San Juan County Commission tables Sky Ranch Phase 2 after renewed safety and legal questions over private airstrip

San Juan County commissioners on June 3 tabled consideration of the Sky Ranch Phase 2 subdivision after an extended public hearing in which residents, technical experts and the developer debated whether the private airstrip that runs through the development can be operated safely with new homes nearby.

The decision came after attorneys for both sides said Judge Torgerson remanded legal questions back to the county because the administrative record does not clearly show whether safety was meaningfully considered when the county previously approved parts of the project.

The dispute centers on a paved, privately operated runway that was widened and repaved in December 2017 and later realigned and extended onto adjacent property. Opponents say the altered runway, its slope, local winds and the proximity of planned lots create an unacceptable hazard; the developer and an aviation consultant said the runway can operate safely as a private airstrip under the conditions proposed.

Why it matters: the county’s ruling will affect whether about 50 additional residential lots and roughly 30 more potential lots around the runway can proceed as platted, and the county could face further litigation if it issues findings the court deems unsupported by evidence.

The record and remand

Jim Anderson, counsel for adjacent property owner Carl Spielman, told commissioners the district court remanded the question because “the record itself does not show that the evidence was produced in order for the commission to make a finding of safety.” Anderson said the remand was limited to two questions: whether the airstrip lies within the subdivision boundary and whether the record supports a finding that the airstrip and…