Montezuma County approves Ute Mountain Ute Tribe rezoning and permit to reopen pottery shop

The Montezuma County Board of County Commissioners on April 22 approved a commercial rezoning, a high-impact permit and a setback variance that will allow the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe to reopen a pottery shop at 27601 Highway 160 in Cortez.

The board approved the application for the property, described in county documents as approximately 4.05 acres, with conditions that include approval of a Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) access permit, a privacy fence along the cemetery property line, and limiting outdoor entertainment to acoustic (non-amplified) music. The board also required that access to the MBI irrigation canal not be blocked; staff and the tribe must coordinate with MBI on any gate or fence placement.

The building on the site dates to about 1979 and a storage barn to about 1981, county planning staff said. Don (planning staff) told commissioners the structure predates the county land use code and that the board could treat it as a prior existing use under the code’s exemption for uses existing when the regulations were adopted. That exemption was discussed as an alternative to authorizing a high-impact permit to address a commercial setback that would otherwise be 50 feet; the building sits about 42 feet from the property line.

Beth Cascadon, agent for the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, said the pottery shop closed during the COVID-19 pandemic and has been vacant for about five years. “We’ve had to redo the roof. We just got the plumbing up and going fixed, so we’re ready to go,” Cascadon said. She told the board the tribe has been current on property taxes and that the tribe’s assessor records already list the parcel as commercial retail.

Howard Kaim, representing the Cortez Cemetery Board and neighboring property owners, expressed concerns about noise and privacy during funerals. “If they’re going to have an outside vendor, merchant area, outside during the day…we were concerned about maybe the noise,” Kaim said. He told the board the tribe had agreed to install a privacy fence; Cascadon said the tribe will close the outside area during funerals if given advance notice.

The county planning commission recommended approval 4-1, with conditions requiring the privacy fence and acoustic-only music for outdoor events. At the public hearing the board moved, seconded and voted to approve the rezoning, high-impact permit and setback variance; county minutes record the vote as unanimous.

The board’s approval was contingent on CDOT granting the new access permit for the site and on the tribe and MBI coordinating any fence or gate that might affect the irrigation canal easement. Planning staff said utilities—water and power—are already available to the building.

The board closed the public hearing following the vote and confirmed the permit and rezoning with the stated stipulations.