Residents warn commissioners Beacon Light Road soils, $18M work may not support heavy commercial use

Lanette Percival told the Board of County Commissioners that Beacon Light Road's subsurface conditions are "highly variable and moisture‑sensitive," citing a 2022 Shannon & Wilson geotechnical report she said was funded by taxpayers. "These are not minor technicalities. These are measurable risks to any large‑scale construction," she said.

Percival said the existing rural‑connector designation limits the road’s cross‑section and that the $18 million allocated to a 1‑mile project was designed to support only a modest increase in traffic. "The $18 million spent on just 1 mile road project only safely added a load of 200 additional vehicles per day to a maximum of 400 vehicles per day," she said, and asked how a planned commercial use that could attract "15 to 20,000 vehicles per day" would be allowed on that infrastructure.

She raised groundwater contamination and underground storage tank (UST) concerns, referencing Colorado statute CRS 25‑8‑101 and EPA UST standards as potential regulatory constraints if site‑specific soil permeability and seasonal groundwater fluctuations are not studied. "Installing various fuel tanks without a precise understanding of soil permeability, seasonal groundwater fluctuations, and mitigation requirements create serious long‑term contamination liability under both state and federal regulations," Percival told the board.

Speakers urged commissioners to require updated, site‑specific geotechnical work and disclosures before approving heavy commercial development that would substantially increase truck and fueling traffic on Beacon Light Road. The transcript records the citizen warnings and citations to the geotechnical report and statutes but does not show a staff presentation or a board decision during the meeting.