Planning commission approves Veer backcountry site plan for small Weston Pass cabin with conditions

The Lake County Planning Commission on May 28 approved a backcountry site plan proposed by property owner Sam Veer for a small cabin near the top of Weston Pass, finding the submission met county code criteria for backcountry structures and attaching conditions recommended by staff.

Planning staff described the application as a minimal-footprint, seasonal-use backcountry structure sited on a 10.3-acre parcel bisected by Weston Pass Road. Staff said the cabin footprint is about 234 square feet, the structure will be used only part of the year under a backcountry license rather than a building permit, and the application includes a roof-mounted 12-volt solar system and an incinerating toilet. Staff noted Colorado Parks and Wildlife has designated the area as high-quality habitat and recommended best-management practices in conditions of approval. Staff told the commission a variance was approved April 9 by the Lake County Board of Health for the on-site waste system.

Sam Veer, the applicant, told the commission the cabin is designed to “blend in” with historical structures on the pass and emphasized a light footprint: the structure will be under 300 square feet, constructed with log-look fire-resistant siding and metal roofing, and heated with high-efficiency propane rather than a wood stove. Veer said gray water will be collected in a buried 60-gallon polyethylene tank and that solids will be handled by an incinerating toilet; the propane tank used by the incinerating toilet is removed when the cabin is not occupied. He said two civil engineers had inspected the site and that calculations using Mile High Flood District imperviousness values and NOAA precipitation data showed the structure increases runoff by less than 0.1 cubic feet per second in a 100-year storm at the chosen building site.

Neighbors and Westin Pass Hut partners raised concerns during public comment that the cabin site is near willow vegetation and spring runoff, questioned whether mailed notices reached the hut partners, and said prior disputes with the applicant over water rights had cost their group legal fees. Adam Giffen, a Westin Pass Hut partner, said his group “is not real interested in having competition up on the [pass],” and other commenters asked for a continuance to allow on-site inspection once the road reopens in summer. Applicants and staff disputed the wetland claims: staff said county mapping does not show wetlands or floodplain at the site, and the applicant said engineers’ on-site checks corroborate that.

Commissioners discussed the competing claims, the staff report and applicable approval criteria in Lake County’s Land Development Code, and whether additional engineered wetland delineation was needed. Staff told the commission that county mapping and the submitted OWTS/site-plan materials did not indicate a wetland that would trigger an automatic in-depth delineation and that additional engineering could be required at the applicant’s expense if the commission requested it. Several commissioners urged better neighbor communication going forward.

After deliberation, Commissioner Dave Church moved to approve the site plan with the conditions recommended in the staff report; a second was recorded and the commission carried the motion. The record shows the applicant’s OWTS variance and a set of five conditions of approval will be part of the permit. During the hearing county staff confirmed the approved occupancy rate used for OWTS design is four persons. The planning director will include a record of substantial discussion with the decision. The approval is final from the planning commission and does not go to the Board of County Commissioners for final action.

Key technical and clarifying details recorded in the hearing: the building footprint is approximately 234 square feet (plus a small loft), the occupancy used for OWTS sizing is four people, height to the lower gable is roughly 13 feet 7 inches, average parcel slope is about 20 percent, and the OWTS design relies on a buried 60-gallon poly tank for gray water with an approved incinerating toilet for solids. Staff also said the site will follow dark-sky lighting standards and Lake County Fire Rescue raised standard safety requirements that were added as conditions. The commission’s approval is conditioned on staff recommendations and any other statements captured in the record that form part of the decision.