HomeMy WebLinkAbout20211054.tiffSUMMARY OF THE WELD COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING
Tuesday, April 6, 2021
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,
Elijah Hatch, at 12:30 pm.
Roll Call.
Present: Gene Stille, Tom Cope, Lonnie Ford, Elijah Hatch, Skip Holland, Dwaine Barclay, Sam Gluck,
Butch White, Troy Mellon.
Also Present: Michael Hall, Department of Planning Services; Lauren Light, Department of Health; Melissa
King, Department of Public Works; Bob Choate, County Attorney, and Michelle Wall, Secretary.
Motion: Approve the March 16, 2021 Weld County Planning Commission minutes, Moved by Tom Cope,
Seconded by Lonnie Ford. Motion passed unanimously.
CASE NUMBER: USR21-0003
APPLICANT: STATE OF COLORADO, C/O KIEWIT INFRASTRUCTURE COMPANY
PLANNER: MICHAEL HALL
REQUEST: A SITE SPECIFIC DEVELOPMENT PLAN AND USE BY SPECIAL REVIEW
PERMIT FOR OPEN MINING (SAND AND GRAVEL) AND PROCESSING OF
MINERALS OUTSIDE OF SUBDIVISIONS AND HISTORIC TOWNSITES IN THE
A (AGRICULTURAL) ZONE DISTRICT (KIEWIT CARR MINE).
LEGAL DESCRIPTION: ALL OF SECTION 36, T11N, R67W OF THE 6TH P.M., WELD COUNTY,
COLORADO.
LOCATION: APPROXIMATELY 1 MILE NORTH OF CR 120; APPROXIMATELY 1 MILE EAST
OF CR 21.
Michael Hall, Planning Services, presented Case USR21-0003, reading the recommendation and comments
into the record. The applicant has Structure Agreements with three of the four surrounding property owners.
The Department of Planning Services recommends approval of this application with the attached conditions
of approval and development standards.
Commissioner Mellon asked if there is a pipeline running east to west through the property. Staff responded
that he is not aware of a pipeline on the property. Mr. Hall said that if there was recorded title work for a
pipeline, it would be shown on the USR map. Staff explained that a use by right pipeline or a private pipeline
easement corridor would not be required to be permitted by the Planning Department.
The Chair asked staff if the average depth should be approximately 12 feet below the existing surface once
completed. Staff responded that it is about 12 1/2 feet below the existing surface grade. Commissioner
Holland asked if that would be the final reclaimed grade. Staff said the applicant may be leaving them as
depressed pits with a 3 to 1 slope. The Chair asked if it will be returned to rangeland. Staff replied that it
would. Commissioner Hatch asked if the mining would have any effect on the ecosystem. Mr. Hall said
nothing was identified in the application that would affect the ecosystem.
Melissa King, Public Works, reported on the existing traffic, access to the site and drainage conditions for
the site. Staff said that it is recommended that Condition of Approval 1.B. be deleted and that changes be
made to Condition of Approval 1.C.
Lauren Light, Environmental Health, reviewed the public water and sanitary sewer requirements, on -site
dust control, and the Waste Handling Plan.
Commissioner Stille asked Mr. Hall if there have been any other cases that are in Weld County, but on
State land. Mr. Hall replied that there have been several cases before where the State of Colorado is the
lessor.
Steve Ceresa, Kiewit Infrastructure Company, 5807 Pelican Shores Court, Longmont, Colorado and Jared
Dains, Applegate Group Inc, 1490 West 121St Avenue, Denver, Colorado, came up to the podium.
2021-1054
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Mr. Dains explained that as the consultant for Kiewit Infrastructure, they helped assist them with the
application process of the USR with Weld County and the DRMS permit with the State of Colorado.
Mr. Dains said that Kiewit plans to mine 13 cells that are 33 to 49 acres each. They will mine 540 acres
and 500,000 tons per year. Kiewit plans to operate 24/7 and expects that each cell will take approximately
one year to mine. Mr. Dains explained that reclamation will take approximately 6 months per cell after the
cell is mined out and will be continuous throughout the operation. He said overburden is about 2 feet below
surface grade and the target sand and gravel deposit is approximately 12 feet below surface grade.
Geological hazards are anticipated to be low and the depth to groundwater is below gravel deposit. Mr.
Dains said that there is a 300 -foot buffer around Lone Tree Creek. There are cultural resource protection
area buffers as well. He said that all mining areas will drain internally. Stormwater will seep naturally into
the ground. The mine will have no effect on listed proposed protected species and there are no critical
habitats within the mining area. Mr. Dains said they will operate in accordance with the industrial noise
standards.
Commissioner Ford asked if LG Everest operates 24/7. Mr. Hall said he does not think they operate at
night. Commissioner Ford asked the applicant if they have considered how the night-time truck traffic may
affect the residents in the Town of Carr. Mr. Dains said they have considered truck traffic. Outgoing traffic
will head east to Highway 85 and incoming traffic will come in from 1-25 doing a right hand turn. He said
they would be willing to use different routes if there are any concerns. Mr. Ceresa said the majority of the
time will be spent crushing and sorting rather than trucking. Mr. Ceresa also expressed they will be sensitive
to the residents in that area.
