Board of County Commissioners Business Meeting - Regular Meeting

I have video of my wife carrying a little baby alpaca out from the county fair one year. And it remains in our family the go-to video whenever we want to just have good feelings. And of course, the rodeo royalty are here today too. And although not a guest, clerk and recorder Joan Lopez is joining us. So I just want to give her a little bit of an acknowledgement. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you very, very much, Commissioner Baker. And I, too, would love to celebrate. I'm so excited about this day. It was great to walk in and see our rodeo royalty. And also, thank you very, very much, Queen Aspen, for leading us in the Pledge of Allegiance today. And I love the alpacas and the fact that we are celebrating our 120th county fair. And, yes, I will be at the 4-H auction. And, yes, that did happen that I took two live turkeys home to my house, and my husband was concerned. As was I. I don't know why. I tried to tell everybody I grew up in unincorporated El Paso County. And if I had to take those birds from feathers to food, I actually could have done it, but they were really big. So I was like, these are not chickens. But having married someone who is from the Washington, D.C. area and was used to going to King Soopers to get his food... He was a little concerned, but I can tell you that he had never had a better bird. That's right. And that's what we're gonna do, and we don't care how much they cost. We are supporting those kids who are raising those doggone animals. And it is such a wonderful, wonderful part of our county and our existence to really, regardless of who you are in Arapahoe County, You know, Carrie was talking about how long you were in Arapahoe County. So we're 70 miles east to west and west to east. That's crazy. So there is some of everyone in Arapahoe County. And it is all joy to celebrate with whoever you are. in Arapahoe County every day. And we have July 23rd through the 26th, the most wonderful time of celebrating our fair, celebrating our residents, celebrating our kids and celebrating the heritage, um, of Colorado, those wide open spaces and, uh, those mountain planes. And it's just, it's just amazing. So I thank everyone for being here. I am so excited, uh, That were able to do this. I sent a picture to my family of one of the alpacas and my sister-in-law was like, okay. So I did have to say it's a special day here in Arapahoe County and this is what I get to do at work. So thank you all very, very much. I'm going to invite Director Jenny Pingenot up, our Director of Open Spaces, to say a few words. And after Director Pingenot, we would like to go ahead and get a picture of our rodeo royalty, our alpacas, Director Pingenot and the board back here when she is finished. So come on up, Director Pingenot.

Good morning. Join me if you will. All right, so you all are doing a magnificent job of recognizing not just the special birthdays we're celebrating here in the state with the 150th of the state of Colorado, the 250 of our nation, and also the 120th of our fair. So really appreciate the energy and the constant support we get from the board and the entire county on the massive undertaking that is the fair. I am Jenny Pagino, and I do get to be the director of the Open Spaces Department. And today, thanks to you all, I am joined by the Rodeo Royalty, and I've asked them just to introduce themselves real quickly to you all.

Hi, everyone. I'm Aspen Schultz, and I'm your 2026 Arapahoe County Fair and Rodeo Queen.

Hi, everyone. I'm Lucia Mosby. I'm your 2026 Arapahoe County Queen Attendant Lady-in-Waiting. Hi, I'm Tabitha Cabrera, your Rodeo Princess for 2026. Yes, you

You guys did a brilliant job of capturing kind of the essence of the fair, the importance of agriculture to the county. So I won't reiterate any of those things. A couple of things as you were talking stood out to me. In case anyone is counting, we have nine days left till fair. So we're keeping a count and I know you guys are too. But one thing that just was striking me as you all were sharing your comments, It's the memories. The memories associated with the fair. They're profound and they're long lasting. And you each have them. And I know everyone who has been to a fair in the audience has them too. And that's what makes the event so special. The other piece that to me makes the event so special, and again, you hit on it in the proclamation, is that it isn't just summer entertainment that is important, but it really is about showcasing the values of the county and American values that we have. It's about nurturing future leaders, which you see with the Rodeo Royalty who's present with us and all of the youth who participate in 4-H. It's about the continuation of trades and skills that have lasted for so long and continue to be important. Those hand skills, the weaving, the rearing of animals. It's part of our fabric of the past, and it will continue to be something we rely on forever. So with that, I just wanted to kind of put a fine point on those things and really grateful for the celebration you guys are leading today. Thank you.

Thank you. And with that, our royalty, our alpacas, and Jordan is pointing, so we're going to follow Jordan. Okay, we're going to go that way.

Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

That was from 2013.

Thank you.

The cookie lady.

Oh, look at their legs. I didn't notice their legs. We're just going to bring the alpacas up.

All right, are we getting in front of the seal? Is that what we're thinking?

