HomeMy WebLinkAbout20260072 Summary of the Weld County Planning Commission Meeting
Tuesday, December 2, 2025
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
Butch White, at 1:30 p.m.
Roll Call
Present: Barney Hammond, Butch White, Calven Goza, Cole Ritchey, Michael Biwer, Michael Palizzi,
Michael Wailes, Virginia Guderjahn
Absent: Hunter Rivera
Also Present: Molly Wright, Jim Flesher, and Maxwell Nader, Department of Planning Services, Mike
McRoberts, Aaron Maurice, Development Review, Karin McDougal, County Attorney, and Kris Ranslem,
Secretary.
Motion: Approve the November 4, 2025 Weld County Planning Commission minutes, Moved by Michael
Wailes, Seconded by Cole Ritchey. Motion passed unanimously.
Case Number: USR25-0011
Applicant: WETCO WCR 49 HWY 34, LLC
Planner: Angela Snyder
Request: Use by Special Review Permit for Open Mining (topsoil) outside of subdivisions
and historic townsites in the A(Agricultural)Zone District.
Legal Description: Lot B of Corrected Recorded Exemption RE-2623; being part of the N1/2 NE1/4 of
Section 24, Township 5 North, Range 65 West of the 6th P.M., Weld County,
Colorado.
Location: South of and adjacent to U.S. Highway 34; west of and adjacent to County Road
49.
Maxwell Nader, Planning Services, stated that the applicant is requesting a continuance to the February 3,
2026 Planning Commission Hearing. Staff is in support of this request.
The Chair asked if there was anyone in the audience who wished to speak for or against the continuance
of this application. No one wished to speak.
Motion: Continue Case USR25-0011 to the February 3, 2026 Planning Commission Hearing, Moved by
Michael Wailes, Seconded by Calven Goza.
Vote: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 8).
Yes: Butch White, Barney Hammond, Calven Goza, Cole Ritchey, Michael Biwer, Michael Palizzi, Michael
Wailes, Virginia Guderjahn.
Case Number: Ordinance 2025-16
Request: In the Matter of Repealing and Reenacting with Amendments, Chapter 23 Zoning
of the Weld County Code(EV Charging Stations)
Planner: Jim Flesher
Jim Flesher, Planning Services, presented Ordinance 2025-16 and provided a brief explanation of the
addition of EV Charging Stations into the Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial zone districts. Mr. Flesher
stated that this is in response to the House Bill 2024-1173. The Department of Planning Services
recommends approval of Ordinance 2025-16.
The Chair asked if there was anyone in the audience who wished to speak for or against this Ordinance.
No one wished to speak.
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Motion: Forward Ordinance 2025-16 to the Board of County Commissioners along with the Planning
Commission's recommendation of approval, Moved by Virginia Guderjahn, Seconded by Michael Palizzi.
Vote: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes= 8).
Yes: Butch White, Barney Hammond, Calven Goza, Cole Ritchey, Michael Biwer, Michael Palizzi, Michael
Wailes, Virginia Guderjahn.
Case Number: USR25-0017
Applicant: Damariz Medrano Ramirez
Planner: Molly Wright
Request: Use by Special Review Permit for an Oil and Gas Support and Service facility
(laydown yard and commercial vehicle parking)outside of subdivisions and historic
townsites in the A(Agricultural)Zone District.
Legal Description: Lot B of Recorded Exemption RE-2551; being part of the SW1/4 of Section 6,
Township 3 north, Range 64 West of the 6th P.M., Weld County, Colorado.
Location: North of and adjacent to County Road 36;approximately 0.07 miles east of County
Road 49.
Molly Wright, Planning Services, presented Case USR25-0017, reading the recommendation and
comments into the record. Ms. Wright noted that one (1) phone call was received with general questions
of the project and no other phone calls or correspondence were received regarding this application. The
Department of Planning Services recommends approval of this application along with conditions of approval
and development standards.
Aaron Maurice, Development Review, reported on the existing and proposed traffic, access to the site and
drainage conditions for the site.
Hannah Dutrow, AgProfessionals, 4505 West 29th Street, Greeley, Colorado, stated that this project is for
an oil and gas business with a laydown yard to include commercial vehicle parking and the temporary
storage of equipment and materials used principally in the oil and gas industry. There is an existing
residence along the east side of the property and will not be part of the business.
