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Only two ask for relief from subdivision ban

Scott N. Miller

EAGLE – Penny Salcido got her exemption. A large lumber company didn’t.Not quite three months into what’s supposed to be a nine-month county ban on new subdivisions, there have been two applications for exceptions to the new rule.The first was filed in December by 84 Lumber, a Pennsylvania-based company with a store in Glenwood Springs. The company had asked for an exception to the new rule to start planning for a new store and lumber yard at Dotsero.Commissioners Peter Runyon and Arn Menconi – the architects of the ban – turned down that request, going along with county planners’ opinion that the request was out of step with the county’s building approval process.Eagle County Community Development Director Keith Montag said 84 Lumber first needs to file a “sketch plan” application. If that’s approved, the company could apply for an exception to the ban before taking the next step, called “preliminary plan.”Tom Boni, the local planner working for 84 Lumber, said the company will continue working to build a store and lumber yard.What’s grating, Boni said, was an assertion Runyon made at the October meeting that 84 Lumber seemed to be a candidate for an exception. While 84 Lumber is just starting on the months-long trip through the county’s approval process, Salcido has been working on her request for three years.The owner of a home just outside of Red Cliff, Salcido essentially wants to change the zoning on her property to reflect what’s already on the land. The property – less than a quarter acre – is now approved for one home on 35 acres. Salcido’s place already has a home, a rental unit and a garage on it.The exception to the rule Salcido got last week isn’t an approval, but rather permission to change the zoning on the land.Those two requests are it so far. And, Montag said, that’s it for the foreseeable future.”There aren’t any requests in the pipeline I’m aware of,” he said.=================What: A ban on applying for more homes or buildings on a piece of landWhen it was passed: OctoberWhen it’s supposed to expire: JulyWhat needs to happen: A handful of changes to the county’s land use regulations including water use, and effects on wildlife ==================Vail, Colorado


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