You can sit. What do you want here, Jill? I think if we could just get them, like, between a couple of the commissioners and I'll just put a picture up here.

Okay. All right. Your commissioner.

Sit there.

Come on up. Come on up.

Thank you. Thank you so much.

The alpacas are having way too much fun up here with us. That's the best. That's the best. Okay. We've had enough fun in this room this morning. We are going to go ahead and get back to an actual meeting. Boy, oh boy. Now we know why there's a sign on the door that says no animals allowed. They just throw off the whole thing and we're all happy and loving on the animals and stuff. So thank you very, very much, Larry and Jordan and Larry and Becky. We appreciate that so much. How wonderful. So today we have nine items on our consent agenda. Does any commissioner wish to remove an item?

Madam Chair? Yes, Commissioner Warren Gulley. I move to adopt the consent agenda as presented. I'll take it.

Second.

Great. Thank you very, very much. It has been moved by Commissioner Warren Gulley and properly seconded by Commissioner Baker to approve the consent agenda as presented. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Great. Then the motion passes. Wonderful. There are three items on our general business agenda today. The first is a comprehensive plan amendment to approve the Strasburg sub-area plan, Strasburg 2050. Our presenter is Gretchen Ricehill, Planner and Project Specialist with the Public Works and Development Department. And our attorney of record, I'm sorry, it's the alpacas. Our attorney of record is Matt Hader, Senior Assistant County Attorney. Mr. Hader, could you please set the foundation?

With regard to this first matter before the Board of County Commissioners at this time for public hearings, specifically the amendment to the comprehensive plan to approve the Strasburg sub area plan. The record contains evidence consistent with the requirements of the Repo, excuse me, consistent with the requirements of the comprehensive plan as made applicable through the Repo County Land Development Code, indicating that notice of this public hearing was provided via publication. The Board of Commissioners has jurisdiction to proceed with the public hearing this morning.

Thank you very much, Mr. Hader. Ms. Ricehill, would you please provide the presentation? Thank you.

Good morning. Good morning.

Excuse me.

