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Planning commission delays vote on Ilium Industrial Park PUD changes after traffic and density concerns
Summary
The commission continued consideration of a proposed substantial PUD amendment that would add flexible commercial uses and 20 deed‑restricted residential units to the Ilium Industrial Park, asking the applicant to revise its matrix and seeking further review by CDOT and outreach to Lawson Hill stakeholders.
San Miguel County Planning Commissioners on Oct. 9 agreed to continue consideration of a substantial planned-unit-development amendment for the Ilium Industrial Park, directing the applicant to revisit the proposal’s use matrix and asking county staff to obtain further review from Colorado Department of Transportation and to notify Lawson Hill property owners.
The amendment, filed by the Ilium Park Owners Association and represented at the hearing by IPOA officers and applicants’ consultants, would add broad “flex space” and neighborhood commercial uses to most of the park’s 400-series lots and increase the PUD’s residential density by 20 units (linked to a population allocation of 60 people). The proposal also consolidates and adjusts several existing matrix notes and would allow certain health, food and retail uses on industrial lots, with parking and final placement to be addressed later by insubstantial PUD amendments and development permits.
Applicant representatives including Terry Reiner, president of the Ilium Park Owners Association, and Ryan Casuno said the changes respond to community surveys and demand for services such as a small grocery or convenience store, and they said the IPOA has provided will-serve letters for water and sewer. The IPOA’s presentation included a traffic study; the applicants later submitted a revised traffic analysis that county staff received the day before the meeting and asked CDOT to review.
County staff noted several referral comments. County manager staff and CDOT raised traffic and access concerns tied to the Highway 145/Ilium Road intersection; county manager Michael (last name not stated) noted there was no existing CDOT access permit for the intersection and that a supermarket-type use could increase trips. County staff also said Lawson Hill stakeholders asked the commission to defer action until Lawson Hill and IPOA could coordinate matrix changes. The IPOA and some 2 Rivers residents said they supported adding flex uses but raised concerns about the proposed number of new dwelling units (several public commenters urged reducing 20 units to 10).
Traffic impact was a focal point in commissioner questions. The applicant’s traffic consultant, Rich Bechtold, told the commission the revised traffic estimate increases daily trips by about 155 trips and that, when measured against the intersection’s larger traffic volumes on an hourly basis, the change likely remains below CDOT’s 20 percent threshold for requiring intersection mitigation. Commissioners asked staff to obtain CDOT’s formal response to the updated traffic tables.
Commissioners also pressed the IPOA on water and wastewater capacity. IPOA representatives said the association supplies water and sewer to the Ilium Park and that a recent will-serve letter and a well study indicate available capacity. They acknowledged the park’s current wastewater package plant handles organics differently from the regional plant and said long-term plans call for connecting to a regional facility. Commissioners said development permits for specific commercial conversions or new residential units would still require review, including will-serve confirmation, site-level traffic and wastewater assessments, and building permits.
After extensive public comment and discussion, the commission moved to continue the item to its Nov. 13 meeting. The continuance request, approved by motion, included three items: a formal referral of the revised traffic study to CDOT, referral to Lawson Hill property owners for comment, and a request that the IPOA revisit and refine its proposed matrix of allowed uses and intensity in light of commissioner concerns about preserving light-industrial capacity in the East End and limiting traffic generation. The commission also requested a site visit prior to the continued hearing.
The commission’s continuance preserves flexibility for the IPOA to revise the application: the additional 20 density units would be created as a density bank on the matrix and assigned later by insubstantial PUD amendments and BOCC sign-off. Planning staff recommended the continuance in part because CDOT had not yet had time to review the applicant’s updated traffic analysis.
Speakers quoted in this article are listed in the speakers section below.
