HomeMy WebLinkAbout20182853.tiff INVENTORY OF ITEMS FOR CONSIDERATION
Applicant : Les Matson& Brian Hartman Case Number: USR18-0023
Submitted or Prepared
Prior to At
Hearing Hearing
1 SPO Response - Stevenson
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2 SPO Response - Loose X
EXHIBIT
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RE: USR18-0023
R 1 S-00231
Angela Snyder and Weld County Planning Commission,
I am writing concerning the Special Use permit request on parcel 096135300055. It is my understanding that
this Special Use permit, if approved, will allow for a permit in the Commercial or Industrial Zone to allow truck
and equipment parking and storage for construction businesses . This parcel is located in an agricultural zone
and all of the surrounding properties, though classified as agricultural, also include residences and are taxed as
such. I have many concerns regarding this application including the fact that current practices on the property
do not align with the application, applicants have shown indifference to surrounding landowner rights, and the
incompatibility of this use with surrounding land use and infrastructure.
Many of the activities that occur on the property go beyond simple parking and storage. Below is a list of
things that have occurred that do not align with the permit request.
1 . There is a fifth-wheel travel trailer that is being used as an office including using electricity from the
garage, an air conditioner hooked up and water storage under the trailer.
2. The permit clearly states that employees of both companies will only be at the property 20 hours per
week and that will mainly be to park and obtain trucks and equipment . Often there are employees there
working all day including welding, moving pilings and such. Multiple times someone was there
working on both Saturday and Sunday. Someone was there moving pilings on Sunday June 10, 2018 ,
which included using a fbrklift and dropping pilings on top of each other. On March 17th and 18th of this
year they used a jackhammer to break apart large pieces of concrete. This started at 7 : 30 in the morning
and continued until after 5 both days . Needless to say things like this are very noisy.
3 . The hours of operation are supposed to between 7 : 00 am and 6 : 00 pm but I have heard and seen semi-
trucks leaving as early as 5 : 15 am and returning as late as 9: 00 pm
4 . The building that was built on the property was proposed as a storage shed, however, is it most clearly a
shop to work on semi- trucks, and they are often doing maintenance that goes beyond a simple oil
changes , including washing trucks, which they specifically said they would not be doing.
5 . The permit states that there will be two semi-trucks, but there are three there now, and for the majority
of the last year there have been four.
6. The concrete that they broke apart is still in a pile and I don' t believe that the permit allows for storage
of construction waste.
7 . In addition to the semi-trucks, heavy hauling trailers, pilings and conexes included in the permit
application there are at least three utility trailers, large concrete culverts, earthmovers, a large track-hoe,
as well as a welding truck being stored on the property.
The Owner and Agent have shown indifference to the surrounding property owners . The agent, Brian Hartman
and his wife did hold a neighborhood meeting on December 16. The notice for this meeting arrived in the mail
the day the meeting was scheduled. Furthermore, the meeting happened during the busy Christmas season so
very few neighbors were able to attend. However, the neighbors who were able to attend brought some concerns
forth and there has been no effort to address these concerns to date. In addition, Brian promised to hold another
meeting to allow neighbors who were unable to attend due to the late notice and that second meeting has yet to
happen. During the meeting, several concerns were voiced, including the speeds of vehicles on the mad, and
the large amount of dust that is produced when semi-trucks &give up and down an unmaintained mad frequently.
Brian said that they would put up a speed limit sign and get a water truck to keep the dust down, but to date
there has been no movement on either promise. Not only do the semi-trucks make a large amount of dust, but
also, due to the increased use of the road, every other vehicle that drives on that road produces a large amount
of dust. A good example is the trash truck that makes one trip a week on the road causing huge plumes of dust.
Anotherconcern that mentioned was the need for a port-a-john because there are at least three people working
on the property and no restroom facilities. They did bring in a port-a-john but it does not appear to have been
serviced since it was placed on the property so there is still concern regarding possible contamination.
Instead of hiring a reputable land surveyor to mark the property lines make-shift property stakes were put up.
Some of these stakes were well inside neighbors land, some as far as 20 feet inside property lines. Then, without
even contacting neighboring property owners, and the Latham Ditch Company the Owner and Agent decided to
move the road and the drainage ditch, even though this move would have caused them to overtake surrounding
property and interfere with long-standing water rights.
Lastly, the actual use of this property goes beyond storage and this is not compatible with the homes on the
surrounding properties. There are currently three semi-trucks on the property, and according to the permit,
these trucks will be making one to three trips per day. That means up to nine trips up andback on the road. In
addition, there will be four full time employees, each making up to three trips per day, meaning 12 additional
trips per day, or 21 trips total per day on a road that is not designed to handlethat type and amount of traffic.
This is more than a 1000% increase of the historical level of traffic on Fern Avenue. This amount of traffic is
not compatible with the current infrastructure, or compatible with the proximity of houses. My property line is
adjacent to the road, and our back yard is only 100 feet from the road. The increased speeds and traffic on this
road have caused a great amount of dust to be generated. Even though the properties surrounding this proposed
permit are agricultural it is important for all to remember that these properties are also our homes and our
neighborhood. Semi--truck noise, increased dust and heavy construction noise is not what we want in our
neighborhood4
The applicants have done some things that I do appreciate and I want to let the Planning Department about
them. They did keep any the stacks of structural steel closer to the south end of the property as to not interfere
with our view of the mountains, and the majority of trailers, heavy haulers, semi-trucks and equipment are
stored behind the storage shed. However, in order not to have a large negative impact on surrounding property
owners there are some other changes to the permit that need to occur.
