Commissioners approve Hummingbird Ranch assembly permit with conditions after resident concerns about fire, trespass and roads

The Huerfano County Board of County Commissioners voted Sept. 16 to approve a temporary assembly permit for a multi-day van-life gathering at Hummingbird Ranch, subject to a set of written conditions the board and staff will finalize before full authorization.

The applicant (operating as PeaceLove & Beyond in the application) sought a temporary assembly permit for a three-day event on a 350-acre parcel at County Road 653. The application requested authorization for up to 2,000 patrons and about 250 staff, with food trucks, vendors, live music and a single communal fire pit. Planning staff recommended approval with multiple conditions and said referral agencies returned no formal disapproval.

Why it matters: Neighbors, the fire district and county staff focused on wildfire risk, ingress/egress on long single-lane roads, trespassing along Apache Creek and how to manage traffic and dust on rural county roads. Because the permit would allow thousands of attendees to use a remote road network, commissioners attached operational safeguards and asked staff to finalize details before the permit is fully cleared.

Key conditions discussed and directed by the board

- Fire safety: The communal fire pit is permissible only with prior written approval from both the county and the fire protection district; all other open flames must be propane-fueled appliances meeting equipment ratings and safety-switch requirements. The fire district required on-site fire suppression resources (fire extinguisher(s) and a staffed fire vehicle presence) for the activity unless the fire district accepts an alternate plan.

- Road dust and water mitigation: Applicants must provide a water plan for wetting or otherwise treating the County Road approach; staff and applicants discussed hauling water from local vendors and the possible volumes needed (staff and applicants estimated in discussion that properly wetting several miles of road could involve "probably 10 to 20,000 gallons"). The board requested staff help refine the approach and its costs and noted that treatments need not occur if weather conditions (rain) make them unnecessary.

- Security and trespass prevention: The applicant committed to foot patrols and mobile staff (including radios and limited utility vehicles) to monitor known problem areas, especially along Apache Creek, and to provide passes for commissioners and county staff. The board asked for clear patrol plans and signage directing traffic to specific county roads to reduce off-route travel.

- Grass and parking surface preparation: Commissioners asked that parking-area grass be mowed to less than 3 inches in advance of the event; staff will include mowing and maintenance requirements in the final conditions.

- Sales tax and vendor compliance: Under discussion at the hearing was the state special-event sales reporting requirement; staff cited CRS 39-26-103 and required vendors to provide sales-tax numbers or be identified as exempt; the applicant was directed to submit a plan for sales-tax compliance and vendor reporting to the Land Use Department.

Applicant presentation and public comment

Bernie Christian, operations coordinator for the applicant, said organizers had been coordinating with an attorney and local contractors and were seeking a practical set of conditions. "On the water, we're talking to our road bridge and and find out about the the amount of water it'd probably taken or needed to be able to to wet down that road," Christian said, describing ongoing discussions with local vendors.

Attorney Jess (on the record as assisting the applicant) told commissioners the event is smaller in scale and different in character from earlier large music festivals held on the property, and that organizers were willing to submit alternate plans if certain county conditions proved cost-prohibitive. "I am familiar with that that rule that re very recent ruling. And, no, that that wouldn't what we're asking for would be within within the scope of of that ruling. We're still would be maintaining decimal limits," Jess said in response to a question about sound limits and a recent court ruling.

Zach, a co-founder with the applicant team, described staff and volunteer security plans: "we will have folks patrolling it, and we'll have the attention of everybody on the team" in identified problem areas.

Neighbors invoked fire and trespass concerns. Don Lovering, a local landowner, said: "I'm opposed to such a large gathering in a remote rural area that has a dead end road that allows people in and out." Monty Job, another nearby landowner, pressed for measurable fire-mitigation requirements: "A better requirement would be all parkland surfaces would be mowed lower than 3 inches 4 days prior to the event." Ronald Cedillo, a neighbor who shares a fence line along Apache Creek, described prior trespass damage along that creek and asked the county to ensure perimeter security.

Fire district input

Margaret, a chief with the local fire district, said the district could provide protection "as long as the fire pits were not scattered. Unless there's only 1 major fire pit, I'll give this a I just hear it" (remarks recorded during the hearing). The fire district requested a staffed fire presence during the communal fire activity unless an alternate plan is accepted.

Action and follow-up

The board voted to approve the temporary assembly permit subject to the above conditions and instructed staff to finalize and circulate a written set of conditions for commissioner review next week before final authorization. Commissioners also asked staff to work with the applicant on a bond or insurance language to cover potential damage to neighboring property; no bond amount was fixed at the hearing, though commissioners referenced prior bonds in the $10,000–$20,000 range and asked staff to return with recommended language and amounts.

The permit approval was conditional: county staff will not clear the event until (at minimum) a water/road-treatment plan, a vendor sales-tax compliance plan, a finalized fire plan that the fire district approves in writing, and the grass/parking maintenance measures are documented and accepted by staff.