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Lone Rock Ranch Retreat / Resort RESORT
/ RETREAT Conditional use permit granted to Retreat Land, LLC for Lone
Rock Ranch
County
commissioners attach ten conditions to the permit
This
map shows the layout of Village One, Retreat Land at Lone Rock. The county
commissioners approved a conditional use permit for a conference and retreat
facility Nov. 29 for Retreat Land, LLC. The village has 60 cabins, a seminar
building, a lodge with meeting rooms and exercise rooms. Two other buildings
include a spa and a guest check-in/housekeeping building.
Total
build out of Retreat Land at Lone Rock include three villages with locations
shown in orange. All are in proximity of Roland Creek. Solid red and dashed
lines show the driveways to each village. Solid yellow are existing two-track
roads. Dashed yellow lines show existing hiking and mountain biking trails.
The black dashed line is the property boundary. (Map
from Retreat Land application) Delaware-based
Retreat Land, LLC received a conditional use permit Nov. 29 from Park County
commissioners on agriculturally-zoned land known as Lone Rock Ranch. According
to the Colorado Secretary of State’s database, the Delaware company is not
registered to conduct business in Colorado. The
commissioners attached ten conditions to the CUP. Six of those were
recommended by the planning commission. The other four were generated by the
county commissioners as a result of the Nov. 29 hearing. The
2,127-acre ranch is in northeastern Park County. A conservation easement on
572 acres, including Lone Rock, is on the eastern side of the property. It
will be utilized for passive recreation which is allowed under the easement. Deer
Creek runs through what was a 270-acre parcel of the ranch. It also has a
conservation easement on it. That parcel plus five acre-feet of water rights
were sold to Park County a couple of years ago. James
“Duke” Dozier’s residence on a 40-acre lot and another 120-acre vacant lot
with Highway 285 access are not part of the retreat. Lone
Rock Ranch is adjacent to several residential developments, including Deer
Creek Valley Ranchos, Woodside Park Estates, McKinley, Mill Iron D, Roland
Valley and Lion’s Head Ranch. According
to the application packet, Retreat Land is under contract to purchase Lone
Rock Ranch. The retreat facility will be operated as a nonprofit. Under
the approved CUP, Retreat Land will build one of three self-contained
conference and retreat villages. Several
other approvals are needed before construction can begin, such as county 1041
water and wastewater permit, county 1041 wildlife habitat area permit, and
state wastewater and discharge permits. If
wetlands are disturbed, a federal dredge and fill 404 permit may also be
needed. The
county 1041 permits will address impacts of Village One in relation to
wildlife, water usage and wastewater disposal. Both require a public hearing
and public comment on the permits. In
order to build the other two villages, the same permits will be required,
including conditional use permits. Access
onto the property will be on the U.S. Highway 285 curve near Roland Valley
Drive. A two-track trail along Roland Creek will be improved to driveway
standards from Highway 285 up to the villages. A
maintenance, delivery and storage area consisting of several buildings to
service all three villages was part of the approval. This area is located
closer to U.S. Highway 285 and also has a few parking spaces. A
day-use activity area for all villages on the west side of Roland Creek is
also in the approval. On
the western edge of the property, a back country hut and tent camping
platform were approved with the CUP. A wood stove will heat the hut. Retreat
Land did not state why it will go through the expensive process of several
permit approvals for each of the three proposed villages instead of once for
the entire development. Amy
Dee, Retreat Land LLC representative, said the target audience for the
retreat is educators. At build-out, the retreat will be able to house 270
educators. “Village
One will never have more than 30 persons at a time. They’ll fly in from all
over the United States,” Dee said. “Each group will stay for four days.”
