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Applicant seeks conditional‑use permit to log about 10 acres on Janetta Road
Summary
An applicant told the Gilpin Township board he seeks permission to log roughly 10 acres off Janetta Road to allow a Department of Mine Reclamation cleanup; the hearing included questions on timing, access, and environmental controls. The board took no vote and has 45 days to decide.
The Gilpin Township board held a conditional‑use hearing Jan. 6 to consider an application to log about 10 acres of a parcel off Janetta Road in the Recreation‑2 zoning district. The applicant, Jeremy Smail (spelled S‑m‑a‑i‑l in the record), told the board he purchased the property in July 2024 and that the work would begin as soon as the township approved the permit.
"I rest my case," Smail said after answering questions; earlier he told the board the logging would take "roughly 4 to 6 weeks." Smail identified Nick Sikora as the contractor who will do the logging and said removal would use Janetta Road to State Route 66 toward Ford City.
The Chair (name not specified) outlined the exhibits admitted into the record, saying the application was filed Dec. 3, 2024 and was previously approved by the planning commission on that same date. The Chair also reviewed the township's new zoning provisions adopted in November 2023, noting that extraction of natural resources, including commercial forestry, is a conditional use in the Recreation‑2 district and that the board will evaluate criteria set out in sections 401–404 (and related subsections) of the zoning ordinance.
Smail said he had not submitted a DEP permit application for the work and that the logging was being coordinated to allow the Department of Mine Reclamation to follow with grading and reclamation work. A supervisor on the board, speaking from his knowledge, told the hearing that DEP permits are not typically required for logging projects under 25 acres. The applicant said he had not prepared a separate erosion and sedimentation control plan and expects the reclamation department to handle subsequent grading and revegetation.
No decision was reached at the hearing; the board has 45 days to issue a written opinion on the conditional‑use request.