So we are here today to consider amending the 2018- Arapahoe County Comprehensive Plan to adopt, by reference, the 2050 Strasburg Sub-Area Plan. This plan is actually an update of one that was adopted in 2002. Through its vision, goals, policies, and strategies, this plan is intended to be used by county staff, county officials, property owners, developers, to help frame public and private investment decisions over the life of the plan, which is over the next 25 years. A key feature of this updated plan is an implementation matrix that assigns responsibilities in a general timeframe for achieving the plan's goals. This is something that was not a part of the 2002 plan. It helps to ensure that the updated plan is a living and actionable document. So a little bit about the Strasburg area. It is an unincorporated community of about 4,700 people, and it is located in both Adams and Arapahoe counties. The planning area is very similar to the planning area of the 2002 plan, but for this update, we've added a couple areas to the east. The one in Arapaho County takes in, excuse me, the Schmidt subdivision, which is roughly along Highway 36. And in Adams County, there's a small area that was added east of, excuse me, east of Headlight Road. So the purpose of the sub area of the plan update, the 2000 plan, sorry, the 2002 plan was intended to guide the community over a period of about 20 years. And the plan had estimated a population in 2020 of 10,000 to 12,000 people. So clearly, that level of growth has not occurred. In 2024, the staff from Adams County approached Arapahoe County staff with a project to update the Strasburg plan. Adams County would lead that planning effort. And the Adams County staff began by forming a community steering committee, which was made up of local residents, and business owners. They also established a technical advisory committee and both of these committees helped guide the overall planning process. So community involvement was absolutely key in rewriting this plan. So the key objectives of the new plan were to create a community-based vision for Strasburg over the next 25 years. It was also to build upon Strasburg's existing assets and to identify opportunities for improvement. Also, the goal was to provide feasible growth projections, and for that, Adams County staff used two different data sources, and they determined that the population in 2050 would be roughly between 6,800 and 7,700 people. Other goals or other key objectives of this planning effort were to review and revise the future land use map. This is a key component of the plan update. Also, a key objective was to provide a series of achievable goals, policies, and actions that reflected the community's overall vision. And finally, to create that implementation matrix I discussed. So the process, it began with county staff gathering a lot of background data about Strasburg, and we also assessed the goals and the policies from the existing 2002 plan to determine what was achieved, what wasn't achieved, and what should be carried forward into the new plan. Next was actually going out into the community and to gather opinions about a number of topics. It started with Adams County staff conducting two surveys. One was a community-wide survey that went to everybody in the Strasburg zip code. Another survey was one targeted specifically for business owners. And both of those surveys were conducted in the fall and winter of 2024. Adams County staff then also hosted several in-person outreach events. Open houses were held at TBK Bank in Strasburg in November and December 2024, and also in August 2025. They also set up booths at Hometown Days, an annual celebration in Strasburg in 2024 and 2025. Then Adams County created a project website. Arapahoe County also had a project website, but we had a lot of background information about the planning effort that drove most of the folks to the Adams County site. 223 subscribers received regular updates about the project and also invitations to all the outreach events. Social media was also used to advertise events and send out information through Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. And as I indicated previously, the community steering committee was also set up and it was made up of 12 individuals from Strasburg, each representing different backgrounds and ages. This outreach formed the basis of the Strasburg plan, its vision statement, which I won't read, but also seven overarching guiding principles, and those are to enhance the small town character of Strasburg, to promote a sense of a safe community, to steward development intentionally, to support and promote local businesses, to maintain and improve Strasburg's roads, and also to develop safe mobility options to foster a strong sense of community and honor the community's shared heritage. And lastly, to actively involve residents in decision making to ensure that all voices are heard. So how is the plan different than the 2002 Strasburg Plan. So its foundation, again, was built on extensive community involvement. The background data, as I mentioned before, was especially important to informing this plan, especially the demographic growth projections, which we believe are realistic and also based on the analysis from those two reliable data sources that I mentioned. The plan is organized into five sections, land use and housing, East Colfax Avenue design, transportation and mobility, economic development, And there's a chapter on cultural and historical resources. This plan has expanded goals and policies much greater than the 2002 plan. And the biggest difference, as I mentioned before, is that the addition of the implementation matrix. The key component of this plan is the future land use map. I indicated that we worked with the project steering committee and also gathered community input to revise and update this map. It is an essential key element of the plan as it guides the community's future growth and helps inform public and private investment decisions. So focusing in on the Arapahoe County portion of the future land use map, we added, as I mentioned before, those areas east of Headlight Road along Highway 36, which included the Schmidt Subdivision and also other properties along Highway 36. We revised the land use definitions. We added new categories and definitions for railroad and also for recreation commercial. The recreation commercial we applied to three fairly unique properties in Strasburg. They're shown here is sort of green on your screen. It was applied to the Comanche Crossing Museum. the KOA campground, and also a really unique property off of Highway 36 that includes a scale model railroad track and also related railroad buildings. Let's see, oh, importantly too, we also changed much of the downtown area from commercial, which it was designated in the 2002 plan, we changed that to mixed use, which we felt added more flexibility and it actually better reflected the actual land uses that are there today. A public review. Once written, the draft plan was posted on the Adams County website and links again were provided from Arapahoe County's website to Adams County. The draft plan was available for public review from late August through September 29, 2025 All comments that we received, all public comments, were considered by staff from both Adams and Arapaho counties. Actually, one comment that we received regarding an Arapaho county parcel resulted in modifying the future land use map. Also, I should mention that during this public comment period, staff made themselves available at two events that we, or Adams County, I should give them credit, they called it Coffee with Planner events, that they held at two local coffee shops in Strasburg. We also held, after the public comment period, we held study sessions with Arapahoe County Planning Commission. That occurred in December of last year, and then we also met with you folks at a study session in January. And comments, again, from the board were incorporated into the plan. In particular, you all requested that we take a look at the implementation matrix and that we add or revise the responsibility column to better reflect how certain elements of the plan were gonna be carried out, who was gonna be responsible for carrying those out. So we made those changes as requested. So in preparation for this public hearing, we sent the plan out to 23 referral agencies, Adams County also sent to their list of referral agencies. In Arapahoe County, we received three written comments and one was a no comment. And I'll talk about those here in just a minute. And then also as required by state statute, we sent the plan to the Department of Local Affairs for their review and they had no comments. Then we held the Planning Commission hearing regarding this plan. Both counties, those occurred in June of this year. And then you heard from our county attorney regarding the public noticing, so I won't go over that. So those reviewing agency comments. Arapahoe County Public Health noted the growth projections and they indicated that, or they recommended evaluating the water and wastewater system capacity and performance because they noted that it was part of implementing many of the plan's goals. So staff, we agree that the water availability is key to any growth. The economic development section of this plan actually does identify infrastructure investment as a key strategy of this plan throughout its life. And we also note that Strasburg Water and Sanitation District is afforded the opportunity to comment on any specific development proposal within its jurisdiction as part of our normal development review process. We also received comments from Colorado Parks and Wildlife. They expressed concern about proposed trail development and its potential impacts to the wildlife in the area. And based on their comments, we actually did add text to the plan that better addressed their concerns. Their other concerns were more specific to development proposals, so again, CPW is afforded the opportunity to comment about specific developments that occur. And then finally, the last comment that we received was from the Colorado Department of Transportation, reminding us that work within the CDOT corridor. requires their review and approval. There is one entire section of this plan that deals with improvements or proposed improvements along Colfax Avenue, which is not only the dividing line between Arapaho and Adams County, but it is also a CDOT right-of-way. Okay, staff findings. So, we believe that Strasburg 2050, the Strasburg Sub-Area Plan reflects the aspirations of the Strasburg community. The plan was prepared with extensive involvement from the Strasburg community. The plan is aligned with the strategies of the 2018 Arapahoe County Comprehensive Plan. And on June 16th, 2026, the Arapahoe County Planning Commission, excuse me, conducted a public hearing and unanimously adopted the Strasburg Sub-Area Plan as an amendment of the Comprehensive Plan. The Planning Commission then submitted this plan to the board for your approval. I should also mention too that this plan was also unanimously approved by the Adams County Planning Commission on June 11 and most recently the Adams County Board of County Commissioners approved the plan on July 11th. So in conclusion, staff recommends approval of case LR25-002, a comprehensive plan amendment to incorporate Strasburg 2050, the Strasburg sub-area plan. And with that, I'll conclude my presentation and take any questions that you might have. Thank you, Ms. Ricehill. Are there any questions for staff?

