HomeMy WebLinkAbout971764.tiff_D C
Certified Mail #: P 614 191 329
Board of Weld County Commissioners
915 10th Street
P.O.Box 758
Greeley, Colorado 80632
' 9: L July 1997
"
6707 WCR 19
CLEnA Ft. Lupton, Colorado
TO Tnb ^...60621
Re Z PA 7
Dear Weld County Commissioners,
We are requesting permission to set down on our farm an
accessory dwelling to be used as a residence by workers on our farm.
This is a legitimate and reasonable use, specifically provided for
in the Agriculture section of the Weld County Zoning Ordinance.
At our meeting of 30 April 1997, we were not given the
opportunity to rebut statements made by Todd Hodges, even though
I raised my hand to do so. Some of his statements were inaccurate,
incomplete and misleading.
For instance, when Todd was asked if Planning had all of the
information on the intensity of our labor needs when they
recommended denial of our permit, he stated that they did. This was
not the case. The fact is that all of the information about
greenhouse labor, which we gathered from Rabbit Shadow Farms, was
new at the hearing. We had not had the opportunity to provide this
information to Todd because he was out of town.
We take this opportunity to clarify issues and present information
which we believe will be helpful to you in granting our request.
We had received a letter from Planning dated February 19,
1997, stating the conditions of approval for our accessory dwelling.
We fulfilled these conditions:
1) The letter from Planning stated that we needed at least 70% of
the surrounding owners' signatures. We provided these.
2) The letter stated that if it was determined that we met the
approval criteria for Section 43.1 of the Weld County Zoning
Ordinance, as amended, we would be notified that our application
was approved.
971764
Section 43.1 provides for mobile homes and accessory dwellings.
Planning's "concerns" addressed issues not written in this
section. We have met both the letter and the spirit of the
criteria stated in Section 43.1.
In addition, we reviewed all of the previous ZPADs. They were
routinely approved by Planning based on the farmer's assessment of
need. Our ZPAD-67 was approved by Planning in January 1996 under
this exact same Weld County Zoning Ordinance. The Commissioners have
only reviewed three cases since 1989. All were approved.
Todd Hodges told us that Planning wanted to make approval of
these accessory dwellings "harder to get." If this is the case, as
is evidenced by their recommendation, Weld County needs to first,
stop accepting applications, and second, change the ordinance. Then,
with the new rules clearly defined, accept new applications.
We have applied for an accessory dwelling for our farm. The
right to farm is protected by the philosophy and ordinances of Weld
County. We have clearly documented the need for the dwelling. This
is a legitimate and reasonable request for a commonly granted
agricultural use. We ask that you grant us permission to set down
our building and let us get on with the business of farming.
Respectfully submitted,
/ 'a-__
Richard L. and Elizabeth A. Wilson
303-655-0707
cc: One copy for each Commissioner
Thomas Hellerich, Attorney for Wilsons
Lee Morrison, Attorney
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