Ranches and condos at commission

Bob Smith, owner of the Roan Hill Ranch Guesthouse was represented at the March 10th Planning Commission meeting by legal council, Jon Schnal who moved to dismiss a complaint regarding horse nuisance. Mr. Schnal said the complaint had a lack of merit and was baseless. For almost 11 years, the ranch has been in operation and the horses have been an integral part of the operation. The special use permit for the operation of a guesthouse has been renewed by the town several times in the past. The last time the permit was renewed was August 2019. At that time, the complainant was notified and no further complaints or objections were made prior to the permit being renewed.

Chairman Jim Beckmann requested copies of the special use permits for review.

He confirmed that there are several other horse properties within the same zone. The four acres Roan Hill Ranch Guesthouse sits on does meet the the minimum square footage required for the number of horses kept on the property. According to the commission, the gist of the complaint is based on an ordinance in the general district regulations that states there can be no more than one horse per family member.

Mr. Schnal went on to say, “To my understanding, I don’t believe the complainant has stated how he is harmed or adversely affected” and requested an extension of the hearing in order to properly brief the commission and town on their position. The extension was granted until next meeting.

Saratoga Municipal Codes can be located online at http://qcode.us/codes/saratoga/?view=desktop . According to town hall, the website is the most up to date version of the Saratoga Municipal Code.

Triple D Construction completed their development application for a proposed Condominium Associaton. Their plan is to provide affordable housing to Saratoga residents since there is a large gap between what is available and what people can afford. Older people are also staying in their homes longer and not moving, so there are not many housing options for the younger generation and people moving into town. The Condominiums Triple D Construction is proposing will have 2 to 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, a garage each and the first floor will have handicap accessible units. Maintenance will be done by the Association so the Condominiums will be a good fit for the elderly and young professionals such as teachers. A public hearing will be held next month.

The cattle nuisance complaint against Randy Stevens the Planning Commission made a decision on last month was kicked back to the commission by the Town Council. The Town Council thought there may be an issue with the way the property was subdivided causing the grandfathered status to be questioned. Beckman requested a copy of the final platte to review stating, “I would just like to see if there is any language on the platte to help clarify. To me, if it says Randy bought this parcel and nothing else, in my mind the use hasn’t changed.” The Planning Commission tabled the discussion until next meeting in order to be able to obtain a notarized copy of platte for the property.

According to the zoning officer’s report, new base flood maps have been received. Kent Smith, zoning officer, said, “it adds quite a bit from the old flood plane. we have to comply with what FEMA comes out with. The rates for flood insurance will go up”. Smith is looking into updating the town’s official flood plane map.

The next Planning Commission meeting with be at 5:30 p.m. on April 14.