Ms. Dutrow stated that the business will be located on the southern end of the property. The equipment
laydown area is centrally located. There will be up to 50 semi-trucks and approximately 20 employee
vehicles at any given time.
Ms. Dutrow stated that the applicant has complied with the five (5) criteria as stated in the Weld County
Code and they request a recommendation of approval be forwarded to the Board of County Commissioners.
The Chair asked if there was anyone in the audience who wished to speak for or against this application.
No one wished to speak.
The Chair asked the applicant if they have read through the 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 USR25-0017 to the Board of County Commissioners along with the Conditions of
Approval and Development Standards with the Planning Commission's recommendation of approval,
Moved by Michael Palizzi, Seconded by Barney Hammond.
Vote: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 8).
Yes: Butch White, Barney Hammond, Calven Goza, Cole Ritchey, Michael Biwer, Michael Palizzi, Michael
Wailes, Virginia Guderjahn.
Case Number: USR25-0018
Applicant: Colorado State Land Board, c/o Weld Energy Center, LLC
Planner: Diana Aungst
Request: Use by Special Review for uses similar to a Solar Energy Facility(Battery Energy
Storage System [BESS]) outside of subdivisions and historic townsites in the
A(Agricultural)Zone District.
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Legal Description: S1/2 of Section 36, Township 8 North, Range 67 West of the 6th P.M., Weld
County, Colorado.
Location: North of and adjacent to County Road 86; west of and adjacent to County Road
25.
Maxwell Nader, Planning Services, presented Case USR25-0018, reading the recommendation and
comments into the record. Mr. Nader stated that the project is for a 100 megawatt, four (4) hour battery
energy storage system. He added that the site includes 320 acres and the lease area will include 39 acres.
Mr. Nader said that it will be connected to the Platte River Power Authority substation on the west side of
the road. The BESS and the substation are in close proximity to the Black Hollow Solar facility.
Mr. Nader said that during construction there will be a maximum of 300 workers and after operation begins
there will be up to two(2) employees visiting the site daily. Mr. Nader noted that 56 letters of support were
received from property owners that are more than 500 feet from this site. No written correspondence or
phone calls were received in opposition to this project. The Town of Severance submitted referral
comments on September 24th that stated that the Town of Severance respectfully submits this letter to
formally object to the proposed development of USR25-0018. On November 21St, the Town of Severance
submitted an email that stated that the Town of Severance, in response to their ongoing working relationship
with both the State Land Board and Next Era Energy, withdraws their objection to USR25-0018.
The Department of Planning Services recommends approval of this application along with conditions of
approval and development standards.
Aaron Maurice, Development Review, reported on the existing traffic, access to the site and drainage
conditions for the site.
Mark Goebel, 1899 Wynkoop, Denver, Colorado, stated that this site is adjacent to the Black Hollow solar
facility as well as the Platte River Power Authority substation. The size of the project is for a 100 megawatt
battery storage project that can provide energy for up to 17,800 homes. The construction would start in
March of 2026 and added that they expect to be in operation in the fourth quarter of 2026. He added that
the project life of these facilities is 35 years.
Mr. Goebel stated that the BESS facility covers six (6) acres and will include containerized units. The total
project is to permit 39.1 acres, however, the footprint will impact a total of 15 acres. Mr. Goebel said that
the setback from the property line is 1000 feet to comply with the noise standards of 50 decibels. He added
that the only noise is from the air conditioning units.
Mr. Goebel stated that the battery projects comply with National Fire Protection Agency and International
Fire Code Standards for energy storage systems. In addition, their projects go through certifications and
testing which certifies the batteries, the complete storage system and the safety features that are on those
storage systems as well as testing to force thermal run away to ensure propagation from these units do not
occur. Mr. Goebel said that at the container level there are smoke and gas monitoring systems that alert
both the control center and the local site. He added that they also have temperature management systems
on them. Mr. Goebel stated that anytime staff would see any type of anomalies for the storage units it
immediately notifies the site controllers who manage the safety systems and can take the necessary actions
or shut these containers off remotely. He added that the monitoring is performed in West Palm Beach
Florida and it is monitored 24/7. He emphasized that they also have Emergency Action Plans that they
work with the local fire departments in educating and training them on safety procedures for the container
units.
Mr. Goebel said that they notified property owners within one and one-half miles from the site and provided
a fire safety orientation class at the Windsor-Severance Fire Rescue who is responsible in the event of an
emergency.
