San Miguel County okays Ilium Industrial Park amendment adding flex uses and 20 residential units (2–1)

San Miguel County commissioners voted 2–1 on Feb. 18 to approve a substantial planned-unit-development amendment for the Ilium Industrial Park that adds three new allowed use categories, consolidates repetitive use notes into a single industrial zone note, and allocates 20 residential density units to be deed restricted.

The amendment expands the park’s allowed uses to include flex space (with explicit exclusions for brewery and distillery operations citing local water and wastewater limits), health/medical/wellness and event purposes, and a sewn-in category for a small “variety store” capped at about 1,000 square feet to limit traffic impacts. Nicola Kerr, associate planner, told the board the planning commission recommended the changes to respond to repeated community requests and to reduce redundancy in the PUD use matrix. "The planning commission felt that a brewery and distillery was not the highest and best use of our remaining water resources," Kerr said during her presentation.

Applicant Ryan Casuno, representing the Ilium Park Owners Association (IPOA), said the proposal was intended to meet everyday needs of nearby neighborhoods — "a small store where somebody could get a carton of milk," he said — and to provide space for community-serving uses such as Telluride Gymnastics. Casuno also said the IPOA expanded its traffic analysis to include the Highway 145 intersection and used data shared by Mountain Village; he said CDOT reviewed the broader study and confirmed the project’s traffic increase remains below the 20% threshold that would require a new access permit.

Commissioners and members of the public questioned several details: whether the added uses would gradually replace light-industrial activity, how residential density units would be sold or allocated, and whether IPOA should help fund future intersection upgrades. Commissioner Anne Brown voiced sustained concern that the change could erode long-term light-industrial capacity in the valley, calling for clearer guardrails. "If we allow this change, we will see all of that slowly or quickly removed or moved out," Brown said in a debate that centered on preserving contractor storage and laydown yards.

Staff and the applicant said protections remain in the code and that the amendment does not remove industrial uses; deed restrictions and development permits will govern specific projects. Kaye (planning staff) pointed to a recommended condition requiring that new county deed restrictions and covenants be prepared and recorded "concurrently at the time of construction of any new units," leaving the specific deed-restriction language to the county housing authority at the development stage.

The board accepted staff’s clarifying edit to the residential-location note to define "ground floor" by the road to which the property is addressed and changed the events category title to "event purposes." Commissioner Galena Gleeson moved for approval; the motion passed 2–1 with Gleeson and Chair Lance Waring in favor and Commissioner Anne Brown opposed.

What happens next: the IPOA will retain the 20 units of residential density and distribute them administratively under county procedures; any future projects that take advantage of the code changes will require development permits and recorded deed restrictions at the time of construction. Staff and the applicant said they will continue to discuss voluntary contributions and neighborhood memoranda of understanding about long-term transportation improvements and community benefits.

Votes and formal action: The board approved the substantial PUD amendment (motion by Commissioner Galena Gleeson; second not specified on the record), outcome approved 2–1 (Gleeson: yes; Chair Lance Waring: yes; Brown: no).