It's not a question, but I did want to express my my gratitude to you Gretchen and to staff for all of the hard work I Know how involved you were in this plan and how much opportunity was given to the residents of Strasburg area and Even the Planning Commission. I know that my appointee on the Planning Commission who happens to be chair lives in the vicinity of Strasburg so the fact that both the Adams County and the Arapahoe County Planning Commission's approved this unanimously does say a lot and But it also says something about partnership. And we consider ourselves in Arapahoe County to be good partners with everybody, whether it's one of the cities, towns in our county, or even to the north in Adams or to the south in Douglas. And it really adds a lot of work and effort. to try and get as many public comments as you received on this. So I just want to express my gratitude for that.

Thank you, Commissioner Baker. Commissioner Warren Gulley. Thank you, Madam Chair.

I do want to express my thanks also in particular for the day that we just celebrated with our proclamation around our agricultural communities and heritage in Arapahoe County. Can you remind me what the current population is? And I'm trying to remember because all I can remember is that it didn't reach 10,000. So what it is now and what we project it to be?

Roughly 4,700 people, and that includes both sides, Adams and Arapahoe counties.

And do we expect lots of growth?

No, the growth to 2050 is projected to be 6,600 to 7,700 people by 2050.

Madam Chair, can I ask? Thank you. So is Colfax a state road, county road? It's a state highway.

Okay, all right. That's the reason for CDOT's comments.

Yeah. I seem to remember that when you brought that forward to us, there was a lot of hope that something would happen with Colfax.

There is, and I think that is why we, Adams actually should get credit, included an entire chapter on the opportunities for improving the look of Colfax as it crosses through Strasburg. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And the Strasburg is highly supported by the Strasburg community. They want it to look better as well.

Yeah, yeah. One last question? Sorry to have three in a row like that. The wastewater treatment, so it's not necessarily an issue of needing more water. It's the treatment of the water. Okay. Okay. And have we made a commitment to the community to potentially work with some of our legislators for maybe congressionally directed spending? Or it seems like wastewater has a lot of conversation happening around it right now and potential grant funding. Are they wanting to kind of go down that path or... Could we partner in some way with them, to Commissioner Baker's point?

Yes, exactly. Commissioner Baker pointed to the partnerships, which I think the opportunities in the future, and I do need to be completely honest, is that unfortunately, and by choice, the Water and Wastewater District decided not to be an active participant in the plan. I see, okay. So, but keeping them engaged in mind as we move forward is absolutely key. I mean, they're key to the success of the plan going forward. And so that's why I see the partnerships continuing.

Yeah, I would encourage us to just be thoughtful about that because of the fact that it seems like it's a highlighted topic right now that maybe we should take advantage of. So thank you, Madam Chair. And thanks for all of your hard work to you and the team. Thank you.

Commissioner Fields. Thank you, Madam Chair. I just want to thank everyone that has gotten to this point. As a board, we've had several opportunities to look at the plan, and I think it's going to be a bright spot for Strasburg, so thank you.

