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OCN > 2407 > El Paso Board of County Commissioners, June 13, 25, and 27 – Monument glamping expansion approved; short-term rental allowed to continue at Black Forest property

El Paso Board of County Commissioners, June 13, 25, and 27 – Monument glamping expansion approved; short-term rental allowed to continue at Black Forest property

By Helen Walklett

During June, the El Paso Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) approved a request to expand a glamping site near Monument and an application to allow short-term rentals to continue at a Black Forest property.

Monument glamping site expansion

At their June 27 land use meeting, the commissioners heard a request from owner Chris Jeub for approval of an amendment to an existing special use to allow four extra sites at his glamping business with the potential for some hard-sided structures such as recreational vehicles (RVs) and shipping containers. The 6.44-acre property, zoned RR-5 (rural residential), is located at Rickenbacker Avenue, west of Interstate 25 and bordering the Town of Monument.

Note: Glamping is a term that combines “glamor” and “camping,” meaning camping with certain amenities. Jeub is a volunteer with OCN.

The application came from the Planning Commission with a 7-2 vote recommending denial. See the Planning Commission article on page < 5 >.

Ashlyn Mathy, planner II, Planning and Community Development Department, said Jeub had successfully applied for a special use permit in 2022 following a code enforcement complaint about structures such as tents, decks, and sheds at the property. The special use permitted eight tent sites. The current modification request follows complaints of an RV and shipping container on the property. Mathy said staff’s analysis of the master plan suggested the expansion may not be compatible with the rural nature of the area and its minimal change classification.

Above: Monument Glamping consisting of two properties and 11 units, was submitted to El Paso County Planning and Development for four additional units and the ability to change structures on their RR-5 property along Monument Creek. The submittal was voted down on a 7-2 vote by the Planning Commission on June 6 but approved by the Board of County Commissioners on a 3-1 decision on June 27. Vicinity map courtesy El Paso County.

Mathy explained the modification would permit those hard-sided structures. With three of the sites restricted to tents because they are on the Monument Creek floodplain where permanent development is not allowed, those opposing the application feared the other nine would be hard-sided structures. Mathy said the applicant had not disclosed the number that would be hard-sided, making it difficult to assess the impact.

Craig Dossey, president, Vertex Consulting Services, representing the applicant, focused on the application’s compatibility with the master plan and the review criteria. He said, “We believe that a glamping operation not only brings tourism into the area, but it is also consistent with the rural character of the neighborhood, and it actually helps serve the Monument and Palmer Lake areas by providing additional, overnight accommodation.” He continued, “We’re talking about a start-up company. We’re talking about emphasizing and supporting tourism in our region.”

Fifteen individuals spoke in support of the application. Terri Hayes, president and CEO, Tri-Lakes Chamber of Commerce, described the business as a valuable asset to the area providing an alternative lodging option in an area where accommodations are scarce. A neighbor to the north said the business had had no negative impact on him.

Four people spoke in opposition. Chris Maciejewski, attorney with Robinson and Henry P.C. and representing several of the neighbors, said, “This is not a minor expansion of a recreational camp from eight sites to 12. This would not continue to be a low impact, nature-based use of the property. This is essentially creating an RV park.” He continued, “We believe the Planning Commission asked the right questions, made the right recommendation.”

In rebuttal, Dossey was critical of the Planning Commission hearing and decision. He said, “There was very little discussion about the review criteria, and I think it’s something the county attorney should be cautious with because that hearing really had very little discussion about the criteria, and the decision that was rendered was not focused on the criteria.” He said the master plan supported everything about the application in its location.

Dossey then put forward three additional conditions proposed by his client to be attached to any approval. Two would limit the footprint and height of any hard-sided structures and would mean the current RV on the property would have to be removed. The third would require five of the sites to be tent-only.

Commissioner Stan VanderWerf, making a motion to deny, said, “I would encourage the applicant to continue to enjoy the use of the special use permit that is presently approved but I am not comfortable making a declaration for myself that this is compatible and in harmony with the area.” Commissioner Holly Williams seconded the motion.

Commissioner Carrie Geitner disagreed, stating she found it consistent with the master plan. Bremer agreed and the vote to deny the application was tied 2-2 and the motion failed. Commissioner Longinos Gonzalez Jr. was absent. County attorney Kenneth Hodges advised that the recording of the hearing would now go to Gonzalez for review and the board would return at a later date for any questions and to vote on a new motion.

