Proposed after-the-fact land-use variances prompted concern among the Montezuma County commissioners at their meeting Tuesday.
The board ultimately voted to table two such proposals.
One involved an application for a variance to a setback requirement on an eight-acre property near Mancos. Planning director Don Haley told the commissioners a variance had been given in 2006 for a house to be built on the property, and now the owner is seeking an after-the-fact setback variance for a guest house that is already half built.
Commissioner Kent Lindsay said the county has had a land-use code for more than two decades and the contractor should have been aware of the setback requirements. Lindsay said, “It’s time to enforce our code and stand by it.”
Chairman Jim Candelaria agreed.
“We have a land-use code and we have a lot of people doing it right,” Candelaria said. “Variances do nothing but erode the land-use code because [people will say] ‘I’ll just go do this, come in after the fact, and ask for a variance’.”
The board then voted unanimously to table that request.
A little later, they voted to table another request for a belated setback variance sought for a property north of Cortez where a carport was built too close to the property line, Haley said.
Candelaria suggested fines might be appropriate for people who violate the code. Haley said he thought one or two such fines had been levied in the past, before he was planning director, for people building too close to the Dolores River.
One of those was a $1,000 fine, according to previous reporting. https://fourcornersfreepress.com/letter-draws-criticism-from-board/
Candelaria said the commissioners will reconsider the two proposals at their meeting next week after they have a discussion with their attorney, Stephen Tarnowski, regarding how to decide possible fines.
KSJD Local Newscast - January 28, 2025
Ways To Subscribe