A proposed bed and breakfast operation with planned equestrian tours in the Garden Park area north of Cañon City won approval from the Fremont County Board of Commissioners following a public hearing Tuesday. Cort Stevens and Karen Colburn partnering with Jacob and Marion Patterson sought approval of the Sporting Times Ranch and Red Horse Bed and Breakfast operation on property along Garden Park Road about 7 miles north of Cañon City.
Neighbors testifying at the hearing expressed concern about commercial activities in a ranching area, use of water along Four Mile Creek, and the possibility of shooting and ATV recreational use on the property. District 12 State Water Engineer Brian Sutton said Stevens and Colburn have only a domestic well on the property that can’t be used commercially. Stevens said he will adjust his operation to haul water to a cistern to serve the cabins. Sutton cautioned Stevens saying what typically happens is that a garden hose always ends up running from the well to the cistern. He will also be required to have a separate cistern for firefighting purposes.
As part of the conditions the commissioners also prohibited any recreational shooting or recreational ATV use on the Sporting Times ranch property. Stevens said those features are advertised as being available on nearby BLM public lands. As part of the special review use permit approval, the commissioners also will require the ranch to consult with the Natural Resource Conservation Service to develop a land management plan to protect natural resources in the area as a result of the commercial uses.
The commissioners Tuesday also tabled until January 25th a decision on a request by Anna and Ty Seufer for a special review use permit to operate Royal Gorge Zip Line Tours on eight mile hill west of Cañon City. Seufer said he plans to construct a maximum of ten zip lines on a 127 acre piece of property south of Highway 50. The site is in the general vicinity south of Seufer’s other property, the Whitewater Bar and Grill and Royal Gorge Rafting.
Seufer said the planned operation would have four daily group departures of 8 to 10 customers leaving from the rafting offices in vans to travel across the highway for a zip line tour. Each group would be accompanied by two rafting guides.
Neighboring property owner Stephanie Danielson urged denial of the permit saying she has had previous problems with noise and trespassing from people staying at a house on the Seufer property. A letter submitted to the Board raised a question of whether a site development plan was needed for the main property at Royal Gorge Rafting because of issues regarding additional parking area and traffic impacts associated with new zip line customers.
The Board of Commissioners decided to table the permit application for two weeks seeking more information regarding parking space and traffic as well as the need to address some of the trespass concerns in possible conditions that the commissioners might consider with the permit.
In other routine business Tuesday the commissioners:
- Reappointed Commissioner Ed Norden as Chairman of the Board for 2011 with Commissioner Mike Stiehl chosen as Chairman Pro-Tem;
- Reappointed Brenda Jackson as the County Attorney;
- Designated regular meeting dates for the board to continue on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the month at 9:30 a.m.;
- Approved renewal of a 3.2 beer liquor license for Hilltop Market;
- Approved a resolution suspending the fire ban that had been imposed since September 15th;
- Approved a resolution designating the Cañon City Daily Record and the Florence Citizen as official newspapers for county legal publication notices;
- Approved a request to waive the replacement of an eight-foot screening at the rear of the Rocky Mountain Excavating yard at Copper Gulch Road and ‘D’ Path.