Community Planning & Permitting Courthouse Annex • 2045 13th Street • Boulder, Colorado 80302 • Tel: 303.441.3930 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 471 • Boulder, Colorado 80306 • www.bouldercounty.org BOULDER COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PUBLIC HEARING March 11, 2021 at 9:30 A.M. Hearing to be Held Virtually due to COVID-19 STAFF RECOMMENDATION STAFF PLANNER: Jean (Raini) Ott, AICP, CFM, Planner II Docket V-20-0007/SE-20-0011: Rehder-Wolf Vacation and Boundary Line Adjustment Request: Request to vacate portions of the Trout Avenue, Sixth Street, and Fifth Street rights-of-way of the Petersen Lake Addition, and Subdivision Exemption request for a boundary line adjustment to add approximately 0.18 acres to an approximately 3.8-acre parcel from an approximately 153.2- acre parcel. Location: 2310 & 2700 Lake Eldora Ski Road, located on the north side of Lake Eldora Ski Road approximately 2 miles west of its intersection with Eldora Road, in Section 20, Township 1S, Range 73W. Zoning: Forestry (F) Zoning District Applicants: Timothy R. Rehder and McKenzie Wolf Owners: Timothy R. Rehder, McKenzie Wolf, Mari Anne Gambotto, Eldora Property LLC Et Al (c/o Donna Cartwright), and Energy Resources Technology Land Et Al (c/o Donna Cartwright) PACKET CONTENTS Item Pages Staff Recommendation 1 – 10 Planning Commission Action Letter & Certificate of Resolution PC1 – PC4 Application Materials (Attachment A) A1 – A17 Referral Responses and Public Comments (Attachment B) B1 – B17 Easement Documents (Attachment C) C1 – C9 SUMMARY The applicants are requesting to vacate portions of the Trout Avenue, Sixth Street, and Fifth Street rights-of-way of the Petersen Lake Addition adjacent to 2310 (“Rehder-Wolf parcel”) and 2700 Lake Eldora Ski Road (“Eldora/Energy Resources Tech parcel”). A Subdivision Exemption request for a boundary line adjustment to add approximately 0.18 acres, including the vacated area if approved, to Matt Jones County Commissioner Claire Levy County Commissioner Marta Loachamin County Commissioner the approximately 3.8-acre Rehder-Wolf parcel from the approximately 153.2-acre Eldora/Energy Resources Tech parcel is also proposed. Staff finds the request can meet the Vacation Criteria and Subdivision Exemption Criteria in the Boulder County Land Use Code Articles 10-100 and 9-400, respectively, and recommends approval with conditions. DISCUSSION The Trout Avenue, Sixth Street, and Fifth Street rights-of-way were established as part of the Petersen Lake Addition to the Town of Eldora filed in 1898 (Figure 1). Roadways were never constructed, and the Public Works Department has no future plans to improve the subject rights-of- way. The applicants request only those portions of Trout Avenue, Sixth Street, and Fifth Street that fall within the area described in the access and utility easement recorded April 12, 2019 at Reception No. 03706945 (“the easement” in Attachment C) be vacated. In addition, the applicants request that the vacated area and the areas of the Eldora/Energy Resources Tech parcel also described in the easement, totaling approximately 0.18 acres, be combined with the Rehder-Wolf parcel as shown in Figure 1 below. Figure 1: Petersen Lake Addition Plat (left) and Aerial Map (right) with Approximate Area Described in the Easement (blue) The purpose of the proposed Vacation and boundary line adjustment is to accommodate a potable water well on the Rehder-Wolf parcel. Due to the existing steep topography, a new well in the location originally contemplated during the 2018 Site Plan Review process (SPR-18-0045), uphill from the residence, would require more site disturbance than if the well was located within the easement area next to the existing driveway. However, per discussions with the applicants, the State Engineer would not issue a well permit for a new well located within an easement. Consequently, the applicants are requesting that the 0.18-acre easement area be transferred to their parcel (Rehder- Wolf). Staff is recommending a condition of approval requiring that utility easements be conveyed to the entities that have utilities within the rights-of way proposed to be vacated in order to maintain existing services in the area. Further, if the Vacation and Subdivision Exemption requests are approved, staff recommends requiring that the applicants exclude any portion of Lake Eldora Ski Road from the final legal description for the resulting parcel, as shown in Figure 2 below. 2 Figure 2: Topographic Map with Two-Foot Contours and Final Configuration of Rehder-Wolf Parcel (blue) as Conditioned With the recommended conditions of approval, staff supports the requests since they would not preclude any parcels from having legal access and do not otherwise conflict with the criteria in the Land Use Code or with the Boulder County Comprehensive Plan. REFERRALS This application was referred to the typical agencies, departments, and adjacent property owners. Copies of all referral responses received by the Community Planning & Permitting Department are attached. Responses summarized below include comments related to both the Vacation and Subdivision Exemption applications. Boulder County Development Review Team – Access & Engineering/County Engineer: This team reviewed the proposal and responded that legal access has been demonstrated to the subject parcels. The response also noted that the easement exhibit describing the area for vacation and the boundary line adjustment includes a portion of the Lake Eldora Ski Road right-of-way, for which vacating is not supported by the County Engineer. Therefore, prior to recordation of new deeds, the applicant must submit a revised map which demonstrates the final parcel configuration, clearly delineating the new property boundaries and excluding any of the Lake Eldora Ski Road right-of- way. In addition, the applicant must provide copies of recorded easements where it is necessary to cross intervening private property to access the property at 2310 Lake Eldora Ski Road. With these amendments, the County Engineer supports the vacation request. Adjacent Property Owners: Notifications were sent to 45 adjacent property owners. One response was received from the Eldora Ski Resort requesting the applicant survey locations of electrical facilities and establish utility easements as necessary for access and maintenance. Agencies that responded with no conflict: Boulder County Building Safety & Inspection Services Team, Boulder County Historic Preservation Team, Boulder County Wildfire Mitigation Team, Boulder County Public Health Department, Xcel Energy, and Nederland Fire Protection District. 3 Agencies that did not respond: Boulder County Conservation Easement Program, Boulder County Surveyor, Town of Nederland, Gilpin County, U.S. Forest Service, History Colorado, and Boulder Valley & Longmont Conservation Districts. VACATION REVIEW Article 10-100 of the Boulder County Land Use Code sets the standards for Vacations of Public Roads, Alleys, and Easements. Staff has reviewed the request to vacate portions of the Trout Avenue, Sixth Street, and Fifth Street rights-of-way of the Petersen Lake Addition against the criteria and finds the following: (A) Public roads, alleys, and easements may be vacated after consideration at a public hearing by both the Planning Commission and the Board of County Commissioners. This docket was heard by Planning Commission on January 20, 2021, where the Planning Commission recommended conditional approval to the Board of County Commissioners. Staff subsequently scheduled a public hearing for March 11, 2021 with the Board of County Commissioners. Therefore, staff finds this criterion can be met. (B) Unless otherwise noted, the portions of the road or alley vacated will be divided down the centerline and added to the respective adjacent property. The applicants request to vacate portions of the Trout Avenue, Sixth Street, and Fifth Street rights-of-way of the Petersen Lake Addition that fall within the area described in the easement recorded April 12, 2019 at Reception No. 03706945. However, a portion of the area described in this easement is also within the Lake Eldora Ski Road right-of-way and the County Engineer does not support the request as proposed. The request specifies that the vacated areas will be transferred in their entirety to the Rehder- Wolf parcel, instead of being split down the centerline. The goal of the request is to add land area to the Rehder-Wolf parcel that is better suited to accommodate a new well. Thus, splitting the vacated rights-of-way down the center would not accomplish the stated goals of the applicants. Since this departure from the typical division down the centerline is noted in the application materials and does not otherwise conflict with the criteria, staff supports the request to merge the vacated rights-of-way with the Rehder-Wolf parcel only. In addition, per the comments from Eldora Ski Resort, there are existing electrical facilities within the easement area. As a condition of approval, staff recommends requiring the applicant to submit a revised map prior to recordation of new deeds which demonstrates the final parcel configuration, clearly delineates the new property boundaries and the Lake Eldora Ski Road right-of-way, and excludes any portion of the Lake Eldora Ski Road right- of-way. This map must also include the locations of existing electrical facilities and delineate any necessary utility easements with a minimum 10-foot width. With the recommended conditions of approval, the County Engineer supports the request and staff finds this criterion can be met. 4 (C) Application and processing requirements for vacations are included in Article 3. The submitted application materials meet the requirements found in Article 3. In accordance with Article 3, staff referred the application to applicable referral agencies and all property owners within 1,500 feet of the subject property. The application was heard at a public hearing before the Planning Commission on January 20, 2021, and the Planning Commission recommended conditional approval. The application will be heard by the Board of County Commissioners at a public hearing on March 11, 2021.