The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Next stop: county commissioners
By Toni Todd
The Crested Butte Horse Park jumped another hurdle this past Friday, when the Gunnison County Planning Commission voted to recommend approval of the facility, to be located on the west side of Highway 135, across from the entryway to Crested Butte South.
The approval came despite ongoing opposition to the park by adjacent property owners. In attendance at Friday’s meeting were Gunnison County’s three commissioners—Phil Chamberland, John Messner, and Jonathan Houck—attorneys for neighbors who oppose the project, and a few locals who support the proposal.
The primary focus of Friday’s meeting was water. A comprehensive drainage report was presented by water engineer Bob Williams, who explained how runoff would be controlled with ditches and a berm along the northeast border of the property, and, according to Williams, the “absorption factor,” especially in the arena area.
“Water will end up in the same place it’s historically gone,” Williams said. The ultimate goal, he added, is to keep the drainage contained within the property boundaries, following the water’s historical path as closely as possible, without impacting adjacent properties.
To facilitate this, two small, self-draining ponds are also planned. These, said Williams, will hold excess water during heavy runoff in the spring and in the event of a big summer storm.
“We went through all these zones,” said Williams, pointing to a map of the property, referring to areas defined within the Horse Park. “We used a 60-minute, five-year event of .4 inches per hour. This is a lot more stringent than your 25-year storm,” he said.
Williams explained that such an event could generate 39 cubic feet of water per second (cfs). Multiply that, he said, by an estimated 600 gallons per minute for each cfs and that’s 24,000 gallons a minute. “It’s a lot of water,” said Williams. “So that’s the criteria. We know we’ve got to deal with that kind of water.”
County commissioner Phil Chamberland clarified the capacity and purpose of the ponds. “So, the ponds will hold 5 cfs, and the water will flow into them and then flow out?” he asked.
“Yes,” said Williams.
“How long will it take those ponds to drain before the next big event?” asked Chamberland.
“In most cases, probably two days, from what I see in the soil out there,” said Williams.
Attorney Jack Silver, representing the John Gallowich family, who own an adjacent property, asked, “Have soil tests been done?”
“It’s in the report,” responded Heath Hansens, developer of the new Horse Park.
“Do [the berms] go far enough to prevent flow onto the neighbor’s property?” Silver asked.
“One hundred percent,” said Williams.
“And the Geist property? Is that affected by the flow at all?” Silver continued.
“The answer is ‘no’” said Williams.
Silver asked if the ponds would meet EPA requirements.
“There’s no need,” said Williams. The ponds, he said, are way too small to require EPA approval.
“Why are there two?” asked Silver.
Williams explained that a second pond would ensure all excess water is adequately contained. “I could do it in one,” he said. “I felt [that for] sound engineering, I should do another small one.”
Silver’s colleague, attorney Austin Rueschhoff, expressed concern about possible water contamination. “It is our opinion that the runoff coming through a concentrated horse facility might contain different types of pollutants or waste than has traditionally come off this property. So, while the amount [of water] will be the same, have you given any consideration for what is actually in that runoff?”
“Yes I did,” said Williams. “Historically, this is ranching. We have a little bit higher concentration potentially. That’s another reason we put the ponds in.” The ponds are intended to contain any additional concentration of pollutants.
“There will also be a lot more people on the property, won’t there?” asked Rueschhoff. “So, the type of runoff will be different from what it has been historically?”
“Because of the people?” asked Williams.
“All sorts of activities—the people, the animals. I understand there might be events there, which means trash,” said Rueschhloff.
“We have a full compost system and will be cleaning every day,” said Hansens. “That system will be contained in a building. We are exceeding Colorado best practices.”
“And from the human side,” said Williams, “it all goes into a septic system.”
There was some discussion of septic capacity on the horse park property and its potential impact on neighboring water wells. Williams assured that the septic systems will meet Gunnison County regulations. Planning commissioner Kent Fulton added, “They will have to submit a septic application to the county, and they will have to have that approved.”
Planning commissioner Molly Mugglestone referred to a report provided by Water Resource Solutions (WRS), a private water-engineering firm hired by the neighboring property owners. The WRS report differs from Williams’ on a few accounts. Most notable to Mugglestone is WRS’s contention that the two ponds violate Colorado law.
“How do we square these?” she asked.
“That is absolutely incorrect,” said Williams. “It is correct if the ponds are for augmentation. They’re not. We’re simply storing water that normally would go off the site.”
Neighbor Bob Niccoli was concerned about the new horse park’s water management system in light of his own plans to restore and use an historic ranching ditch on his property. “More water comes off that mountain than you’re saying, Bob. That ditch was used historically.” Niccoli declared his plan, and right, to the ditch.
“You should use it,” said Williams. “It’s your ditch. We want to work with you. That’s something we’ll have to look at with you.”
Noah Wight, who owns CB TV, said he thought the criteria used as the basis for the water controls were ample. Wight operates a weather station at Crested Butte South, across the highway from the proposed horse park. “You know, I can’t help you with the engineering. That’s way above my pay grade. But I can tell you that I watch the weather and have done a weather report every day for 20-some years, and in that time, the numbers that you’re talking about … are well within the bounds of anything that we see. The big storms … that do stick around—even those aren’t dropping the kind numbers we’re talking about here.” Wight added, “I’m not a meteorologist. I’m just a weather guy looking out the window with a lot of computers.”
Krista Hildebrandt, a local landscaper familiar with runoff patterns in the area, asked, “Have you walked the property yourself?”
“Yes, we have,” said Williams.
“This property to me looks like it’s honoring that historic flow,” said Hildebrandt.
Niccoli had the last word before the vote.
“This is taking agricultural ground and making it commercial. We say we need to protect ranchlands, but apparently, we don’t. Once approved, who oversees this to be sure they’re complying down the road? The right thing to do is not to approve this. Do not take our agricultural land away.”
Despite Niccoli’s impassioned plea, the Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend approval of the horse park plan. It now moves to the Gunnison Board of County Commissioners.
