Custer County Board of Health approves vault septic variance for Lake Dewey cabin

The Custer County Board of Health on Aug. 11 approved a variance that lets a Lake Dewey summer cabin install a vault-style septic system instead of a full onsite system, a move intended to bring the property into compliance with county rules.

The board's action helps an elderly couple's family get a decades-old dry cabin into compliance after county staff notified the owners that dry cabins are no longer allowed in Colorado. Planning and zoning director Elena Crawford explained the existing cabin, built in the early 1970s, sits on a lot smaller than one acre and the site configuration around the well "won't allow enough room" for a complete septic system, so the owner sought a vault variance.

Crawford told the board the daughter handling the estate, identified in the meeting as Angelique Pannell (transcript also rendered the name as "Pinnell Angelique"), was seeking to bring the property into compliance. Crawford said, "they weren't aware. The dry cabins weren't allowed in in Colorado anymore," and described the variance as a pathway to compliance. She also stated that county requirements call for a 1,500-gallon vault, noted vaults "are pumped once a year," and said vaults are fitted with alarms set at about 75 percent full so owners know when to schedule pumping.

Board members moved and seconded approval of the variance and amended the motion to specify the vault authorization be tied to the parcel rather than the individual owner. The record shows the board identified the property in discussion as 51 (transcript text varied between "51 Roof" and "51 Wolf Street"); the motion as approved specified the vault would be associated with the lot. The meeting did not provide a separate, formal parcel identifier beyond the spoken street reference.

On the vote, Board of Health member Candace (last name not provided in the transcript) voted "Aye," Board of Health member Paul (last name not provided in the transcript) voted "Aye," and Board Chair Lucas Epp voted "Aye," and the motion passed by voice vote.

Crawford said the department will require documentation that the vault is serviced: she described an administrative process of sending annual letters (in December, alongside short-term rental letters) asking owners to submit yearly pumping receipts. She said pumpers typically mark receipts and that annual proof is the means the county will use to verify ongoing compliance.

The board's approval is limited to the variance for the specific lot discussed and did not change county vault requirements. The discussion emphasized this was a compliance measure for an existing summer cabin rather than approval of new development. The board did not identify any additional conditions beyond tying the vault to the parcel and the county's existing operational requirements (1,500-gallon vault, alarm, and annual pumping documentation).

The board adjourned after the vote; no public commenters spoke on the item during the meeting.

The transcript included variation in the owner's name and the property address; the article reports both versions where the meeting record was inconsistent rather than asserting a corrected spelling or a definitive street address.