[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6528208,"mediaKeyId","3413861-f0c365e6b730b961f8de33f3abbbaf69","parentId",3413861,"title","Commission recommends county-initiated rezone of Digby parcels to agriculture","audioSeconds",683,"startMs",6562000,"endMs",7245000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3413861-f0c365e6b730b961f8de33f3abbbaf69&start=6562&end=7245","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3413861-f0c365e6b730b961f8de33f3abbbaf69/thumbnail_6562000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6528208/Elbert-County/Colorado/Commission-recommends-county-initiated-rezone-of-Digby-parcels-to-agriculture","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6528208-95f2fe53acd96c552a3d310a0b13c72a/orig.mp4?Expires=1770537150&Signature=K82Lzn0sNXhSJWxZOfzMUN-0~l7DJbMDOswxsh11o7Y-aP2XXJBhLH78-JGhmrVCOJEbiBVXy6hR0L8gcNafuBqGJNN-HzT3HT71jqbesyfj-d2uNpaars8cjGdxkLGVsHwLctsWnFJHb0yuwWtbCZiG0DenWeWlk~AWr3IyBpEO3ehTUnttf1a44qUXP2c12Ov-KQEkW2au8aZGaTQVTMFE64h3AJcaGTyBEYAyfZI-SaRtejk4wEJ1bCo-xJ87vrZtBC-aYECA6PO13uMDbt~nHMBEjg9lJObkBMBpB~kJXXRbxJmNDPpDo7bMzH7RIDNJp7QdtJcs2o8EYNGaNQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Elbert County","date","2025-05-20T19:00:00Z","article","The Elbert County Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval May 20 of a county-initiated rezoning that would change three parcels totaling about 113.5 acres at the south edge of Kiowa from an undefined Kiowa planned-development designation to Elbert County agricultural zoning.

Danny Klebanner, Elbert County land use planner, said the parcels were annexed into the town of Kiowa in February 2002 under a planned-development (PD) plan that did not come to fruition and were de-annexed by court decree in 2024. The county initiated the rezone so the properties have appropriate county zoning in unincorporated Elbert County.

Staff told the commission the parcels are surrounded by agricultural uses and residences in Kiowa and that no additional lots or immediate land-use changes are proposed. Referral agencies returned no objections during the referral period. Klebanner said the county met notice requirements for a county-initiated rezone, which calls for three consecutive weeks of publication in Ranchland News.

The Planning Commission voted to recommend approval to the Board of County Commissioners; the BOCC will consider final action at a future hearing. The commission’s motion carried unanimously.

","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Elbert County - Planning Commission - May 20, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Elbert County staff recommended, and the Planning Commission unanimously recommended, that three parcels south of Kiowa be rezoned to agriculture after a 2024 de-annexation from the town of Kiowa.","taxTitle","Elbert County, Colorado","taxId",27336,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6528213,"Planning commission shortens public-comment rules, hears concerns about Xcel Energy Power Pathway",360,235000,595000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3413861-f0c365e6b730b961f8de33f3abbbaf69&start=235&end=595","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3413861-f0c365e6b730b961f8de33f3abbbaf69/thumbnail_235000.jpg","/articles/6528213/Elbert-County/Colorado/Planning-commission-shortens-public-comment-rules-hears-concerns-about-Xcel-Energy-Power-Pathway","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6528213-52c6252df0e4d11a3af86184f30129b8/orig.mp4?Expires=1770537150&Signature=NAIM0E0PNBMNv4~k0ayLELOtmqQp0imYuZzBDJw54L2jHMgEg3T5~1IrJMB0NPqgvXo7QnZ1ylTy~BFRFhTLJ4jKnGznKE8oKDcF52sOSaz7R8GWjVdZ1bCZxQByrY02lCnpoJsJugbWp-D6D5WOs2vN7nDGg3neNa5mDJW31p91OnrlEbmlhyE3CVVlrpL5yTxZc6d~yuDluUcglrSgPtpJtuIczOpnmofdQMgVCirrYemGrK5lR32Kk4GjDL8pTyrg3bQukrVXGUFf9geIG-5BeMZTr5rTBij5-U0yxrNsGj67lK7KTMbdYKuLFB~5RszEbKwB6TwKCDKMoFmM1Q__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Elbert County Planning Commission on May 20 voted to amend its public-comment practice so the chair may extend an individual speaker’s time up to five minutes, citing an inadvertent change in the published time limit.

During the meeting’s public-comment period, Carrie Giblets of the Elbert County Environmental Alliance thanked county staff for information resources and called attention to Xcel Energy’s Colorado Power Pathway. She said the transmission project could increase interest in wind and solar development along routes and warned landowners to anticipate related land-use applications. “Colorado's power pathway will carry the approximately 5,500 megawatts of new wind, solar, and other resources Xcel Energy plans to add through 2030,” Giblets said, adding that she had been told engineers said facilities could be placed “anywhere within 35 miles of the transmission line.”

Following public comment, the commission considered an internal rules change after staff noted an inadvertent change had allowed five-minute public comments rather than the three minutes in the bylaws. Commissioners moved to amend the bylaw so the chair may grant speaking time at the chair’s discretion up to five minutes; the motion carried.

The commission also discussed staff-proposed “redlines” to the rules and regulations, including removing the county’s economic development zone (EDZ) language and deleting a duplicative “concept brief.” Staff said the full set of redlines is under review by the county attorney and will be provided to the commission before a final vote. The commission asked CDS to provide the redlines in advance of the next planning commission meeting; staff said the remaining items would be prepared for the June 17 meeting and later forwarded to the Board of County Commissioners.

