HomeMy WebLinkAbout960401 DOYLE, OTIS, FREY & HELLERICH, LLC
i LLD CO l ;Ty ATTORNEYS AT LAW
West Greeley Law Center DENVER METRO
RichardHenryC.
FreyDoyle - - - 1812 56TH AVENUE (970) 659-7576
hry sFrey GREELEY, COLORADO 80634 FAX
Thomas Otis
Hellerich �?07, 'r 4 _ kP� (�1: 37
Fred L. Otis r" (970) 330-6700 (970) 330-2969
CLER:(
Anthony V. Mello TO TILE DC !.79
File No. 4282
March 1, 1996
Weld County Commissioners
P.O. Box 758
Greeley, CO 80632
RE: Laidlaw Waste Systems (Colorado), Inc.
Dear Sir/Madam:
I am writing to you on behalf of Laidlaw Waste Systems (Colorado), Inc. ("Laidlaw"). As you
know, Laidlaw may be asking for some modifications to Use By Special Review Permit No. 972
("U.S.R.") relating to the Laidlaw South Landfill near Erie, Colorado. The Department of
Planning Services Staff thus far has taken the position that the modifications are "major changes"
as that term is defined in the Weld County Zoning Ordinance (the "Zoning Code"), Section apply
24.9. Laidlaw would therefore request that you consider two matters that will not only
a 1
to Laidlaw, but other U.S.R. permit holders seeking amendments in the future as well. The
items for your consideration are as follows:
1. A reduced application fee for an amendment to a U.S.R. for use as a landfill.
2. Amendments to Weld County Zoning Ordinance, Section 24.9 so that the application
requirements are sized to the type of requested changes.
With regard to the application fee, such fees are set pursuant to the Zoning Code, Section 29.1.
The application fee for a landfill permit is $17,114 as set by the Weld County Commissioners
on January 1, 1995. It is my understanding that the application fee for landfill permits was set
to take into account the amount of staff time necessary to process a complete startup landfill
operation. It is my further understanding that when the landfill application fee was initially
established, the number of hours for the full application was studied carefully by the
Commissioners so as to set a fee in an appropriate amount. Such fees for a startup landfill do
not apply to an amendment such as that which is about to be submitted by Laidlaw. Yes, your
Staff has determined that the amendments are "major changes" to the existing U.S.R. and
Laidlaw believes that the principal reason for that determination is so that there can be a public
hearing on the amendments. However, the Staff time necessary to process those amendments
n �' 960401� CMan�cr.�
40SIoLPIcW Pc 0.„) PLOWS
Bill Landwehr
January 10, 1996
Page 2
Weld County Commissioners
March 1, 1995
Page Two
will come no where near the time that is necessary to process a startup application. Laidlaw
believes that an application fee similar to that which is required for a non-landfill U.S.R. would
be more appropriate. We respectfully request that you consider permitting Laidlaw to pay an
application fee other than the full startup application fee of $17,114.
With regard to amendments to Section 24.9 of the Zoning Code, Laidlaw respectfully points out
that once the Staff has determined that a proposed amendment is a "major change", the Zoning
Code in essence requires that the applicant file an application as if no permit exists, i.e. start
over. Laidlaw would suggest that the Zoning Code be amended to permit the application
materials to be matched with the change that is being requested. Most of the application
materials will be unnecessary and inappropriate. The Zoning Code should require materials
related to the amendment only, the details of which could be worked out by the Planning
Services Staff.
The present Zoning Code language at Section 24.9 simply requires too much paperwork that is
unnecessary and very expensive to produce. It is my understanding that on occasion, the Staff
tells applicants that certain portions of the materials are unnecessary in spite of the language of
Section 24.9 requiring complete application materials. The language of Section 24.9 should be
changed to expressly permit a limited application covering only the modification so that a
challenge could not later be made that the application materials were insufficient.
We look forward to hearing from you regarding these two matters at your earliest convenience.
Sincerely,
Fred L. Otis
Attorney at Law
FLO:mkh
cc: Kevin Carel
Scott Wender
Rick Hoffman
Hello