Elbert County OKs year‑round special‑use permit for The Patch events on Highway 86

Elbert County commissioners voted to approve a special use by review (SUR20247360) permitting an amusement/entertainment venue known as The Patch to operate year‑round at a roughly 110‑acre site on the south side of Highway 86.

The vote to approve the request, as drafted in the staff resolution, carried unanimously. The resolution includes standard permitting conditions, a requirement that a traffic study be submitted to the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) within three years for review, and deadlines for recording the approved SUR exhibit.

County planning staff told commissioners the Patch’s seasonal pumpkin operation has run in Elbert County since 2017 and moved to the Highway 86 site within the past year. The applicants seek an SUR because prior use relied on temporary use permits that are limited to 60 days per calendar year; the SUR would allow a wider range of events across seasons including the fall pumpkin patch, Easter events, summer nights, movie nights, a Christmas light drive‑through, weddings and other outdoor gatherings. Staff said most activities would be concentrated in the northern third of the parcel closest to Highway 86 and that existing and proposed structures are shown in the SUR exhibit.

Staff noted…