Shuttle buses will bring people to the retreat from the airport, she said. If
local educators are part of a group, the maintenance area has a few parking
places for cars, she said. Village
One has 60 cabins. Each has a full bathroom and concept drawings show each
will be heated by a wood stove. An
audience member asked why have 60 cabins if only 30 people will be at the
retreat at one time. Dee
said 60 cabins are needed because some overlap of guests is expected, but by
no more than a day. The
seminar building will have a meeting room for 60 persons and two 30-person
meeting rooms plus a lounge. The
lodge has a commercial kitchen and dining area, a 30-person and a 60-person
homeroom, a bar, wine cellar, yoga room and exercise room. A
separate spa building will have a sauna, hot tubs and lounge. The
application states each village will have a series of man-made hot springs
constructed for recreational purposes. Miles
of trails and two-track roads exist on the property and will be used for
hiking, mountain biking and as fire roads according to the application. A
helipad on the far western side is in the plan. It is not close to any of the
proposed villages or proposed driveways. According
to Park County Planner John Deagan, Park County’s LUR allows helipads as a
permitted use on agriculturally-zoned land. Water
for the entire development will come from up to 25 wells. Each village will
have its own wells, storage, water treatment and delivery system. Retreat
Land is now going through water court to change the use of 12 acre-feet of
Deer Creek water it is purchasing from Lone Rock Water, LLC. That
water will be used as augmentation water for the water wells. It will be
stored and released into Deer Creek according to the water court augmentation
application. Each
village will use a wastewater disposal system that requires state approval. Effluent
from each system will be piped to a wastewater treatment plant near Village
One. Wastewater will be discharged into Roland Creek. Dee
said the company plans to have good Wi-Fi coverage all over the property. She
said the company will be open to discussing use by residents if they are
close enough to any of the repeaters that will be required to provide
coverage across the ranch. The
application states that Village One will cover 12 acres with up to 80,000
square feet of buildings. Village
Two, if approved in the future, will accommodate 90 people and 120,000 square
feet of buildings on 18 acres. It will be located north of Village One. Village
Three, with future approval, will accommodate 120 persons with 160,000 square
feet of buildings on 24 acres. It will be located west of Village Two. All
buildings will be no taller than three stories and made mostly of glass from
floor to ceiling. The
application states horseback riding and maybe pack animals such as llamas
will be used, but no corrals or barns are in the CUP. Concerns Five
residents expressed concerns, mostly about light pollution, wildfires from
outdoor fires, need for a fire evacuation route from Village Three to County
Road 43, water and wastewater usage, and wildlife. Attendees
were not answered about wildlife, water and wastewater because they will be
addressed in future 1041 hearings or are under the state’s authority. The
amount of water necessary for man-made hot springs and hot tubs was
mentioned. Speakers
were told that water and wastewater are state and water court issues. Impacts
would also be addressed in a 1041 permit hearing. Commissioner
Dick Elsner said completing a fire evacuation route would be more appropriate
during the approval of Village Three. Commissioner
Mike Brazell asked how many miles were needed to extend a road from Village
Three and who would pay for it. “I
don’t know the cost. I just know there is a need,” John Van Doren of Fire
Adapted Bailey said. He
said Sheriff-elect Tom McGraw and Platte Canyon Fire Chief Joe Burgett were
also concerned about lack of emergency evacuation routes. Dee
said Retreat Land would be interested in discussing cost sharing for a future
evacuation route. Several
expressed concern about the amount of lighting shown in the concept drawings
and asked that dark sky lighting be required. Planner
John Deagan said the county doesn’t have a dark sky ordinance, so land use
regulations on lighting would apply. The
amount of wastewater effluent proposed to be discharged into Roland Creek and
the possible impacts to the aquatic flora and fauna were a concern of more
than one person. The
commissioners said that was a state issue, not a county issue. Concern
was expressed over impacts, especially to wildlife, from helicopters. Commissioners
said helipads are allowed in agricultural-zoned property. Another
resident expressed concern about preserving any Ute culturally-modified trees
found on the property. She said some were on her property in Deer Creek
Valley Ranchos. They are found in many areas of the Platte Canyon region. Dee
said modified trees would be addressed in 1041 permits. Some
were concerned that the facility’s use would not be limited to teachers in
groups of thirty since 60 cabins were in the plan. A
couple of attendees said they didn’t believe the use at Village One would be
limited to 30 teachers at a time over the course of each year. It
might be filled to capacity during the summer months, but not when school is
in session. One
said that the property and infrastructure for Village One would cost tens of
millions of dollars, so more attendees than 30 at a time would be needed to
pay costs. The
property was listed for sale at $10 million. Details of the purchase contract
are not open to disclosure at a CUP hearing. One
resident was concerned about whether a shooting range was planned. Commissioner
Mike Brazell asked if they planned on hunting on the property. Dee
said they may have an archery range, but not a gun shooting range. If guests
wanted to use a gun range, the retreat would provide transportation to a
nearby range. She
said guests would not be allowed to hunt, but any nuisance animals would be
hunted and disposed of by Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Conditions of permit Four
conditions added by the county commissioners were: 1.
Outdoor fires are prohibited unless non-ember producing fuels are used. 2.
Shooting ranges are prohibited. 3.
All statements and representations made by the applicant shall be binding as
conditions of approval. 4.
The retreat facility will be operated as a nonprofit institute serving public
and private educational communities for the development of teachers and
leadership. The
six conditions recommended by the planning commission and incorporated into
the CUP approval are: 1.
The CUP scope is limited to Village One, recreational and support facilities
described in the application. Villages Two and Three will need additional CUP
approvals. The
remaining conditions must all be completed before any development permits are
issued. 2.
1041 wildlife and water permits are issued by the county. 3.
Receive a Colorado Department of Transportation access permit from Highway
285. 4.
Driveway meeting county and Platte Canyon Fire Protection District
regulations is constructed and approved. 5.
County has approved a drainage, erosion and sedimentation control plan. 6.
Written proof from PCFPD that all applicable fire codes have been
incorporated into the design. |