Thank you very much. All right, I will now open this item up for public comment. Please press star three to enter the queue if you're listening on the phone or come to the podium if you're here in person. Provide your name and your city or address if you're comfortable for the record, and you'll have three minutes for your comments. For those in the room, the lights will count down, and I'll let folks know on the phone when they have 30 seconds left. So is there any public comment on this item?

No.

Not in the room. Is there anyone online who has a public comment, Michelle? Commissioners, there's no one in the queue on this item at this time. Thank you very, very much. We appreciate that. So now I'd like to ask if there's any commissioner discussion at this time or a motion. Commissioner Fields. Okay for me.

Okay. Madam chair, I'd like to make a motion. in the case of LR25-002, an amendment to the 2018 Arapahoe County Comprehensive Plan to incorporate the Strasburg 2050 Strasburg Subarea Plan. I have reviewed the adoption of the Strasburg 2050 Strasburg Subarea Plan by the Planning Commission, as well as the staff reports, including all exhibits and attachments. have listened to the applicant's presentation and any public comments as presented at the hearing. And based on the record before me, I hereby move to approve the Strasburg 2050 Strasburg sub area plan as an amendment to the 2018 Arapahoe County comprehensive plan as adopted by the planning commission. Second.

It's been moved by Commissioner Fields and properly seconded by Commissioner Baker to approve the motion. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Aye. Any abstentions? The ayes have it, and the motion is adopted. Thank you very much. The second item is consideration of Rattlestitch Ranch filing number one, minor subdivision. Our presenter is Molly Orkild Larson, principal planner with the Public Works and Development Department, and our attorney of record is Matt Hader, senior assistant county attorney. Mr. Hader, could you please set the foundation?

With regard to this next matter before the Board of County Commissioners at this time for public hearing, specifically case number PM23-002, the Rattlesnake Ranch Fouling No. 1 Minor Subdivision, the record contains evidence consistent with the requirements of Chapter 5, Section 2 of the Arapahoe County Land Development Code, indicating that notice was provided via publication, mailing, and the posting of signs. The Board of County Commissioners has jurisdiction to proceed with the public hearing this morning.

Thank you, Mr. Hader. Ms. Orkild-Larsen, would you please provide the presentation?

Thank you. Good morning, Commissioners. Molly Orkild-Larsen, Principal Planner with the Public Works Department. What's before you this morning is the Rattlestitch Ranch, filing number one. It's a minor subdivision, and the case number is PM23-002. The applicant is Lenar, Colorado, LLC. And they're proposing to create a 2.511 acre parcel. It's located at 24560 East Jewell Avenue. And our case engineer tonight, or today, is Sue Liu. This is a vicinity and zoning map that the subject property is outlined in red. It is zoned RRB. And what's surrounding it is the city of Aurora. It does have access to East Jewell Avenue there. And this is the minor subdivision plat. So you're seeing two parcels, one's hatched, one isn't. The hatched parcel is 0.593 acres, and the lighter colored parcel is 1.79 acres. Just to give you a little history on the project, the property owner filed a complaint with Arapahoe County District Court to acquire a portion of the property back from Murphy Creek Metropolitan District 1, also known as the district. As per the court order, the district was to finalize with the City of Aurora to de-annex the eastern portion of the property, that was the hatched area, and grant it back to the property owner and for the property to be platted. To bring the property into conformance, the two parcels have to be combined through the county's subdivision process to create one lot, and the new lot will be 2.51 acres in size, which satisfies the RRB zone district's minimum lot size of 2.41 acres. The property is presently being served by a water well and is on-site wastewater treatment system. And the existing well is being used by the Lowry Landfill Superfund site as a drinking water monitoring location. And this monitors the effectiveness of the remedies in place being used by this agency. As part of our review, we do look at the comprehensive plan and the land development code. And under the land use category, under the comprehensive plan, it's classified as urban, residential, single family, detached, and attached, which is the use of the property that, the use of the property adheres to that because there's an existing single family detached residence on it. Density range for single family detached is one to eight DUs per acre. And the proposed density at this time is 0.4 DUs per acre. However, since the RRB zoning is already in place, staff won't object to the proposed platting. The application complies with the land development code. It meets the minimum lot size, has adequate access. It can be served by our sheriff and fire district. And it's compatible with the surrounding area, which is also single family residential. We did send it out for referral and we take in public comment during our review. The Arapahoe County Public Health Department wants a condition of approval added to the plat that states that if there's any future change in land use, redevelopment or connection to a public water or wastewater system, that this department will be notified and at that time the existing water well and onsite wastewater treatment components may be required to be properly abandoned in accordance with Colorado State statute and regulations. The State Water Engineer did request that the property owner file a location amendment to correct the location of the well permit and the property owner has done that, that has been satisfied. And the City of Aurora will not require the property to connect to their systems since the site has an existing well and onsite wastewater treatment system. And there was no public comment received on this application. There is one condition of approval, and that's to put that note on the plat in regards to the water well and what's to be done in the future if it redevelops. In conclusion, based on the findings in the staff report, staff is recommending approval of the minor subdivision. That concludes my presentation, if you have any questions. Thank you.