Bremer called a brief recess. When the commissioners returned, Williams stated, “I am convinced by Commissioner Geitner’s arguments that it is an allowable use. Perhaps maybe what I’m unconvinced of is that I liked the allowable use in the first place. So, based upon that, I would make a motion to reconsider and rescind my previous motion.” The vote supporting this motion was 3-1 with VanderWerf the nay vote.

Williams said, “I just apologize. I do believe this one is a messy one and this special use process is very, very hard.” She then moved to approve the application with the addition of the extra conditions proposed by the applicant. This vote succeeded 3-1 and again VanderWerf was the nay vote.

Variance allows short-term rentals at Black Forest property

At the June 13 BOCC land use meeting, the commissioners heard a request from owners Drew and Tarah MacAlmon for approval of a variance of use to allow an existing ancillary building to continue to be used as an occasional short-term rental. The 4.78-acre property is located on South Holmes Road, south of its intersection with Burgess Road, and is zoned RR-5 (residential rural).

The application came to the BOCC with a recommendation for approval following a 5-3 vote at the May 2 Planning Commission meeting. Discussion at that meeting focused on the history of the ancillary structure and the use tied to the original approval, the timeline of when the rentals started, and concerns that the applicants may have tried to circumnavigate the county’s process in order to rent out the structure. Speaking to his nay vote, Commissioner Tim Trowbridge said, “I don’t think this is compatible with the neighborhood. I don’t think short-term rentals belong here.” See www.ocn.me/v24n6.htm#epcpc.

Ashlyn Mathy, planner II, Planning and Community Development Department, said the MacAlmons received approval in 2018 for an ancillary building to provide home office and additional living space. It passed all inspections in 2019, and the bedrooms in the basement of the building have been rented out on a short-term basis since that time with the owners not knowing this was not an allowed use. In 2022, an anonymous complaint about the rental was made to county’s code enforcement officers and a violation notice followed.

The MacAlmons then met with county staff and were advised not to submit a variance of use application at that time, which would bring the rental activity into compliance, because county was exploring code amendments that would allow accessory dwelling units. When this was put on hold waiting for the state Legislature, the applicants were asked to submit a variance of use application, and this was done in August 2023.

Above: Planned campsite locations. Another proposal was approved administratively for 24 units on a separate property on the east side of town. The entire glamping operation will total 36 units by summer 2025. Graphic courtesy El Paso County.

Mathy said 15 neighbors were notified of the application, and the county received one email in opposition. Two neighbors spoke in opposition at the hearing. Speaking online on behalf of his parents who share a boundary with the MacAlmons, one man raised concerns about the drain on water resources and increased traffic. He said, “They have clearly wanted to build this Airbnb from Day 1 and now that they’ve been caught, are trying to get approval.”

Speaking in person, his brother said he had thought the rental was already approved and mentioned lots of traffic, big congregations at the site, and disturbance. He said, “The MacAlmons willfully fulfilled their dream of having a showcase Airbnb at the expense of the neighborhood’s ability to experience what living on a quiet, rural, dead-end road can give.” He added, “It’s not a place for entrepreneurial commerce.”

Nina Ruiz, Vertex Consulting, and representing the applicants, said a lot of the discussion had been based on neighborhood disputes and not the review criteria. She said three letters of support had been received, two of which came from immediately adjacent neighbors.

Commissioner Holly Williams said, “On this one I have to fall back on, you know, that they would have a right to certainly rent out their second home now that they’ve come through this process.” Commissioner Longinos Gonzalez Jr. was concerned that allowing the application would set a precedent allowing accessory structures to be rented. Commissioner Carrie Geitner said, “We need to be able to have the discussion around how to allow people to use their property with the most freedom possible but also mitigating impacts. I think that is very American, quite frankly, so I will be in support of this.”

The vote to approve was 4-1 with Gonzalez the nay vote. The approval includes a condition that the variance only apply while the MacAlmons own the property.

Planning Commission reappointments

At the June 25 BOCC meeting, the commissioners voted unanimously to reappoint Commissioners Jeff Markewich and Wayne Smith as associate members of the Planning Commission. Their new terms will end on June 25, 2025.

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The El Paso County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) usually meets every Tuesday at 9 am at Centennial Hall, 200 S. Cascade Ave., Suite 150, Colo. Springs. Agendas and meetings can be viewed at www.agendasuite.org/iip/elpaso. Information is available at 719-520-643. BOCC land use meetings are normally held the second and fourth Thursdays of the month (as needed) at 1 pm in Centennial Hall.

Helen Walklett can be reached at helenwalklett@ocn.me.

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