By Rudy Hemmann

The Surveyor

The Berthoud Board of Trustees held a regular business meeting Tuesday evening, and considered a series of rezone requests by the applicant, Heron Lakes Investments, LLC, with Jim Birdsall acting as agent.

A section from an information sheet which outlines the request follows:

“The Applicant is requesting to rezone six previously zoned areas, and approval of the Heron Lakes tenth filing Preliminary Plat (PP). The primary purpose of the zoning map amendments is to correct platting issues. The Applicant is also requesting Heron Lakes tenth filing PP approval to create 29 single family patio home lots over 114.9 acres along Heron Lakes Parkway, and eleventh filing PP approval for 59 lots (28 single family attached/townhouses, 30 single-family estate lots) on 20.47 acres. The applicant withdrew the rezoning of Area 4 (see below) the planning commission stage after the commissioners expressed concerns about expanding the R-3 zoning on what is listed in the concept plan as Tract F.

The applicant is proposing to rezone the remaining six areas as follows:

AREA 1: AG to R-2: 9,920 square feet or 0.228 acres more or less.

AREA 2: AG to R-2: 117 square feet or 0.003 acres more or less.

AREA 3: AG to R-3: 46,513 square feet or 1.068 acres more or less.

AREA 4: R-2 to R-3: 197,972 square feet or 4.545 acres more or less. Withdrawn by applicant

AREA 5: R-2 to AG: 1,436 square feet or 0.033 acres more or less.

AREA 6: R-2 to AG: 42,441 square feet or 0.974 acres more or less.

AREA 7: R-2 to AG: 2,104 square feet or 0.048 acres more or less.

The six rezoning requests are to transfer small areas either from the golf course into lots to provide more depth for the lots, or vice versa – transferring areas zoned residential back to the golf course. … Therefore, no change in density, or use will result from these rezonings, and not one of the areas being rezoned is developable for residential lots due to their small size and layout (the largest rezoning of 1.068 acres is a long skinny tract, the narrowness of which is not suitable for residential lots). In addition, roughly the same amount of area is being transferred to and from the golf course to the residential lots, and vice versa.”

Along with the rezonings mentioned above the applicant requested board approval of the Heron Lakes 10th and 11th Preliminary Plats.

Curt Freese, the town’s director of community development, brought the applications to the attention of the board. Freese explained the necessity of the rezone of the tracts.

Birdsall also gave a brief presentation before the board. “All of the rezoning is housekeeping to bring consistency and clarity to the project,” said Birdsall. He went on to state the leaders of the project are excited about the potential of the types of homes which will be built on the lots of the 10th and 11th filings. Under questioning Birdsall stated a paved trail would soon be completed to the north boundary of the Heron Lakes property. It only remained for Loveland to complete a trail to the south to County Road 14 and make connection.

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

A motion to approve amendments to the Heron Lakes zoning map for the six Areas (Area 4 having been withdrawn by the applicant) was made, seconded and passed unanimously.

A motion of approval of the Heron Lakes tenth and eleventh Preliminary Plats was made, seconded and passed unanimously.

Two proclamations were read into the record by Mayor Will Karspeck. The first was a proclamation recognizing April 13 as the “2019 Day of Kindness” and the second was in recognition of National Work Zone Awareness Week from April 8 to April 12, 2019.

The board unanimously approved a resolution in support of House Bill 19-1260 – Updating Colorado’s Energy Codes.