Why it matters: Speakers cautioned that new transmission enables developers to interconnect generation projects, which can lead to more land-use applications in rural counties. Commissioners asked for clarity from the county attorney about how removing an EDZ would affect pending applications.

Commissioners asked CDS to secure the county attorney’s presence or response before the June 17 meeting because legal clarification will be needed on how any change could affect EDC (economic development) applications already in process. CDS staff said changes to regulations do not go into effect until the BOCC approves and the recordation process completes; staff also said they would gather the specific legal timing and present it at the June 17 meeting or by email ahead of the BOCC hearing.

","The Elbert County Planning Commission voted to allow the chair discretion to extend public-comment times from three to up to five minutes and heard a public comment from the Elbert County Environmental Alliance urging caution about Xcel Energy's Colorado Power Pathway and its potential to encourage wind and solar development.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6528218,"Elbert County planning commission backs three meteorological towers for Bijou Hills LLC with conditions",5185,1303000,6488000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3413861-f0c365e6b730b961f8de33f3abbbaf69&start=1303&end=6488","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3413861-f0c365e6b730b961f8de33f3abbbaf69/thumbnail_1303000.jpg","/articles/6528218/Elbert-County/Colorado/Elbert-County-planning-commission-backs-three-meteorological-towers-for-Bijou-Hills-LLC-with-conditions","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6528218-4995eb63703e38175f795fb2df6823fc/orig.mp4?Expires=1770537151&Signature=Pj4vdC36F0K~aTsYILDBiLHRGmqejjWGENMeVTOGjXk5QB4dwlO57McOZLFVRHhTSTA4gH84fjFyqeMnA~6tV1pJzCJAnN3yDxzbVWWDrtOgiM4w4TcYmWpUu3vjPsVXgoZRq3Y-kwqlfK1xStGbFOurZ1a-qsu8LQB1gdueMxmMo-i7ipFzLCuDpqwkYnbzXiIoXnVB4OelQC2zAT0IWHKXmAG9AG9FSdWau1GYthdxtl3lSse-~CRoTx6xurZePbQVgWEbMJGZxJaOCY8Pu46O0RqmOMPcQchlZP9J0Q0ZJbFO0mobZXkJxd58h-JbkdYZlZiNtIAXcNVaEu5OGg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Elbert County Planning Commission recommended approval Tuesday of three special-use review (SUR) applications to install meteorological towers for wind-resource data collection, finding the towers meet local zoning standards with conditions.

Planning staff presented the applications for three towers — SUR-2024-0109 (Worrell tower, 60 meters), SUR-2024-0114 (Hurtnecki tower, 81.3 meters) and SUR-2024-2490 (Chambers tower, 60 meters) — and said the structures would be used only to collect wind and atmospheric data and would not broadcast signals. Danny Klebanner, land use planner with Elbert County Community Development Services (CDS), said the tallest tower would be about 266 feet and the other two about 197 feet, that each would be placed on agricultural parcels, and that setbacks and FAA referrals had been addressed. “The FAA provided the determination of no hazard on 08/27/2024,” Klebanner said during his presentation.

The towers would be mounted on small platforms and stabilized with guy wires; CDS staff said anchor points and the base of each tower would be protected by exclusionary fencing and that applicants proposed bird-friendly measures from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service guidance. Applicant representatives said the towers are intended to be temporary and used for resource assessment; Matthew Pagan of Bijou Hills LLC told the commission the company expects the new towers would likely be deployed for about five years. “These towers are intended to be temporary towers,” Pagan said. “I can't imagine it would be more than 7 years.”

Why it matters: Meteorological towers are the first step in assessing whether a site is suitable for a utility-scale wind project; commissioners and residents raised concerns about wildlife impacts, decommissioning and the potential for future development if transmission is nearby.

Commission discussion focused on wildlife protections, fencing, FAA lighting and paint requirements, and the length of time SUR entitlements should remain in place. Commissioners asked the applicant about existing MET towers in the county and whether Bijou Hills operates wind-generation projects; the company said it has deployed MET towers in eastern Colorado in the past and that it also develops and operates multiple energy technologies elsewhere. Applicant representative Tyler Streb, who identified himself as a wildlife biologist, said the contractor team will monitor for birds, and the applicant agreed to add bird diverters to guy wires and to follow FAA/FCC rules during the towers’ existence.

The commission’s recommendation included three conditions: that the SURs not become effective until fees are paid, conditions are met and the SUR exhibit is recorded; that recording occur within 180 days of Board of County Commissioners approval; and an explicit requirement that applicants adhere to applicable FAA and FCC regulations for the life of each tower. Commissioners also added recommended conditions to the packet forwarded to the BOCC: an updated deed for the Worrell property to be included in the BOCC packet, a decommissioning requirement to remove the towers within 120 days after project completion, lease termination or project cancellation, and a suggested five-year time limit for the SURs with the option for extensions if needed.

The Planning Commission voted 6–1 to recommend approval. Commissioner Diana Edstrom voted no and said she would have supported the project absent a time-frame stipulation on how a private company conducts its business; other commissioners voted aye.

Proposed next steps: The Planning Commission forwarded its recommendation to the Elbert County Board of County Commissioners, which is scheduled to hear the cases June 11. Staff and applicant said any remaining referral responses and the corrected deed will be provided for the BOCC packet.

","The Elbert County Planning Commission on May 20 recommended approval of three special-use reviews for meteorological towers proposed by Bijou Hills LLC, adding conditions including a decommissioning timeline, an updated deed for one parcel and a suggested five-year limit for the SURs.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Commission recommends county-initiated rezone of Digby parcels to agriculture

Planning commission shortens public-comment rules, hears concerns about Xcel Energy Power Pathway

Elbert County planning commission backs three meteorological towers for Bijou Hills LLC with conditions