Commissioner Baker, do you have a question? I do. Thank you, Madam Chair. Without getting too technical, could you describe the on-site wastewater treatment?

It's a septic field that is, you know, I guess it's more to the west, southwest of the residence.

And is that also called a leach field, or is that different?

I think it's at Leachfield, yeah.

Leachfield, okay. All right, that's what is out there.

Yeah, it's existing, yeah.

Okay, that was my only question. Thank you.

Any other questions?

Commissioner Warren-Gulley? Thank you, Madam Chair. So they're bringing this... lot into compliance to have the 2.41 acres. Once they have that, then they can, they could, if they want to break it into 0.4 acre.

No, there are, it's RRB right now. And so it's the minimum lot size is 2.41 acres.

Okay. So this is going to be one house on this one lot.

Yeah.

Okay.

Yeah.

And are they anticipating that they will change the current house and structure or? They're just coming into conformance.

They're coming in conformance. And what they do in the future, I don't know.

Okay. All right. Thank you.

Any other comments, questions for Ms. Oracle-Plarsen? Great, I will now open this item up for public comment. Please press, oh.

The applicant isn't here as far as I know, so he can't answer any questions, but if you do have questions, the property owners are here.

Oh, good, okay. All right, well then, thank you very, very much. Then let's go ahead and do, do we want to hear from the property owner? Is that what we're saying? Oh, the applicant is here. Does the applicant have a presentation? Well, come on up anyway.

We'll make you talk.

Right, we'll make you talk.

Please let us know who you are, sir. I am Joe Huey with Lenora, Colorado, LLC, 9193 South Jamaica Street, Englewood, 80112.

Wonderful.

I don't have anything to add to the presentation. Molly's covered everything. If you have any questions, I'm glad to answer them. All right.

Do we have any questions for the applicant? Well, thank you for letting us check that box. We appreciate that. Thank you very much. Okay. And we also don't have any questions for the owner? No. Wonderful. Can we go to public comment now? all right thank you very much i got thumbs up from mr hater so i'm absolutely opening this up for public comment press star three to enter the queue if you're listening on the phone come to the podium if you're here in person provide your name your city or address for the record and you'll have three minutes for your comments and for those in the room the lights will count down while i'll tell those on the phone when they have 30 seconds left uh miss picard do we have anybody we have nobody for public comment and michelle is there anyone online who wishes to make a comment Commissioners, there's no one in the queue for this item. Great. Thank you very, very much. Is there any commission or discussion? then I will accept a motion.

Madam Chair. Commissioner Baker. In the case of PM 23-002, Rattlestitch Ranch filing number one, minor subdivision, I have reviewed the staff report including all exhibits and attachments, and I've listened to the applicant's presentation and any public comment as presented at the hearing. And based on the record before me, I hereby move to approve this application and adopt the resolution in the record approving the minor subdivision, including the conditions stated therein. Second.

It has been moved by Commissioner Baker and properly seconded by Commissioner Fields to approve this application. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions? The ayes have it and the motion is adopted. Thank you very, very much to our applicant, to our owner, and to Ms. Orkild-Larsen. Thank you. The final item. is a specific development plan with zoning for 1338 Valencia Street. Our presenter is Ray Fields, planner two with the Public Works and Development Department. And our attorney of record is Matt Hader, senior assistant county attorney. Mr. Hader, could you please set the foundation?

With regard to the final matter before the Board of County Commissioners at this time for public hearing, specifically case number SDPZ25-001, a specific development plan with zoning for 1338 Valencia Street. The record contains evidence consistent with the requirements of chapter five, section two of the Arapahoe County Land Development Code, indicating that notice was provided via publication, mailing, and the posting of signs. The Board of County Commissioners has jurisdiction to proceed with the public hearing this morning.

Thank you very, very much. Ms. Fields, would you please provide the presentation?