Mr. Goebel said that he believes they have complied with the criteria in the Weld County Code and
requested a favorable recommendation.
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The Chair asked if there was anyone in the audience who wished to speak for or against this application.
John Karakoulakis,6501 Bellview Avenue, Engelwood, Colorado, stated that he is part of the Western Way
that is a group that supports All of the Above Energy Projects across the western United States and is here
to express their support for the Weld Energy Storage project in Weld County. They believe that energy
infrastructure including battery energy storage systems are needed because they help ensure our grid is
resilient and reliable. This proposed BESS system would be built and operated under the latest safety
standards that have an impressive track record. Mr. Karakoulakis said that with Al production and the
reindustrialization policies that will be driving about 75% of energy demand after 2030 so we need every
energy infrastructure facility that we can build.
Jennifer Berg-Ramsey, 41750 CR 23, Ault, Colorado, stated that she lives one-quarter mile southwest of
this site. She said that she tolerated the construction for the Black Energy solar facility for two years. She
added that the County developed a haul route for the Black Hollow Energy solar facility that helped mitigate
the traffic of 250 to 300 cars and trucks that traveled County Road 23. She would like to know what the
plan is for the proposed traffic for the construction of this project. Ms. Berg-Ramsey asked if there is an
explosion how big it would be as they are completely surrounded by grassland and it will take 15 to 20
minutes for fire and rescue to come from Windsor.
Mr. Goebel said with regard to the haul route they completely understand the concerns and are very willing
to work with the County on developing a haul route. He added that they will work with Ms. Berg-Ramsey
to minimize this impact. Mr. Goebel said that the trucks will not be going up and down the roads bringing
the containers during the 10 months and added that it will be a much smaller time frame.
With regard to the explosion comments, Ashley Nunez, Juno Beach Florida, Fire Safety Engineer, stated
the battery management system allows the containers to shut down at 25% of the lower explosive limit. So
if there is a gas detected in the container that sees that there are explosive gases gathering the container
will shut down before we get close to an explosive limit. In addition, there are also codes and standards
that they meet for the explosion control. Ms. Nunez said that they have met and talked with the first
responders from Windsor to ensure they understand that they don't need to approach the container as they
self-terminate and have those safety features as part of its design. She added that the safest place for the
first responders is to be outside of the BESS yard watching for fires that potentially could be outside of the
containers. Ms. Nunez emphasized that the containers will self-terminate and not propagate to adjacent
containers.
Commissioner White clarified that the monitoring is performed in Florida so the alerts are sent to Florida
and then the local responders are notified. Ms. Nunez said that the remote operations control center will
see the alarm come in and evaluate it and dispatch the first responders. She added that they will also
dispatch Next Era personnel to be on site to work with the fire department.
Commissioner Hammond related it to oil and gas and asked if the training with fire and safety is the same.
He asked what type of lighting prevention is included. Ms. Nunez said that when they met with the Windsor-
Severance Fire Rescue they did discuss what the response times look like and they do provide annual
refresher training as well as site specific training that gets administered closer to operation.
With regard to lightning prevention, David Weeks, Next Era Project Engineer, 700 Universe Boulevard,
Juno Beach, Florida, stated that if a lightning storm is occurring the facilities are designed to mitigate any
sort of safety issues. He added that there are lightning masts that are elevated above everything else and
are designed to be the first point of contact for any sort of lighting strike and it is connected to the ground
grid which will mitigate and spread out the rise in voltage.
Commissioner Wailes referred to the location of the solar facility and asked if it is taking energy from the
solar facility or the substation to be used in the grid. Mr. Goebel said that they can pull the energy from the
solar facility or from the substation.
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Commissioner Hammond asked what the lifetime of the batteries are. Mr. Goebel said that they start seeing
the full voltage fall at about five (5) years so they will add a couple batteries in to maintain the 100
megawatts.
The Chair asked the applicant if they have read through the 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 USR25-0018 to the Board of County Commissioners along with the Conditions of
Approval and Development Standards with the Planning Commission's recommendation of approval,
Moved by Michael Wailes, Seconded by Cole Ritchey.
Vote: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 8).
Yes: Butch White, Barney Hammond, Calven Goza, Cole Ritchey, Michael Biwer, Michael Palizzi, Michael
Wailes, Virginia Guderjahn.
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 2:43 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
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Kristine Ranslem
Secretary
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