Planning commission approves resource-setback reduction for Buena Vista property

The Chaffee County Planning Commission approved an alternative-compliance request to reduce resource setbacks for a deck at 15099 County Road 350, a property just west of Buena Vista. Planning staff explained that the 2025 land-use code establishes setbacks from features such as ponds and wetlands, and recommended approval because the parcel is heavily hemmed in by resources and the proposed work would not move structures closer to those resources than existing development. "Staff recommends approval of this request," the planner said during the staff presentation.

The property owner, who identified himself in the record as Jake (transcript variant recorded), said the existing 27-year-old deck was crumbling, had been removed for safety and that he commissioned environmental reports and surveys. He offered mitigation measures including a permeable deck design, replacing large caissons with helical piers, and establishing a no-mow riparian zone along Cottonwood Creek. The applicant told commissioners he had spent about $14,000 on ecological reports. Commissioners amended the findings to include the mitigation conditions reflected in the site plan and approved the alternative compliance request by voice vote.