Good morning. My name is Rae Fields. I'm a planner with Arapahoe County. The project engineer will be Emily Gonzalez, and our applicant today is Valencia Street LLC. Our case is for 1338 South Valencia Street as an SDPZ. The project is located somewhere off the corner of South Parker Road and South Valencia, and the existing zoning is mixed use. The applicant is requesting a change of use on the property that will include contractors such as plumbing, heating, microbrewery, recreation that's indoor, health club, daycare, vehicle repair major and minor, auto detailing, vehicle leasing and rental, manufacturing that is light. We do have a heavier manufacturing, but just light. Wholesale business storage or warehousing, office general, executive professional, laboratories, retail, and outdoor storage as an ancillary use to the existing proposed uses. Existing uses that would not be included are auto service station, vehicle sales, self-storage facility, nightclub, sexually oriented businesses, and marijuana uses. such as a dispensary or growth. The applicant did have a public outreach on March 26th of 2025 at the Eloise May Library. 940 households were invited and there were nine attendees. Concerns included crime and vagrancy in the general area that was not applicable to the subject property, as well as potholes located on Valencia Street, which was also unrelated to the subject property. There was general support of the expected uses as they would serve the community and there was one question as to whether or not the project would be Expanded outside of the building and to that the answer is no the building footprint will remain the same. They are changing a There is an existing retention pond on the property which is no longer permitted. It was expected to turn into a detention pond I believe about 40 years ago, and that just never happened, so we're just updating that with the site plan as well. It does meet the comprehensive goals of ensuring adequate water supply, requiring adequate wastewater treatment, ensuring the adequate electric, natural gas, telephone, cable, and internet utilities in existing and additional development, and it does ensure existing and new development will have adequate police and fire protection. The land development code provides approval for criteria, and the project does meet the applicable criteria as outlined in the land development code, which has been outlined in the staff report. The project received some referral comments to the effect of making sure that if something goes in the property that requires a grease trap, that there is a grease trap included. There are at this time no outstanding referral comments, and we are not recommending any conditions of approval based on the comments received from the referral agencies, and we did not receive any comments from the public. Staff findings for this are that the project generally conforms with the comprehensive plan and the land development code. On May 5th, 2026, the project did go before the Planning Commission and was voted 6-0 to recommend approval. No members of the public spoke at the hearing. There were no questions. There were no comments. And considering the findings and other information provided, we do recommend approval of this project. Are there any questions for the planner at the time? We do have the applicant and the owner of the property here to answer questions as well.

Are there any questions for the staff? Okay, great, thank you. I'd like to hear from the applicant, please.

Hi, my name is David Spriggs, and I'm with Valencia Street LLC. So I'm happy to answer any questions, or I can run through a brief presentation if you'd like.

I would like to see the presentation, please.

All right, thank you.

I'll probably have a question or two.

Perfect. So a little bit of the project history here. It's a 45,000 square foot building that sits on about 4.8 acres. And to the north and the south of the property, there's self-storage facilities. And to the west of the property is automotive care center. And then to the east is a residential project. And a little bit of the history is that the uses on this, there was a PDP and FTP put in place in 1983 and 1984, so about 42 years ago, 43 years ago. And that said that you could use the property for one-third showroom, office showroom, and about two-thirds warehouse. And the property seems to have been used for the last 40 years for everything except that. So it's been distribution, warehouse, industrial, brewery, manufacturing. There's been automotive in there, fitness, dry cleaning, entertainment, et cetera. So what we're really doing is changing this to bring it into use with what the property has been used for for the last 40 plus years and also what is more in demand in the market today. And so Ray did a great job of running through the allowed uses and some of the restrictions, but I'll add to some of the additional restrictions that we put in place. What we've stated and what would be approved is that no work on any vehicles would occur outside of the building. No bay doors would be facing Valencia Street. There would be no outdoor storage visible from Valencia Street. And then also one of the requests that we had from the neighborhood was no overnight dog kindling, which we added to this as well. And so in addition to the restricted uses that Ray pointed out, those are some additional restrictions that will be put in place. During this process, we discovered that what we thought was a detention pond was a retention pond on the site. And Ray and staff were kind enough to point that out. And as part of this process, we're fixing that, something that should have been fixed about 40 years ago. And we're putting in place an updated new storm retention pond as part of this work. And you can see the retention pond and some of the work that will take place up there. We did have a neighborhood meeting. We had about nine people attend. There was a lot of concerns about crime in the area, which we share with the residents those concerns. But overall, everybody was generally supportive. And the one comment we had about overnight kenneling, we incorporated into the plan. So I'll open up to any questions there.

Thank you. Are there any questions? Commissioners? Yes, Commissioner Warren-Gulley.

Thank you, Madam chair. So, um, this is, you're not changing the structure of the building per se. This is, this footprint will stay the same.

That's correct.

