Hearing examiner rejects county's dismissal of Olshevsky appeal over alleged expansion of nonconforming use

San Juan County Hearing Examiner Gary McLean denied a county motion to dismiss an appeal by a neighbor who says a nearby property has been unlawfully intensified from a small corner-store/shop operation into a multi-tenant industrial yard.

McLean opened the hearing on May 27 and ruled that a 2025 county correspondence (entered as Exhibit 8) went beyond a decision not to pursue a notice of violation and instead constituted a written administrative determination that can be appealed. "Where a matter is clearly outside the jurisdiction of the hearing examiner, the examiner has authority and discretion to dismiss," McLean said, but he concluded the staff letter described the site as a lawful nonconforming use and so the appeal may proceed.

The appellant, who testified under oath, gave a slide presentation and played videos showing night-time diesel truck activity and pressure washing, and described what he and neighbors say were long gaps in commercial use followed by a sharp expansion since 2018. "It shows this truck backing up slowly across the road...the smell of exhaust coming into my house," he said during direct testimony, and asked the examiner to reverse the county's closure of enforcement case PCIDash18Dash0035 and direct the director to issue a notice of violation.

A longtime neighbor, Joyce Stimpson, testified that the parcel was largely vacant from the 1980s through the 1990s and that industrial-type activity and noise increased around 2017'2019. Stimpson described repeated early-morning truck idling that shook her home and an increase in impervious surface and runoff near her driveway.

County code enforcement officer Villaluz said she reviewed thousands of pages of records, multiple aerial images and prior staff correspondence and did multiple site visits. She said she relied in part on a 1993 staff report and an updated 2025 site plan when determining the property's current use. "I did not see any expansion of the land use" in her assessment of the materials she considered, she testified.

McLean acknowledged both sides presented conflicting factual records and testimonial memory going back decades. He admitted the parties' exhibits into the record, granted the property owner's representatives leave to intervene, and held the record open so intervenors can file a response. The examiner set a schedule giving the intervener until June 17 to submit a written response and both the county and appellant until July 1 to file replies; he said he may reopen testimony if needed after reviewing those filings.

The hearing continues on the written record unless the examiner orders additional live testimony. The examiner said he will consider all submissions and notify parties whether he will reconvene testimony or issue a written decision.

Sources: Testimony and filings at the May 27 San Juan County Hearing Examiner hearing, including oral testimony by the appellant and sworn witness Joyce Stimpson and statements from county staff.