The Boulder County Board of Adjustment on Aug. 6 approved a variance (VAR250003) that reduces required setbacks at 11253 Dillon Road so Xcel Energy can rebuild a natural-gas regulator station within the existing fenced area.

Board staff recommended approval, saying the small, irregular parcel leaves no practical buildable area under current setback rules. "Staff find that the application meets all of the relevant criteria and recommends that the Board of Adjustment approve docket VAR‑25‑0003," Community Planning and Permitting staff member Pete Laurence said.

The variance cuts the required 35‑foot front setback to about 7 feet from the property/fence line and reduces the 110‑foot supplemental setback along Dillon Road to about 28 feet, according to applicant materials. The parcel is roughly 0.122 acres (about 5,300 square feet) and is largely constrained by the supplemental setback and existing road rights‑of‑way.

Applicant representatives told the board the work is driven by federal pipeline safety requirements. "The rebuild for the regulator station is a result of 49 C.F.R. Part 192 federal regulations," said Anissa Formiglia, a right‑of‑way agent with Western States Land Services representing the applicant. Formiglia told the board the existing regulator lacks the traceable material and pressure‑test records required by the U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) and that the project will replace underground piping, regulators and associated building elements within the fenced enclosure.

Project managers said the new enclosure and equipment are larger than the existing structure because the rebuilt station includes redundant regulator "trains" and space for operations and maintenance. "There is a dual run — redundant sets of valves — so there is extra space required to accommodate that and allow operations and maintenance personnel to access both trains," said Chad Townsend, project manager for Black Eagle Energy Services.

Board members asked about flood risk and whether the enclosure is mandated by federal rules. Applicant representatives said the so‑called "mega rule" (title 49, Part 192) requires traceable pressure‑test and material records but does not explicitly require a metal enclosure; Xcel's internal standards and site security considerations motivated the enclosure design. Staff also noted the site lies in the 500‑year (0.2% annual chance) floodplain on current FEMA mapping but said that the county's stricter floodplain overlay and floodplain development permit requirements apply to the 100‑year floodplain, not the 500‑year designation.

Several board members voiced broader concerns about long‑term fossil‑fuel infrastructure investment and climate impacts. Board member Robert E. Kiley said he was troubled by the county approving long‑lived capital investments in natural‑gas infrastructure: "We cannot protect our health, safety and welfare if we continue to make capital investments in our fossil fuel infrastructure." Other members said the variance review must focus on the specific zoning criteria for a variance — whether extraordinary circumstances exist and whether granting the variance would adversely affect adjacent properties or public health and safety — and that staff and applicant testimony showed the site is constrained and the replacement is intended to meet safety standards.

After discussion, a motion to approve VAR250003 was made and seconded. The board took a roll‑call vote; multiple members voted "aye" and the motion passed as recorded by the board clerk. The board closed the public hearing after staff confirmed there were no public speakers.

The project team said construction will occur inside the existing fence, will include minor grading for stormwater routing, and will not change system capacity or supply. The applicant also said a temporary construction easement is under negotiation with an adjacent landowner and that the site will be restored or handled per the landowner's preference once work is complete.

The board's approval allows Xcel Energy to proceed with the rebuilt regulator station within the reduced setback area; no additional conditions or mitigation measures were listed in the hearing record.

Ending: The Board of Adjustment concluded its Aug. 6 meeting after the vote; the record shows no public commenters signed up for this docket and staff recorded standard agency referrals with no unresolved agency objections.