Okay. Alrighty. So the only work that you're actually working on right now is this retention bond.

That's correct.

Okay, great. Thank you. Thank you very, very much.

Um, I do have questions. Uh, Looking at it, the last thing that I see when I drove by there, this was a brewery?

We did. There was a brewery on site, yes.

Okay. All right. And this is right across the street from Jiffy Lube?

There's Pep Boys to the west.

Pep Boys, yes. I'm really very sorry. Not like I haven't been taking my car there since 2017. Don't tell them.

So you know this is exactly... Yeah.

So I... Okay, so the plan here is to make sure that this facility, this building, this property operates the way it was supposed to and has things in it that are going to be good for the community.

That's correct, expanded uses, yep.

Okay, and we had nine people that had come to the public meeting and Could you remind me if you received any comments after that? I don't remember what I heard.

We did not receive. I didn't receive any. I don't know if Ray or the county received any directly.

Did we receive any comments after the meeting?

I received a few questions asking us, you know, what are they going to use there? And a lot of the questions that I received are, will my permitted use be permitted there? And I sent them the list of permitted and non-permitted uses. And they said, well, we'll be there if we have any comments or questions.

Okay, great. Thank you very, very much. But I do have a concern. I am less concerned about... about your work, but I do have a concern about that street because that is the street where Club Valencia is on, where there's still boarded-up buildings. And so this is something that, yes, I'm perfectly fine with, but I'm... I'm concerned about what could happen in the future. And the lawyer's like, I don't know why you're looking at me. So, sorry. So, yeah, that, those, that. Don't mind me. You have answered my questions, and I appreciate that. I am just very familiar with this area. But thank you. You have done exactly what we needed.

Thank you very much.

Madam Chair. Yes, Commissioner Fields.

Yeah, just a quick question just based on your comments and concerns. I'm looking at the summary here where it talks about neighborhood meeting summary that you held March 26, 2025. On the slide, it says that nine people attended and one person reached out and then you have your discussion points. Can you highlight, did you just take down the discussion point or did you have a dialogue about them? And I was wondering if you can share what your response was to overnight street parking potholes in some of the roads that they mentioned and just the crime in the area.

We did end up having, we gave a presentation and it became kind of an open discussion, sometimes between us and the nine people that were there, and the nine people and themselves. And I live 10 minutes from here, and so I, you know, I'd share the same concern. When we purchased the property, we upgraded all the lighting on the property. There was lights that are out, so now we have all LED lights. We have maybe 15 cameras on the property now. There was none before, including cameras that move around, so they act as a deterrent. When we purchased the property, there was a lot of stuff happening behind the property, including people that were living there, people that were, you know, So we had a lot of issues. We took a very active approach to addressing those issues, and I think we've done a good job, including adding fencing and gates, etc. But I think for that area in that neighborhood, everybody's going to have to take an active approach with their property. And if each property owner does that, then collectively we can make it better. We enhance the landscaping as well to give a better visual appeal. So I'd love to see the rest of the ownership on Valencia Street do the same thing. And some have done a really good job with that and some are lacking.

Thank you. Was that good? Great. Thank you very, very much. We appreciate your time.

Thank you very much.

All right. Do we have any commission or discussion at this time? Oh, wait. We already did public comment. Did we do public comment? No. Do we do we have public comment? OK, great. Well, thank you very, very much for that. And is there anybody online who would wish to speak?

Commissioners, there's no one in the queue at this time.

Thank you, Michelle. We appreciate that. I'm kidding. Yeah, we switched. Thank you, Chris. We appreciate it. All right. Is there any commissioner discussion at this time?

Is there a motion? Madam Chair? Yes, Commissioner Warren-Gulley. In the case of SDPZ 25-001. 1338 Valencia Street specific development plan with zoning. I have reviewed the staff report including all exhibits and attachments. I have listened to the applicant's presentation and into any public comment as presented at the hearing and based on the record before me, I hereby move to conditionally approve this application and to adopt the resolution in the record approving this specific development plan with zoning. Is there a second?

Yes, it's the alpacas. Thank you. It has been moved by Commissioner Warren Gulley and properly seconded by Commissioner Fields to approve the application. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions? The ayes have it. The application is approved. Thank you very, very much. Oh, my goodness. Commissioner Baker is leaving us. Boy, oh, boy. And then we will go on. So we have no pulled consent agenda items. And so now we're going to have commissioner comments and opportunity for commissioners to make remarks about work they're doing and whatever they would like to share at this business meeting. Is there anyone who would like to make a commissioner comment? We have no commissioner comments, and so be there no other business before this board. We are adjourned.