Chair seconded motion to approve BIM Voyage short‑term rental permit near Hatch

The Garfield County Planning Commission approved a conditional use permit for a short‑term rental operation known as BIM Voyage on private land east of Hatch.

A committee member moved to approve the permit for the property listed in the application; the Chair seconded and the commission approved the motion by voice vote. The agenda item covered whether the operation complied with county rules when several associated huts are sited on National Forest land and some bookings had previously been handled out of state.

Staff described the operator (identified in the record as Jared Fisher) and said several of the huts used by the Aquarius Trail trips sit on Forest Service land and therefore are covered by special use permits from the Forest Service, but the hut on private land east of Hatch is subject to county regulation. "He did a pretty significant investment, you know, probably $40,000 for a well and 10 to 15 for a septic system," the staff member said when summarizing improvements and approvals obtained from the health department and the Division of Water Rights.

Commissioners asked whether the county benefits from the business; staff said some transient room and sales tax revenue now accrues locally because transactions were adjusted from out‑of‑state booking offices. The record also includes operational details staff provided about reach of road maintenance and utilities to the Shangri La subdivision and prior code enforcement activity.

The commission voted in favor of the conditional use permit; there was no recorded roll‑call tally in the meeting record and no opposing votes announced.