Planning commission backs Ilium Industrial Park PUD amendment, sends recommendation to BOCC

The San Miguel County Planning Commission voted Jan. 8 to recommend a substantial PUD amendment for Lots 400–444 in the Ilium Industrial Park that would consolidate duplicate matrix notes, remove brewery/distillery uses, add limited "variety store" retail and health/fitness/event uses, and create a 20‑unit density bank (20 units, each counted at 3 persons for a population bank of 60). The recommendation will be forwarded to the Board of County Commissioners for final action.

Planning staff said the amendment is intended to update the matrix to reflect current demands and to allow a modest amount of deed‑restricted residential density that would be assigned through insubstantial PUD amendments administered by county staff and signed off by the BOCC. "Each of those units has an associated population of 3, so that would be an additional population of 60," staff said during the presentation. Staff also said the proposal omits breweries and distilleries and keeps definitions aligned with the county land use code.

The applicant, identified in staff materials as Ryan Casuno on behalf of the Ilium Park Owners Association, told commissioners the team revised the application after conversations with engineers and CDOT so the traffic impact for the proposed variety store falls below CDOT's 20% threshold. "Once we made the adjustments, we were below that threshold, of the 20% by quite a bit. Actually, it's it's, like, 12%," the applicant said, describing the basis for no additional access permit being required.

Supporters at public comment backed the change as a way to secure space for community services. Theresa Brockland, an owner of Telluride Gymnastics, said her lease is ending and the gym needs an industrial‑scale building; she urged approval so the program can relocate rather than close. Other local property owners and business leaders told the commission the matrix updates would help provide neighborhood services while relying on existing infrastructure.

Some commissioners and members of the public asked for guardrails. Commissioners adopted recommended edits requiring that individual variety stores be limited in area, and added a matrix note that residential units "shall not be located on the ground floor, the level of access from the road, except for entrances and utility areas." Staff confirmed that any new residential units will be deed‑restricted under the county’s R‑1 deed restriction requirements and that parking and water/sewer capacity remain subject to lot‑level permit review.

After debate the commission moved, seconded and approved a motion to recommend approval to the BOCC with the conditions discussed. The commission recorded the motion as passing by voice vote and directed staff to forward the revised package and findings to the BOCC for placement on a future agenda.

Next steps: the BOCC will consider the planning commission’s recommendation and the draft resolution; staff noted the item will be scheduled at a future BOCC meeting.

(Reporting note: quotations are taken verbatim from the Jan. 8 planning commission transcript.)