Planning commission continues airport wetlands permit after questions over buffer encroachment and temporary uses

The San Miguel County Planning Commission on March 13 moved to continue consideration of a wetlands special‑use permit for the Telluride Regional Airport’s south‑side development after staff and public questions about how far proposed grading and pavement extend into mapped wetland buffers.

Staff member John Huebner presented the application, telling the commission the airport’s south side project would add a connector taxiway, a paved aircraft apron and new hangars in multiple phases and that the grading limits intersect the county’s 100‑foot wetland buffer around two mapped on‑site wetlands. Huebner said the applicant’s wetland delineation found two wetlands totaling about 1.51 acres and a separate 1.37‑acre non‑wetland water body (a lined water storage pond) within the mitigation site required under an earlier Army Corps permit.

Why it matters: County wetland rules protect both mapped wetland areas and a 100‑foot buffer around them. Commissioners and public commenters asked for clear, map‑level confirmation of the distance from construction features to wetland edges and whether permanent paved surfaces would sit inside the 100‑foot buffer — a stronger, longer‑term encroachment than temporary construction access.

Key points from the meeting

- Buffer distances and maps: Planning Commissioner Hallie Simpson and others pointed to a meeting exhibit that shows grading and pavement edges within the county’s 100‑foot buffer zone. Staff and the applicant confirmed some construction activities and perimeter erosion controls would fall inside the buffer; commissioners asked the applicant to provide clearer drawings showing: (a) the exact proposed pavement/grade lines, (b) which routes or pads are existing dirt surfaces versus newly paved or widened surfaces, and (c) the location and design of the applicant’s erosion‑control and sediment‑control measures.

- Temporary uses and nearby access road: Several neighbors and the Meadows at Deep Creek Mesa Homeowners Association raised concerns about continued and expanded use of the dirt quarry road and a temporary staging/parking pad south of the fence. Commenters asked whether temporary staging, overflow parking for Mountain Village and vehicle storage uses would be terminated before or when the south‑side development proceeds. The applicants said some temporary uses are intended to be short term and that longer‑term staging or parking is not part of the airport’s master‑plan buildout.

- Quarry lease and site remediation: The applicant confirmed quarry operations and a lease that provides construction materials to the airport and region may be extended briefly to complete work; commissioners asked staff to reconcile quarry phasing and remediation timelines with the airport construction schedule.

Action taken

The planning commission voted to continue the wetlands special‑use permit to the commission’s May meeting (staff indicated the next operative PCI meeting date will be May 8) and directed the applicant to supply: updated, legible plan sheets that clearly show wetland boundaries and buffer lines; precise limits of grading and pavement; a list of temporary uses to be terminated; and an assessment of whether additional compensatory wetland mitigation is warranted if new permanent pavement would remain inside the 100‑foot buffers. Staff said commissioners will reevaluate the permit and mitigation options after receiving those materials.

No permit was approved at the March 13 meeting; the continuation gives staff and the public time to review updated engineering drawings and a mitigation proposal.