1 . The total number of semi-truck trips should be limited to six each day, with the total number of trucks to
be limited to two
2. The total number of employee trips need to be limited to eight a day
3 . There needs to be a posted speed limit on the road
4. Improvements need to be made to the road to eliminate the dust along the entire length of the road.
5 . The permit needs to clearly state that this is just storage and that the current building on the property will
not be used for any commercial use, including maintenance of semi-trucks beyond oil changes .
6. There should be no other storage of trailers, fifth-wheel travel trailers, other construction
equipment'/materials or any other outside storage besides what is currently on the property.
Thank ys tyfor your consider _.ion,
p
onna Steve n ritA r r I
22260 County Road 52
Greeley, CO 80631 AUG 28 2018
970-534-0180 )0/ Lk-I , , < <, � u , lill , , La , �f.aIIE �
GREELEY OFFICE
RE : USR18-0023
Attention : Angela Snyder and Weld County Planning Commission .
This letter addresses just a few of our concerns for the special use Permit 096135300055 near
Fern Avenue, which for the 23 years we have lived here has only been an access road for the
Latham reservoir, farm land and oil and gas activity but was not actually a "Public Avenue" at
all . There is now, and has been for at least 5 years a padlocked steel gate on that road which
could not be allowed on a "public road" such as Fern Avenue .
This special Use permit, if approved will allow for a permit in the commercial or Industrial Zone
to allow truck and equipment parking and storage for a construction Company.
This parcel is located in an AGRICULTURAL ZONE . Other properties in the area are classified as
agriculture and are taxed as such . Which tax code will be used for this property?
Some of our concerns are listed below :
1 . Weld County Commissioners seem to have turned their back on the agriculture industry
in Weld County and instead show preference to any and all oil and gas projects and now
most industrial enterprises. Mixed use properties are not necessarily compatible with
agriculture use . Heavy traffic, dust, congested roads, and hazards to farm animals and
the disruption of quiet farm life are an issue, among other issues .
2 . Our concern about the dust stirred up and created by semi and trailers including
extended trailers, is an issue for those of us who live within 200 feet of the entrance and
exit for this property and the first half mile of the road . Asthma, COPD , A-Fib and heart
and lung blood clots are severely affected by the dust . One of the extended trailers
which come and go from this property has 32 wheels which can stir up a great deal of
dust when traveling at above average speeds on such a narrow, single lane road . The
Agent/ owner states he would use a water truck to control dust but that would not be
efficient or effective as it would be necessary to be used continuously as trucks traverse
the road . Actual dust control spray would need to be applied and constantly maintained
to control and abate the dust problem .
3 . An offer of putting up a speed control sign is less than effective to control speed as
speed in this area is an issue on Weld County roads 45 and 52 . Few users of the county
roads observe the posted and or legally defined speed limit, would the posted speed
limit be observed or also ignored .
EXHIBIT
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4 . Growth and change of a business after the permit process is also a large concern for us
as the entrance and exit are within 200 feet of our home . However many trucks, trailers,
motor homes, pickups and other industrial vehicles are currently using the Fern Avenue,
the one lane access road, now could increase with growth or added employees . We
have seen growth increase traffic for other industries in the area go from three
e mployees to eleven-fourteen which generates 22-28 additional vehicles on our road .
Add in UPS , Fedex, and other commercial traffics and the road becomes very busy. The
county should inspect and control commercial industries to stay within their approved
permit agreement.
5 . Part of the property is being rented as farm/agricultural use but some acres closest to
our home are left untended, un -mowed, and are a weed and fire hazard . This area is
adjacent to the small piece of property we own south of the ditch and Fern Avenue . At
the time the owner/agent wanted to change the location of Fern Avenue (Latham
Reservoir access road ) to make it easier to access and exit his property with the long
semis . There was no discussion of purchasing the small parcel of land we own there but
only that he was planning to change the location of the road . Then he placed four large
concrete culverts on part of our land without permission . He later moved them
e lsewhere . There seems to be a lack of concern for existing land owners .
6 . I have seen a sewage truck travel Fern Avenue ( Latham Reservoir access road ) several
times assuming disposal of waste or sewage . This waste must be generated by the
motor homes or shed in some way. Therefore there is a concern for contamination if
n o sewage disposal system has been installed for workers or those living there .
7 . There have been many times we have seen more than two proposed trucks and trailers
at the location and traversing the road .
On December 16th 2017 Brain Hartman and his wife held a neighborhood meeting but the
n otice was received per mail at 5 P . M . and the meeting was to be held at 6 P . M . on the same
day. With it being the Christmas season we did not get to attend as we already had other
obligations for that night. There was to be a second neighborhood meeting but that never
seemed to be scheduled so we have not presented our concerns to Mr. Hartman and his wife .
As things always change so must the neighborhoods we live in but when we purchased our
property all surrounding properties were strictly agriculture . That was why we liked the area .
Now it is pocked with huge oil and gas units and constantly increasing truck and regular traffic
which makes our roads much more dangerous . Adding more industry and commercial units is
n ot appealing to us . I believe it is not appealing to any of our neighbors either. I would hope
this USR18-0023 for the close proximity of this property would consider the wellbeing of all
n eighbors and our values .
Signed :
Dennis and Sharlene Loose
22035 Rd 52
Greeley, CO80631
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