La Plata planning commission tables parking-waiver request for proposed library

At its meeting, the La Plata Planning Commission unanimously tabled action on a request to reduce required parking for the proposed La Plata County Library, delaying a decision until staff can locate and present additional documents and clarify code references.

City planning staff recommended denial. Silvia Craze, contract certified planner for the town of La Plata, told commissioners that the application sought to reduce required parking from 183 spaces to 81 and that "the applicant has failed to demonstrate a hardship" and "it is therefore recommended that the parking waiver be denied." Craze said the approved site plan shows adequate space for the town's required parking.

The commission's discussion centered on two lines of legal and factual concern: whether the waiver can be denied on the basis of a required finding of hardship, and whether there is written documentation describing the town's original intent when it purchased the parcel from the county. Councilwoman Bridal Ward questioned the legal basis for denial: "Can you tell me where the ... guidelines are that says that we can deny this ... exception based upon hardship?" Craze and other commissioners said the town code is silent on the waiver and that "state case law" supplies the definition of "hardship." Craze said, "Our code is silent with respect to the parking waiver," and later explained that hardship generally must be a condition of the land that prevents compliance with the zoning ordinance.

Commissioners also flagged a clerical error in the staff report and on the town website: the report cites town code section "19143," which pertains to temporary uses; the correct citation for the parking-waiver standard is section "191-44," commissioners said. Several commissioners asked staff to correct that reference.

The commission pressed staff about whether any written agreement — an MOU or similar document — accompanied the 2021 purchase of the parcel and whether that document spelled out that the auxiliary lot would serve the town generally as well as the library. Craze said she had worked from the town attorney's recollection and advised that she would research the matter and bring corrected materials back to the commission in January. One commissioner summarized the status: the application lacked a hardship showing and staff would return with documentation about the original purchase intent.

No formal vote on the waiver was taken. The commission's action item was tabled until the next meeting so staff can locate and present any written agreement and revise the staff report to correct code citations and clarify the factual record.