Larimer County commissioners deny appeal to allow on‑site septic for Aragon Holdings site

The Larimer County Board of County Commissioners denied an appeal on March 23 that would have allowed Aragon Holdings LLC to continue using and expand an on‑site wastewater treatment system at 516 North Highway 287, the board said, because the application did not meet all requirements in the county land use code.

The vote was 3–0 to deny file 25‑GNRL0577 after commissioners said the record lacked two items that the code requires for an on‑lot septic exception in a growth management area: a clear municipal concurrence that the proposed development would achieve the land‑use pattern envisioned for the area, and a letter indicating the municipality's willingness to consider annexation should the property become eligible.

Michael Whitley, senior planner for Larimer County, said staff's review found the applicant had submitted much of the documentation required by LUC 4.3.5A4 and that the county Department of Health and Environment supported the septic system on public‑health grounds. Whitley told the board the applicant's sanitary sewer feasibility study estimated that extending public sewer to the site would cost "at least $3.7 million." He said the study and referral responses showed that sewer service is not currently available and that the city of Fort Collins does not have near‑term plans to extend lines to that location.

At the same time, Fort Collins planning staff and the city council submitted comments opposing the project's consistency with the city's structure plan for the growth management area. Clay Fricky, planning manager for the city of Fort Collins, told the county the site is envisioned for suburban mixed‑use development in the long‑term structure plan and that heavy industrial activity would not align with that vision.

Members of the public urged the board to deny the appeal. Janet Duval, a former Larimer County commissioner, said the application appeared to "hide" larger industrial plans behind a narrower septic request and called it a "Trojan horse." Community group Beat the Batch, represented at the hearing, argued the septic decision would effectively pre‑approve industrial uses without the full rigors of a special review. Many neighbors warned about traffic, noise, dust and potential risk to nearby Terry Lake and mobile‑home communities.

Applicant representatives, including Savannah Benedict Welch of Norris Design and Stephanie Fanter English of Lovelin/Loveland Ready Mix, said they had provided the technical and economic analysis required by the code, letters from utilities indicating connection was not feasible at this time, and an engineered septic system that county health staff approved in 2024. "Public wastewater is a mile away," the applicant's representative said when explaining why connecting to sewer was not currently feasible.

Leah Schneider of the Larimer County Department of Health and Environment described the 2024 system as a pressure‑dosed sand‑filter design intended to meet treatment standards for the submitted design flow and noted that county permitting and inspection would be required for any future expansion. Schneider said the system meets treatment standards and that setbacks and design protocols were intended to protect surface water and groundwater.

Commissioners said their decision turned on the land‑use code's appeal requirements and on the absence of two specific municipal assurances: concurrence that the proposed development could achieve the GMA land‑use pattern and a statement of annexation willingness if the property becomes eligible. Commissioner Kristen Stevens said the record did not demonstrate that the appeal would not "subvert the purpose of the standard" requiring public sewer in growth‑management areas. Commissioner John Kafalis also cited the same code criteria in voting to deny the appeal.

The denial applies only to the on‑lot septic appeal before the board. The special review application for a proposed concrete batch plant and follow‑on site plan review remain separate processes; if the applicant wishes to pursue a batch plant or other changes on the parcel, those proposals must return to county review and, where applicable, referral to the city of Fort Collins under the intergovernmental agreement.

Action: the board's motion to deny the Aragon Holdings on‑lot septic appeal (file 25‑GNRL0577) passed 3–0. The board adjourned the land‑use hearing at 8:59 p.m.