Park County advances conditional-use permit for residence in Alma mining zone with watershed and geotechnical conditions

The Park County Board of County Commissioners on Oct. 8 directed staff to prepare a resolution approving a conditional-use permit (CUP) for Jim Smith to allow a residence on a patented mining claim at 1895 Buckskin Road, west of the Town of Alma. The board’s action follows a public hearing with staff presentation, referral comments and a planning commission recommendation to approve with conditions.

The proposal Julie Estrell, a contract planner with Baseline Corporation working for Park County Development Services, presented the application (Case A250023) for a 7.53-acre patented mining claim known as Phillips Load MS Number 1873. The applicant seeks a phased residential project: Phase 1, a garage with an apartment above; Phase 2, a main house after phase-one occupancy or removal of the apartment kitchen. The site is zoned Mining and sits at an elevation of roughly 10,800 feet.

Referral comments and technical concerns Town of Alma: The town raised watershed concerns because the parcel lies in Alma’s watershed and an open, flooded mine shaft on the property may be contributing water with dissolved metals; the town requested backfilling or mitigation and required expansion of a Watershed Protection District activity permit before further construction.

Colorado Geological Survey (CGS): CGS recommended backfilling mine openings and pits, non-buildable setbacks (a July comment suggested at least 40 feet from stabilized/capped shafts), consulting the Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety (DRMS), and designing habitable structures to control radon below EPA action levels.

Colorado Division of Water Resources: The division advised that whether the garage apartment counts as a separate dwelling for well permitting will be determined at the well-permit stage and recommended following guideline 2016-1 on water supplies for auxiliary living spaces.

Other referrals: Colorado Parks and Wildlife later indicated no conflicts; Park County’s Advisory Board on the Environment initially asked for additional testing and mitigation but later provided follow-up comments noting no conflicts after applicant responses. DRMS guidance and an inactive mine-reclamation program document were provided to the applicant and county for mitigation specifications.

Site-specific geotechnical findings The site contains a visible open, flooded shaft and a drift (an underground tunnel) that runs beneath the proposed garage location. The applicant’s geologist, identified in the record as Dean (last name provided in the file), prepared an initial geotechnical report and an addendum after an on-site inspection. In the on-site excavation for a driveway, the applicant reported finding solid bedrock and the drift bottom at roughly 17 feet; subsequent measurements showed about a 30-foot separation between the proposed garage grade and the shaft and roughly 4 feet between the proposed finished garage floor and the bottom of the collapsed drift in the cross section shown to the board. The geotechnical consultant recommended measures to compact and replace materials in the drift and to engineer foundations consistent with DRMS and CGS guidance.

Planning Commission recommendation and board action The Planning Commission reviewed the application Aug. 27 and unanimously recommended approval of the CUP with three conditions: 1) No building permits shall be issued until the Town of Alma has expanded the Watershed Protection District activity permit to allow garage and/or house construction; 2) Any county-issued building permit must include a structurally engineered foundation that addresses soils and bearing capacity and construction over existing mining facilities; and 3) The applicant must comply with Colorado Division of Water Resources requirements in the July 3, 2025 letter, including compliance with guideline 2016-1 concerning water supplies for auxiliary living spaces.

Following deliberation, the BOCC voted unanimously to direct staff to prepare a resolution to approve the CUP with the Planning Commission’s recommended conditions. Commissioner Amy Mitchell made the motion; the board’s voice vote was recorded as unanimous.

Applicant comments Applicant Jim Smith told the board he and his geologist had inspected the shaft and drift while putting in a driveway; he said they had not encountered flowing water during excavation for the driveway and that his geologist’s addendum stated the proposed building location could be acceptable with the recommended mitigation and engineered design.

Why this matters The parcel is inside Alma’s watershed; the town and county said protecting water quality is a primary concern. The conditions tie county building-permit approval to the town’s watershed permitting and to engineered solutions for mine-related hazards, combining watershed protection and mine-safety engineering before construction proceeds.

Next steps Development Services staff will draft a resolution reflecting the Planning Commission conditions and present it to the board at a subsequent meeting for final adoption. The permit remains contingent on the Town of Alma’s expanded Watershed Protection District activity permit and on engineered foundation designs and water-right compliance at the building-permit stage.