Larimer County continues appeal over EV charging requirement for Horsetooth-area brewery site

Larimer County commissioners on Jan. 27 continued an appeal by property owners John and Rachel Ascolin seeking an exception to the county's electric vehicle charging infrastructure requirements for a proposed microbrewery near Horsetooth Reservoir (file 24-ZONE-3601).

The board voted 3-0 to continue the hearing to Feb. 24, 2025, and directed staff to renotice the matter after the Ascolins and county staff provide clearer information on the number of parking spaces proposed, on-site electrical capacity and cost estimates for required upgrades.

The appeal concerns the county's Land Use Code requirement that a percentage of a development's parking supply include EV installed, EV-capable and EV-ready spaces. Planning staff told the board that the code's required EV infrastructure is calculated as a percentage of the minimum required parking: for the Ascolin site the minimum parking requirement is 22 spaces, which would yield a small number of required EV spaces. The applicants have said they plan to show 50 total parking spaces on a revised site plan to be used in the busy summer season; that larger number would increase the EV infrastructure required under the code.

Planning manager Jenny Axmacher and county planner Justin Curry described staff's review and…