Commissioner Stille asked the applicant if they have had any discussion on the effect this operation could
have on the Tarryall Aquifer. Mr. Dains replied that he wasn't familiar with the Tarryall Aquifer unless it is
the Tarryall Creek in South Park. Mr. Dains said in terms of the anticipated impacts to the groundwater
table, they plan to always be 2 feet above groundwater. The only water use at the site is going to be non -
potable water that is hauled into the site. He anticipates very little impact on the deconfined aquifer on this
site. Mr. Ceresa explained that any precipitation on the site ends up where it would have gone historically.
The Chair asked Mr. Ceresa if there was an extreme storm event, would it shut down the operation. Mr.
Ceresa responded that is could potentially shut mining down, but they would try to work ahead of the event
and try to keep the water in the bigger cells.
Commissioner Holland asked the applicant if the Lone Tree Creek has water in it year round. Mr. Ceresa
replied that it does. Commissioner Holland asked Mr. Ceresa if there is any defined FEMA floodplain
information on this creek. Mr. Ceresa said there is not, it is a non -defined floodplain map. Mr. Ceresa
explained there is a 300 foot buffer from the creek in order to protect the creek and the environmental
aspects of the area. Mr. Dains said their operations are outside of the floodplain area.
Commissioner Cope asked the applicant how they identified the cultural activities in the area. Mr. Ceresa
explained that they had an environmental research report done and they had previous knowledge from the
previous lessee that there were cultural resources on the property.
The Chair asked if there was anyone in the audience who wished to speak for or against this application.
No one wished to speak.
Public Works recommended that Condition of Approval 1.B. be deleted because the access points are
established and just need to be permitted.
Public Works would like to change Condition of Approval 1.C. to read "An Improvements and Road
Maintenance Agreement is required for off -site improvements at this location (i.e. County Road 126, County
Road 120). This Agreement includes road maintenance to include but not limited to, dust control and
damage repair to specified haul routes and to include triggered off -site improvements."
Public Works recommended that Condition of Approval I.E. be deleted as the traffic impact statement was
accepted on March 26, 2021.
Motion: Amend Condition of Approval 1.C. and delete Conditions of Approval 1.B. and I.E. as
recommended by staff. Moved by Troy Mellon, Seconded by Sam Gluck. Motion passed 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 Holland asked staff if Planning looks into the 404 permits when you look at some of these
proposals. Mr. Hall explained that there is no flood hazard development permit and there is not a review
by Weld County Planning Floodplain Administration because the floodplain is in an unmapped area. Staff
said they sent a referral to the United States Army Corps of Engineers regarding this case, and they did not
receive any comments back. Mr. Hall said that the Development Standards cover that when the applicant
starts operating. They have to maintain compliance with any local, state, and federal regulations.
Motion: Forward Case USR21-0003 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 Dwaine Barclay.
Commissioner Cope stated that he is concerned about the potential night-time traffic through Carr. He
suggested that the night-time truck traffic use the south access.
Commissioner Stille mentioned that Carr is a railroad town. He said he thinks they already deal with a lot
of noise from the railroad and existing truck traffic. Commissioner Stille said he shares concern but doesn't
think this case will have much of an impact on the town.
Commissioner Cope asked staff if the Town of Carr had made any referral comments. Staff explained that
the Carr Townsite is beyond the 500 foot buffer radius for the surrounding property owner notification. Mr.
Hall said SPO notices were sent out to LG Everest, Lazy Two Ranch, Lazy D and a property owner to the
south of the site. These properties are mainly large isolated lots. Staff posted signs regarding case
information two weeks before this hearing. Signs were posted on County Road 120 and County Road 126.
Residents can call the Planning Department if they have any comments regarding the case, but no calls or
correspondence were received. Commissioner Cope asked if Carr is unincorporated. Staff said that is
correct.
Commissioner Stille expressed concern with the Waters of the United States Act and how the Lone Tree
Creek could be affected.
Commissioner Holland mentioned that based on politics with water, he just hopes the County is covered
on this issue. He thinks there could be concerns with the 404 permit process.
Staff explained that Condition of Approval 1.A. states that the applicant shall submit a Communication Plan
to the Planning Department. The applicant will need to communicate and notify the community residents
about their mining activities.
Commission Ford said that he is also concerned about the night-time truck traffic noise. He thinks the traffic
should also be rerouted to avoid traffic through town.
The Chair called for the vote.
Vote: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 9).
Yes: Butch White, Dwaine Barclay, Elijah Hatch, Gene Stille, Lonnie Ford, Sam Gluck, Skip Holland, Tom
Cope, Troy Mellon.
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 1:30 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
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Michelle Wall
Secretary
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