By Rudy Hemmann

The Surveyor

The Berthoud Planning Commission held a regularly-scheduled meeting on Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018, and dispatched of two agenda items in relatively short order.

The first was a request for approval of a minor subdivision. According to the staff report the applicant, Alex Hoime, acting as agent for the property owners, Arthur and Sara Lynn Johnson, requested they be allowed to subdivide a 40.26-acre tract into three smaller parcels. The property is located at 721 South Berthoud Parkway, which is the current mailing address of the Johnsons.

The 40.26-acre tract was part of the Johnson Farm/Arbor Ridge annexation which was approved by the town board in February 2018. At the time of annexation the zoning was changed to single family (R-1) from agricultural AG.

The reason for the minor subdivision was to allow the Johnsons to keep the smallest parcel, which contains their residence and outbuildings from the farmstead, saving the two larger lots for potential future development.

The proposal as brought forward indicates three lots will make up the minor subdivision; Lot 1, consisting of 12.943 acres is the northern lot; Lot 2 consisting of 2.554 acres is the middle lot, (this also holds the residence and outbuildings) and Lot 3 a large southern lot encompassing 23.514-acres.

Director of Community Services Curt Freese gave a brief introduction to the agenda item. The applicant was available to field questions from the dais. There was a question posed by one of the commissioners regarding water for irrigation from a landowner that abuts this property to the south. This landowner had raised objection to the minor subdivision during the February meeting fearing his irrigation water would be cut off. Hoime explained the water issue would be resolved in due course.

This matter was brought before the commission as a public hearing. Commission Chairman Scott Banzhaf opened a public hearing on the item. Nobody stood to speak for or against the item, so the public hearing was closed.

A motion for approval of the Johnson Minor Subdivision was made, seconded and unanimously approved.

The next item sought approval of a conditional use by special review for a firm named Earth Enterprises, LLC.

According to the staff report, Todd Loose, acting as agent for Earth Enterprises, requested approval of a conditional use to establish a plastic recycling facility to be located within the Berthoud Technology Center. Location of the site is east of and adjacent to Weld County Road 7, south of the Serenity Ridge subdivision and Berthoud Tech Center; Summit Solutions/Ursa Major.

The proposal offered by Loose is for a 45,600-square-foot recycling facility on two lots, one of 6.37 acres, indicated on the site plan as Lot 7 and another 4.76-acre lot designated as Lot 6 on the site plan. The 71-acre Biochar facility is included in this application.

Loose presented the commissioners with a detailed explanation of the work that will be carried out during operation of the facility.

A public hearing was again opened and quickly closed when no one stood to speak to the agenda item.

A motion to approve the conditional use request on Lot 6 and Lot 7 for a recycling use, with the condition that a six-foot-tall opaque fence be constructed on both lots along with landscaping as required by the development code was made, seconded and approved unanimously.