MEETING OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION BOULDER COUNTY, COLORADO

Regular Meeting Minutes

Wednesday, October 19, 2022 at 1:30 P.m. - 6:30 P.m.

Third Floor Hearing Room

County Court House

1325 Pearl Street, Boulder

Commissioners Present:

• Sam Libby, Chair
• Sam Fitch
• Gavin McMillan, Vice Chair
• Mark Bloomfield, Chair
• Dave Hsu
• Chris Whitney
• Conor Canaday

Commissioners Excused:

• Ann Goldfarb
• Lieschen Gargano

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1.

CALL TO ORDER

2.

ROLL CALL

3.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES/MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS

3.1

Approval of meeting minutes from September 1, 2022

MOTION: Gavin McMillan MOVED that the Boulder County Planning Commission APPROVE the meeting minutes from September 1, 2022.
SECOND: Sam Fitch
VOTE: Motion PASSED {7:0}

• Moved by Gavin McMillan, Vice Chair
  Seconded by Sam Fitch

3.2

Approval of meeting minutes from September 21, 2022

MOTION: Sam Libby MOVED that the Boulder County Planning Commission APPROVE the meeting minutes from September 21, 2022.
SECOND: Chris Whitney
VOTE: Motion PASSED {7:0}

• Moved by Sam Libby
  Seconded by Chris Whitney

4.

STAFF UPDATES

Kim Sanchez, Deputy Director of Community Planning & Permitting, welcomed the Planning Commissioners back to the hearing room at the County Courthouse. She also provided an update on the County's plans to hold all future Planning Commission public hearings in a hybrid format.

5.

ITEMS

5.1

Docket DC-22-0002: Proposed Land Use Code Text Amendment to 4-516.K Accessory Solar Energy System

Andrea Vaughn, Long Range Planner I, presented text amendments to the Boulder County Land Use Code, creating a prescriptive path for accessory ground mounted systems to be permitted by the issuance of a building permit and other changes to the Code necessary to integrate the text amendment.
PUBLIC HEARING OPENED
SPEAKERS: None.
MOTION: Sam Libby moved that the Boulder County Planning Commission recommend that the Board of County Commissioners approve Land Use Code text amendment Docket DC-22-0002 Land Use Code text amendments related to Accessory ground mounted Solar Energy Systems, with the comments related to the following:
1.    Consider increasing the height allowance to 12 feet maximum, which is reflective of the maximum height for accessory structures that do not require a building permit
2.    Consider increasing the maximum distance from the structure that the system to powering to 150 feet. 
3.    Clarify how staff defines “panel area”
4.    Provide visual examples of a range of panel sizes to demonstrate the size staff is proposing. 
SECOND: Gavin McMillan 
VOTE: Motion PASSED {7:0}

At approximately 2:39 p.m., the Planning Commissioners went into recess. They reconvened at approximately 3 p.m., joined by County Commissioners Marta Loachamin, Claire Levy, and Matt Jones.

• Moved by Sam Libby
  Seconded by Gavin McMillan, Vice Chair

5.2

Planning Commission / Board of County Commissioners Joint Work Session re: Short-Term and Vacation Rentals (Estimated start time 3 p.m.)

Ethan Abner, Long Range Planner, presented data and led a discussion regarding the two-year review of the Short-Term and Vacation Rental regulations. The presentation provided an overview of the two-year review criteria, short-term rental types, and trends identified through a review of land use applications for short-term and vacation rentals. A discussion followed the presentation and County Commissioners and Planning Commissioners provided feedback on the land use review process and segments of the Land Use Code related to short-term and vacation rentals. Commissioners also identified additional metrics for consideration and directed staff to explore those metrics as part of the two-year review.

6.

ADJOURNMENT