Larimer County to add 4.5 acres to Little Ponderosa conservation easement; amendment to appear on consent agenda

Larimer County staff told the Board of County Commissioners on May 12 that they plan to amend the Little Ponderosa Ranch conservation easement to include roughly 4.5 acres of inholdings the landowner acquired after the original easement was recorded.

The change matters because the conservation easement is perpetual and amendments are rare; county staff said the amendment would remove one residential development right, incorporate the recovered parcels into the protected acreage, and permit construction of one limited nonresidential barn to support agricultural use.

Megan Flanagan, Natural Resources, told commissioners the county only considers amendments that are “consistent with the original intent of that conservation easement,” and that amendments must produce a “net beneficial or neutral effect” on the conservation values the easement protects. Justin Kors, senior land agent in engineering, described the site as the Little Ponderosa Ranch, an 884-acre ranch adjacent to the west boundary of Red Mountain Open Space near the Wyoming line. Kors said the three inholdings targeted for inclusion total about 4.5 acres and were acquired by the property owner in 2022 and restored in 2023.

Kors said the inholdings formerly contained a cabin, a septic system and outbuildings that have been removed and that adding the acreage to the easement would prevent those parcels from being subdivided or built on separately in the future. He told the board that the amendment also would limit the barn’s square footage and restrict it to areas served by existing roads and outside the County Road 37 viewshed to protect conservation values.

Flanagan said the county follows an accreditation policy and that amendments must not jeopardize the county’s status as an easement holder. She also said the conservation easement was partially funded by Great Outdoors Colorado and that the easement language requires GOCO approval for amendments; staff reported they have secured that approval. Kors said the original easement was acquired in 2020 and had partnership funding from the City of Fort Collins, Friends of Larimer County and a partial landowner donation.

There was no formal vote at the work session. Staff said the amendment will be brought to the board on the consent agenda in the coming weeks and asked whether commissioners had questions. Commissioner discussion at the meeting was supportive, with one commissioner calling the amendment “a very positive” change because it eliminates the possibility of separate development of the inholdings.

If adopted on consent, the county will record an amendment that adds the inholdings to the perpetual easement, removes the single residential development right associated with those parcels, and codifies the allowed agricultural support structure with the limits discussed at the work session.

Background: county staff said the county established its conservation-easement policies during the Open Lands master plan update (2015) and that staff update accreditation information annually to remain aligned with state conservation-divison requirements. The Little Ponderosa amendment was described by staff as meeting the county’s stated amendment circumstances, including adding land to an easement and clarifying allowable agricultural improvements.