County denies request for proposed bridge at Lower Allen

Secondary access to property would require a waiver of road and bridge standards

By Katherine Nettles 

There will be no secondary access allowed at Lower Allen Road for a property owner in the area, which would have required a bridge across Cement Creek and two waivers from Gunnison County for road and bridge standards. The matter came before county commissioners in early December, and following a public hearing commissioners voted this week to deny the application. 

The applicant, Hunter Family Estates, purchased the parcel of land in the Cement Creek drainage a few years ago, naming it the 11-7 Ranch. Portions of the land have historic agricultural use and a Crested Butte Land Trust conservation easement. The ranch is accessed from Upper Allen Road and the request was to add a second access from Lower Allen Road to make driving access to buildings on the property easier. 

Commissioners held the public hearing on December 16, which included an in-depth presentation from the applicant regarding their proposed construction of a bridge across Cement Creek to connect the property to Lower Allen Road and how the bridge would meet the county standards and specifications for new construction as well as contribute to public health and safety by allowing a secondary evacuation channel for other residents in the areas in the event of a wildfire or flood.

Several Lower Allen Homesite residents spoke against the proposal, primarily arguing it would add more traffic. Several people also raised questions as to the ranch’s former Facebook page which at one time advertised commercial uses such as fishing, weddings and events.

After closing the hearing to public comments, commissioners continued the hearing to January 6 to allow for their own deliberation of the two waivers, one to allow an access bridge and one to allow a non-standard angle of approach for the bridge.

During the continued hearing this week, county attorney Matthew Hoyt shared some similar cases and reviewed the legal standard involved, citing it must be a clear and convincing argument to make an exemption. As the applicant summarized, the two conditions to be shown for the access waiver were that 1) the additional access would not be detrimental to the safety and operation of Lower Allen Road and 2) the additional access is necessary for the safety and efficient use of the property. 

Commissioner Laura Puckett Daniels said the applicant’s representative, Tyler Harpel, had presented a compelling case last month. “The part that I’m really stuck on is the potential…to impact health or safety and potential to negatively impact neighboring landowners,” she said.

She appreciated the applicant’s willingness to put conditions on the permit based on the county’s feedback. She said it seems, based on the materials provided, that the current Allen Homesites bridge is a hazard due to improper culvert angles where the river bends. “But this would not solve that issue,” said Puckett Daniels.

Martin Schmidt, assistant county manager for public works, said the Upper Allen bridge angles and river flow actually change based on beaver activity, and recalled that despite its current 90-degree angle, when he worked on it about 10 years ago the river was straight. “We can either let the beavers be beavers…or we would have to do something about beavers to realign the river,” he said.

Puckett Daniels added that the Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District (UGRWCD) advised against placing additional infrastructure in the East River watershed, because the Cement Creek drainage is identified as an area most at risk of debris build up and flooding in the event of a wildfire.

Commissioner Liz Smith said after hearing the considerable concerns about impacts to the community, she did not find the argument for a new access clear and convincing.

“I don’t doubt that a secondary access might be useful at some point, in case of an emergency. But I’m struggling to meet that threshold of where it’s justifiable to me,” she said.

Hoyt said they must prove it doesn’t create a health and safety issue, not that it provides a benefit.

Smith said it didn’t help that the ranch was formerly advertising online for commercial uses that were different from what the applicant presented and described in response to repeated commissioner inquiries during their presentation. “I think there’s a public trust issue there,” she said.

Commissioner Jonathan Houck said it seems the proposed bridge would cause impacts on Lower Allen Lane to change traffic patterns on existing structures there, and to the residents adjacent to it.

“Because that primary access does exist and could be improved to meet county standards, I am not inclined to grant this,” he said.

Commissioners then debated whether to address the applicant’s second waiver request regarding the angle of approach for the proposed secondary access. They found the angle of approach waiver moot, given they were disinclined to grant the waiver for the access.

Commissioners instructed staff to prepare a motion denying the application based on their findings for the secondary access waiver.