To: From: Subject: Planning Commission Christopher C. LaRue, Senior Planner Extension of Approval for a Conditional Use Permit (Sunshare Imboden II, RCU2015-00011) Date: October 13, 2016 On October 20 th, 2015 the Adams County Board of County Commissioners approved a Conditional Use Permit (Case# RCU2015-00020, Imboden II) to allow a solar garden on the referenced property. On August 2 nd, 2016, the BoCC also approved another CUP for a solar garden adjacent to the referenced property (Case RCU2015-00011-Imboden III). These two solar gardens are being developed by SunShare, LLC. Currently, the CUP with case RCU2015-00020 will expire on October 20, 2016, unless a building permit is obtained. Per Section 2-02-08-09 of the County s Development Standard and Regulations, a maximum of one year is allowed to obtain a building permit, otherwise the CUP shall be deemed expired and the property reverts to its formerly allowed uses. On August 30, 2016 the applicant submitted a request for an extension of the expiration date to obtain a building permit to begin construction of the CUP. Specifically, an extension to August 2, 2017 is being requested. According to the applicant, the extension is necessary to allow SunShare to complete financing of the project and be able to then obtain a building permit. The company is planning to build both Imboden II and Imboden III simultaneously and needs to extend the building permit deadline in order for this to occur. The ability to obtain financing for the project is directly linked with the two projects and ended up taking longer than expected. Both projects are otherwise on track and construction should break ground Spring 2017. Section 2-02-08-10 of the Adams County Development Standards and Regulations states an extension of time to obtain a building permit for the approved conditional use or to establish the approved conditional use may be granted by the Planning Commission. In order to be eligible for an extension, the applicant shall file an application for extension at least thirty (30) days prior to the end of the reversion period. The application shall include a progress report and revised schedule of construction with the request for extension, as well as demonstrating there has been a continuous good faith effort in commencing the activity, including financing of project. Approval of the request for extension shall also consider conditions near the site; to include the County s Development Standards and Comprehensive Plan having not been changed in a way to render the original findings of the CUP void. The
applicant requested the extension on August 30, 2016. The Imboden II solar project was approved by the BoCC on October 20, 2015 and will expire on October 20, 2016 if a building permit is not acquired. According to the applicant, the projects are in the closing stages of financing and a general contractor has been selected. However, there is not adequate time to complete a building permit before the CUP expires for Imboden II. In addition, the conditions existing at the time of approval of the project have not changed; thus, the request is consistent with the requirements for an extension. Staff Recommendation: Based on the information submitted by the applicant and requirements outlined in Section 2-02-08-10 of the County s Development Standard and Regulations, staff is recommending the Planning Commission to approve extension of the CUP (Case#RCU2015-00020) to August 2, 2017. Exhibit-1 Map of Area (site) