the dairy map submitted and the Grading Permit is significantly larger than the dairy map submitted with the USR application materials. The Department of Planning Services recommends approval of this application with the attached conditions of approval and development standards. Evan Pinkham, Public Works, reported on the existing traffic and access to the site. Commissioner Cope commented that based on traffic numbers the gravel road has just slightly less traffic than the paved road, but almost twice as much truck traffic currently. Mr. Pinkham replied that he was correct. Hayley Balzano, Public Works, reported on the drainage conditions for the site and the grading that had been on site prior to the issuance of a grading permit. Commissioner Cope clarified that they have applied for a grading permit but it will not be issued until the plat has been recorded. Ms. Balzano replied that was correct without an early release request. Mr. Cope asked what the County can do with all the winds we have had. Bob Choate, County Attorney, said that enforcement of a grading permit is very difficult. We can enforce it just like any land use zoning violation by going to County or District Court. However, they would work with the property owner to address these concerns. Ben Frissell, Environmental Health, reviewed the public water and sanitary sewer requirements, on-site dust control, and the Waste Handling Plan. Mr. Frissell requested that the last sentence in Development Standard 27 be removed as it is covered in a previous development standard. Tim Naylor, AGPROfessionals, 3050 67 th Avenue, stated that they are representing the applicant, Icon Dairy. The applicant is proposing an increase to their dairy facility to 5000 head and it will be a robotic dairy facility. He added that it will be the first robotic dairy in the State of Colorado. The facility will be constructed in phases. Mr. Naylor provided a brief explanation of how the robotic dairy will be operated. The Chair asked if there was anyone in the audience who wished to speak for or against this application. Connie Koenig 23595 CR 57, stated that they live one mile east of the facility. She expressed concern with the number of flies on her property because of the existing dairy and worries what it will be like with increasing it. She added that she isn t anti-dairy, but believes that they are irresponsible. 3
Commissioner Cope asked if there were any other environmental things that would have occurred differently last year that would have created this problem. Ms. Koenig said that the Monfort feedlot has been there since 1972 and there have been small feedlots in the area. Commissioner Ford suggested that given Ms. Koenig s location, maybe something happened differently at the Monfort feedlot that contributed to this fly problem. Rande Bernal, 23466 CR 55, expressed concern over the grading that was done without the appropriate permit, the number of flies, amount of traffic, and the wastewater ponds. She questioned how the applicant will follow any of the rules when they haven t yet. Commissioner Cope asked if she complained to the owners. Ms. Bernal said that she hasn t talked to the current owners but she talked to the last two owners and they did help with spraying for the flies. Larry Connell, 23828 CR 53, stated that he is proagriculture and not trying to shut anyone down. He said that within this area there are three other large feedlots JBS, Horton and Timmerman, which produce a large amount of manure and he is concerned with this much more manure generated from this facility and where it will be applied. He is also concerned that with the dust events there is some dirt collecting in the Bailey Lateral on the southern part of their property. He added that they have done some cleaning with the ditch and they are monitoring it but he is concerned that with a possible large rain event it would cause some flood damage. He also expressed concern with the traffic and the agricultural equipment on the road. Kevin Chestnut, 27275 CR 52, expressed concern with the piles of manure in that area. Commissioner Cross noted that the manure may not be from this dairy. Mr. Chestnut said that the manure isn t from this site but it is everywhere. He asked what they are going to do with the liquid manure. He also expressed concern with the applicant grading the site before the permits were released. Ron McNutt, 27808 CR 50, expressed concern on the large increase of animals proposed. Additionally, he was concerned with the decrease in property values, the number of flies and odor. He suggested the possibility of a smaller expansion and gradually stage increases in size over multiple years. Mr. Naylor said that the applicants purchased this property in 2016 and they are working on cleaning up the facility and eliminating breeding grounds for flies and control where water may stand. He added that with the Nuisance Management Plans that will be in place, the design of the facility and the updating of the existing area the amount of flies should be minimized. Mr. Naylor stated that the majority of dairies do land apply the manure in the fall and spring. He added that this will be an engineered facility and all of the stormwater is directed to the north of the site, therefore, all of the channels and areas for water to run have been sized adequately to handle the drainage from the facility. The ponds are designed through the Regulation 81 requirements to handle a 25/24 storm event. Mr. Naylor agreed with the traffic safety on County Road 55 and added that the facility will not generate that much additional traffic. He added that the dairy will have to deal with the existing oil and gas traffic currently as well. Commissioner Beck asked what time frame the increases will be. Mr. Naylor said that the immediate increase will be about 2500 head and then in two to five years they will increase the livestock up to 5000 head. Commissioner Beck asked what they have done to mitigate the dust concerns with the grading that has been done on site. Mr. Naylor said that the grading has been done in accordance with the rules and regulations of a grading permit. He added that they have a State Stormwater for Construction Permit as well as a Stormwater Management Plan for the facility. Commissioner Cope stated that he is concerned with the manure situation. He asked what devices they have to store manure during the winter and summer. Mr. Naylor said that the ponds are designed to handle six (6) months of manure storage. The Chair referred to the requested change to Development Standard 27. 4
Motion: Delete the last sentence in Development Standard 27, as recommended by Staff, Moved by Jordan Jemiola, Seconded by Gene Stille. Motion carried unanimously. The Chair asked the applicant if they have read through the amended Development Standards and Conditions of Approval and if they are in agreement with those. The applicant replied that they are in agreement. Motion: Forward Case USR17-0076 to the Board of County Commissioners along with the amended Conditions of Approval and Development Standards with the Planning Commission s recommendation of approval, Moved by Jordan Jemiola, Seconded by Michael Wailes. Vote: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 8). Yes: Bruce Sparrow, Gene Stille, Jordan Jemiola, Lonnie Ford, Michael Wailes, Richard Beck, Terry Cross, Tom Cope. Commissioner Jemiola said that he believes it is in compliance with Section 23-2-220 of the Weld County Code, the Weld County Right to Farm Act and added that he hopes we have more mega dairies in Weld County. The Chair called a recess at 2:42 pm and reconvened the hearing at 3:00 pm. CASE NUMBER: APPLICANT: PLANNER: REQUEST: LEGAL DESCRIPTION: LOCATION: USR18-0010 KENNETH & JAMIE STARMAN KIM OGLE A SITE SPECIFIC DEVELOPMENT PLAN AND USE BY SPECIAL USE PERMIT FOR ANY USE PERMITTED AS A USE BY RIGHT, AN ACCESSORY USE, OR A USE BY SPECIAL REVIEW IN THE COMMERCIAL OR INDUSTRIAL ZONE DISTRICTS (PARKING STORAGE, AND STAGING OF VEHICLES ASSOCIATED WITH A TANKER TRUCK SEPTIC BUSINESS) IN THE A (AGRICULTURAL) ZONE DISTRICT. LOT A REC EXEMPT RECX14-0078, PART S2 OF SECTION 17, T6N, R64W OF THE 6TH P.M., WELD COUNTY, COLORADO. APPROXIMATELY 1900 FEET NORTH OF HWY 392; WEST OF AND ADJACENT TO CR 53. Kim Ogle, Planning Services, presented Case USR18-0010, reading the recommendation and comments into the record. Mr. Ogle noted that there are two (2) letters in opposition outlining concerns of odors occurring with the transfer of human waste and grease trap residue, impacts from noise of vacuum pumps, dust from County Road 53, impacts of traffic on County Road 53, impacts on property value and impacts on the health hazards and additional stress caused by the permitting of this facility. He added that staff received four (4) letters in favor of the proposed project. The Department of Planning Services recommends approval of this application with the attached conditions of approval and development standards. Hayley Balzano, Public Works, reported on the existing traffic, access to the site and the drainage conditions for the site. Lauren Light, Environmental Health, reviewed the public water and sanitary sewer requirements, on-site dust control, and the Waste Handling Plan. Additionally, she provided a brief overview of how septic pumpers are regulated. Sheri Lockman, Lockman Land Consulting, 36509 CR 41, Eaton, Colorado, stated that the applicants operate Front Range Septic from their property and they are permitted under a Zoning Permit for Home Occupation (Class II) currently. She added that they service the local septic systems and restaurant grease traps. The applicants wish to increase their operation with up to six (6) trucks and four (4) tanks that the vacuum trucks can offload into. The current permit allows for underground storage. Ms. Lockman stated that the above ground tanks are superior to the previously approved underground tanks as the above ground tanks do not require bubbling to mix the heavy materials from the bottom and this will eliminate the odor to the short offload period which usually takes approximately three minutes. 5
Ms. Lockman stated that they had some concerns with staff comments and when allowed she would like to make those requests. The Chair asked if there was anyone in the audience who wished to speak for or against this application. Steve Gulley, 33605 CR 53, stated that he lives north of and adjacent to the site. He stated that when they bought their land there was no septic business next to them. He added that right now the applicant is not storing or transferring septage on site and if approved he would be allowed to have up to 10 trucks per day. He expressed concerns regarding the odor, traffic and noise. He asked the Planning Commission to consider that this is a heavy commercial operation and added that it doesn t belong in this area. Sheri Gulley, 33605 CR 53, stated that prior to the home business permit the sewage was stored in free standing tanks on the applicant s property and the odor was terrible. Since the applicant had to get the Zoning Permit they were required to put the sewage in enclosed tanks. She said that every other septic collector in Weld County has to take the septic to an approved septic receptacle location and doesn t see why that should not be the case for the applicant. She expressed concern for traffic when the applicant s access is at the crest of a hill and added that trucks block both lanes of County Road 53 when pulling out of his site. Commissioner Jemiola asked if the applicant could do anything to make this use more amenable for them. Ms. Gulley said that she doesn t know but suggested that going from the pump tanks to the transport tanks there might be a seal to attach. Ms. Lockman stated that the tanks the Gulley s were referring to are long gone. She added that part of the problem with those tanks was that they needed to be bubbled to stir and that is where the smell came from. The smell that they will have now is when they hook the hose up will be from displacement of the air and it will not be the same kind of smell. Kenneth Starman, 33431 CR 53, provided a brief description of how the septage is transferred into the tanks. He added that the smell they will have now is from displaced air. Commissioner Sparrow asked if it is possible to use two hoses, one to take the displaced air and put it back in the tank your taking the septage out of. Mr. Starman said that you have to get rid of the air and it only is displaced when you are not moving solids. He clarified that the smell happens when the tank is empty and there is air shooting out the hoses at the last part of the load. Commissioner Jemiola asked what the challenge is from hauling it directly from the vacuum truck to McDonald Farms. Mr. Starman said it is time management and it would put two more trucks on the road than having a storage tank on site from McDonalds. He added that the only facilities that will take the waste are in Fort Collins and Frederick. Commissioner Ford referred to the access at the crest of the hill and the traffic hazard and asked if accessing from the south is a possibility. Mr. Starman said that his entire farm would have to be under the USR to move the access to the southern part of his property and added that he also farms it and it would take agriculture out of production. Ms. Lockman suggested that Ms. Balzano take a look at that access and provide an opinion of the safety of that access and the hill. Ms. Balzano said that she would perform a field inspection prior to the Board of County Commissioners hearing. Bob Choate, County Attorney, said that instead of trying to determine how to fix the problem he referred to Development Standard 16 regarding odor. He said that it states that the facility shall be operated in a manner to prevent odors. Odors detected off site shall not equal or exceed the level of fifteen-to-one dilution threshold as measured by Regulation 2. He said that the State standard is seven-to-one and he added that the Planning Commission can decide if that threshold needs to be reduced to seven-to-one if the Planning Commission thinks that is necessary in order for this to mitigate the incompatibilities for the siting of this particular facility. Motion: Amend Development Standard 16 to reflect the seven-to-one dilution, Moved by Tom Cope, Seconded by Jordan Jemiola. Vote: Motion passed (summary: Yes = 6, No = 2, Abstain = 0). 6
Yes: Gene Stille, Jordan Jemiola, Lonnie Ford, Richard Beck, Terry Cross, Tom Cope. No: Bruce Sparrow, Michael Wailes. Ms. Lockman referred to Condition of Approval 1.B relating to a commercial vehicle trailer and said that it is actually a cargo container that has received required building permits. She asked that this condition be removed. Additionally, she referred to Condition of Approval 1.C.6 regarding opaque screening and provided pictures of the site. She said that because of the topography of the land a lot of things are screened by the berm on site and the hill, therefore a six foot fence won t screen the tankers from the Gulley s house. Commissioner Cope asked if the opaque screening includes trees as shown on the pictures. Mr. Ogle replied that the trees are included in opaque screening. Mr. Cope asked if the idea that the opaque screening of the tanker trucks shall be maintained means that the trees that are there need to be maintained. Mr. Ogle replied that the trees need to be replaced if they should die. Mr. Cope said that he doesn t see the need of removing Condition of Approval 1.C.6. Motion: Delete Condition of Approval 1.B, Moved by Tom Cope, Seconded by Bruce Sparrow. Motion carried unanimously. The Chair asked the applicant if they have read through the amended Development Standards and Conditions of Approval and if they are in agreement with those. The applicant replied that they are in agreement. Commissioner Jemiola stated that he doesn t believe this use is compatible with surrounding land. Commissioner Cope said that he is concerned with the potential odor as well as it is a foul smell. He is also concerned with the safety of the road and the trucks going in and out of the site. He added that the use of the shed and storing the trucks and not transferrin of waste he would be fine with but he is concerned with the bigger trucks and the transferring of the waste. Commissioner Ford is concerned with the safety issue on the road. Commissioner Beck said that he hopes Staff will take a look at the road situation before the County Commissioner hearing to evaluate if a warning sign should be put up or the speed limit reduced. Commissioner Cross said that the applicant is providing a service that the County needs with the growth we are experiencing. He added that they will try to mitigate the escaping smell as much as they can. Motion: Forward Case USR18-0010 to the Board of County Commissioners along with the amended Conditions of Approval and Development Standards with the Planning Commission s recommendation of approval, Moved by Gene Stille, Seconded by Lonnie Ford. Vote: Motion passed (summary: Yes = 6, No = 2, Abstain = 0). Yes: Bruce Sparrow, Gene Stille, Lonnie Ford, Michael Wailes, Richard Beck, Terry Cross. No: Jordan Jemiola, Tom Cope. Commissioner Cope said that he is concerned with the safety of the vehicles on the road and believes that it can be mitigated with signage or reducing the speed limit. Commissioner Jemiola cited incompatibility and is concerned with the odor emissions and the private property rights and enjoyment of the surrounding neighbors. The Chair asked the public if there were other items of business that they would like to discuss. No one wished to speak. The Chair asked the Planning Commission members if there was any new business to discuss. No one wished to speak. Meeting adjourned at 4:10 pm. 7
Respectfully submitted, Kristine Ranslem Secretary 8