Monday, 17 August 2009 11:20

Board Members in Attendance:  Michael Kinsley, Tim McFlynn, Kathy DeWolfe, Jan Martin,
Holly McClain, Emily Smith, John Clark, Steve Child, Frieda Wallison, Brad Zanin, James Brundage,
Rick Heede
Guest: Shawn Clark
    The meeting was called to order at 7:30 pm.   

I.    Approval of July Meeting Minutes.
Motion: Michael moved to approve the minutes. Jan. seconded the motion. All approved.

II.    Treasurer’s Report.
    The past month’s donations include $500 from Kitchen/Kovach and $1,000 from Zabriskie.
Amy, our Treasurer, sent a note that due to personal time commitments, she will not be able to run again for the Caucus Board.
Motion: John moved to approve the Treasurer’s report. James seconded. All approved.
   
III.    Executive Session By-Law Provision.
    Tim requested a volunteer from the Board create this provision for the By-Laws. Frieda will present a draft at the next meeting. This will allow the Board to meet in an Executive Session.
   
IV.    Caucus Board of Directors Election.
    The following are candidates who wish to run for the Caucus Board in the upcoming election:
John Clark, Frieda Wallison, Patsy Batchelder, Jan Martin, Tim McFlynn, Emily Smith, Michael Kinsley,
Barbara Sullan, Kate McBride, Brad Zanin, Holly McLain, Rick Heede, Steve Child, Kathy DeWolfe,
Ken Smith and James Brundige.    Emily reported that by Aug. 24, she would like to have everyone’s bio’s posted on the internet.

V.    Land Use Applications.
   
    Blackburn Activity Envelope and Site Plan Review
    Comments due by Sept. 23
    An application for the redevelopment of an existing house at 330 Light Hill Rd., in Gateway.
Photos of the existing house were circulated. It’s a two story, 3150 sq. ft. house, sitting on the top of two flat benches, with a setback from the main road of 20’. They are proposing to replace the existing house with one that’s 4,485 sq. ft., and to pull the house back further from Light Hill Road to 30’, which is the current code. The County Ridgeline Ordinance is 15 years old. The existing house breaks the ridgeline view from Snowmass Creek Rd., as do other, older homes in the vicinity. Drawings were circulated of the proposed house, which incorporates a staggered roof line with one and two story portions, the highest of which will be 23’. If the County required the owner to move the house down onto the steep hillside below the flattened site, there would be an unsightly road cut on the steeper than 30% hillside, and questions about how to deal with the septic system, which is too small, given today’s standards. It was difficult to tell from the drawings, how high the new home would be or to assess its impacts on the ridgeline.
    Several Board members felt we should support the ordinance, even though there are a lot of older homes in Gateway that don’t comply. We should honor the intent, and eventually as people re-develop, the ridgeline will return to a more natural state. If the County feels the house cannot be lowered, they will make the decision to allow the ridgeline to be broken, or the parcel will end up a takings.
   
Tim suggested the land use committee do more investigation, and perhaps meet with Alan Richman on the site to get a gauge on the height of the new home, and feasibility of lowering it on the parcel. Rick requested we receive an estimate of the energy use of the home.

    Four Forks LLC Minor Amendment to a Development Permit.
    Comments due by Sept. 11.
    This is a 149 acre parcel with an existing 6,878 sq. ft. home. Address is 4305 Snowmass Creek Rd.
(Lot 2 of the Davis/Donnelly Lot Split).
When the County granted the original lot split, they stipulated the 7,500 sq. ft. maximum for each of the two lots, based on wildlife mapping of the area. When the current owner purchased Lot 2, he said he misunderstood what he could build. He thought the basement and garage of his home would be exempt from the 7,500 sq. ft. In 2004 he unsuccessfully hired an attorney to try to obtain more square footage. He went ahead and built his home, but would now like to add an 8,642 sq. ft. barn, which is allowed under current code. The structures on this large parcel cannot be seen from Snowmass Creek Rd. The County has asked for an updated opinion from wildlife experts, as to the feasibility of now adding this extra square footage.
    One of the Board members felt there might be a conservation easement on the property, held by ACES. Tim said he would call Mitch Haas to get a copy of the easement sent to Steve. It is the duty of this easement holder to make sure they are aware of the application and that it is in conformity with the easement. It is the duty of the Caucus to make sure the application is in line with the goals of the Master Plan. Tim asked Steve to review the easement issue. He will then circulate a letter of recommendation to the Caucus Board, for their approval, and then send it to the County by the Sept. 11 deadline.
       
    Michael reiterated Caucus members need to read the Master Plan when reviewing land applications, and its applicability to each area in question. We should always key our recommendations into the Master Plan. This will add to our credibility and gives the County more clout and authority if they feel our recommendations come from a solid, basic foundation of our stated vision for the valleys.  Some consideration could be given to an update on sections of the Plan if needed, since it has now been five years since it was written.

VII.    Miscellaneous.
   
    Tim suggested that Rick is welcome to put energy efficiency requirements as a part of the Caucus’ review of land use applications on the agenda. The discussion should be a plan on how to educate the Board on energy standards and requirements, so we know what to ask for vis a vis what the County already requires.

    The Board asked the Secretary to post meeting minutes as “drafts” on the website, before they are approved, so the minutes can get out faster.

    The County is incorporating some of the suggestions on horse shelters made by Jan’s committee into the County Code.

    Tim asked John and Frieda to help get the SkiCo politically aligned in support of the Caucus regarding protection of our watershed as part of their environmental platform.

    The meeting was adjourned at approximately 9:00 pm.