• The Commissioner’s organizational meeting will be Jan. 2. At this meeting, Commissioners decide where/how to establish the County’s public posting notification site; the official newspaper of record; the new chair position; and other opening year “house-keeping” tasks.
• Residents of the Mira LaVista subdivision in Delta expressed concerns during constituent time about the proposed vacation of Phase Two of the subdivision, which, it appears, had only made it through a preliminary subdivision plan process. The residents said that they have bought parcels and built homes in Phase One of Mira LaVista because the developer, Dwaine McCarty, told them that the area was planned as residential. One resident told Commissioners that she would never had purchased into the development if she knew that the land adjacent to her home would be anything other than residential.
McCarty sold Phase Two (19 acres) to a young couple who expect to build a home and grow corn on the property and represented McCarty in asking the Commissioners to vacate the subdivision plan and revert the area to agricultural. The County Planning Department told Commissioners that Phase Two of Mira LaVista was a separate subdivision plan that was never fully completed. Commissioners tabled their decision until Jan. 2 to allow for time to research this unusual situation.
• Commissioners passed a resolution to supplement the 2018 budget with almost $100,000 in additional expenses. Half of these appropriations will pay for repairs to the Health and Human Services building after a flood caused severe water damage earlier this month.
• Commissioners passed another resolution to officially deny the Mark Levin/Paonia Holdings specific development application. In a unanimous vote on Dec. 4, Commissioners denied the approval of a controversial specific development application that would have changed the use of a Bowie-owner property from agricultural to light commercial.
• County law enforcement officials met with County Commissioners and the County Attorney to put the final touches on a countywide marijuana grower’s ordinance. The final ordinance is expected to be released for review by the public sometime in mid-January. Major points of the ordinance include: a plant limit of 12 for recreational and medical growers; caregivers would also be limited to 12 plants no matter how many “patients-patrons” they have; grow areas will be required to be covered on all sides and behind lockable doors/gates. NOTE: Commercial growing is not legal in Delta County.