Briefs Gunnison County

Homeland Security grants more trouble than they’re worth
According to Gunnison County emergency manager Scott Morrill, the work that goes into securing Homeland Security grants might not be worth the trouble.
“The grant is slowly drying up. This year’s grant was $19,000, as opposed to $125,000 in 2009. However the requirements and the mandates associated with the grant have not gone away. In fact they have continued to increase,” Morrill told the commissioners.

“For context, nationwide dollars aren’t diminishing much, but they’re being focused on major urban areas. It’s worth doing that amount of work for $140,000, but $19,000 is questionable,” county manager Matthew Birnie said.
Morrill estimates that not applying for the grant could take up to a quarter or a third of his time, and he knows of two other counties contemplating the same decision.

Cement Creek Road highlighted in CDOT study
The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) has recommended that a left-turn acceleration lane be provided for vehicles turning from Cement Creek Road onto Highway 135. The finding came out of the CDOT Region 3 Intersection Priority Study. The intersection of Cement Creek Road and Highway 135 was submitted for consideration by Gunnison County, along with the intersections of 135 and Brush Creek Road and Highway 50 and Antelope Creek Road.
Long-term recommendations included realigning Cement Creek Road so that it is perpendicular to State Highway 135, providing adequate turn lanes on all approaches, and realigning a private driveway with Cement Creek.
According to Alisa Babler, permit unit engineer with CDOT, the study was intended as a tool to rank potential intersection projects submitted by local agencies. Cement Creek Road was ranked 11th within the Gunnison Valley TPR.
“As this was not one of the top three ranked intersections, no field visit to the site was completed and additional information was not collected. However, the consultant made preliminary recommendations based on the information provided,” Babler said.

Linkage fee exemption for residents only
The Gunnison County Planning Commission is preparing revisions to the Land Use Resolutions, chief among them a provision that would deny second homeowners any exemption to the workforce housing linkage fee. Homebuilders earning less than 120 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI) are granted an exemption from linkage fees, which were created to generate funds for affordable housing.
Housing authority director KT Gazunis took the matter before the commissioners this summer, noting that there have been two instances of second homeowners qualifying for exemption. The Planning Commission saw no reason to object to the change.
The commission also saw no issue with revisions to notification requirements for homeowners seeking variances on setback lines on their properties. Currently, homeowners must seek approval from neighbors to even take the application before the commission.
“The intent wasn’t that next-door neighbors have a veto power,” said Planning Commission chairman Ramon Reed. “Obviously they should have the opportunity to express opinion but not ability to deny.”
The homeowners would still be required to notify neighboring property owners of their intention so they have the opportunity to attend and voice opinions at public hearings. The amendment did lead the commission to debate what qualifies as a neighboring property. Current language says “adjacent property owners” must be notified, but Reed wondered if “neighborhood,” as used in other county documents, would suffice. County staff will look into that definition further while they prepare the draft resolutions.
Two additional changes to the LUR would update enforcement requirements and the definition of wetlands to match recent updates to the Special Development Project Resolution.

Two New Planning Commission members
 Two new board members have been appointed to the Gunnison County Planning Commission: Mt. Crested Butte resident Susan Eskew has been appointed as a regular member and Gunnison resident A.J. Cattles as an alternate. The positions were left vacant by Chris Behan, former Crested Butte South Homeowners Association manager, and Sam Lumb who resigned due to time commitments.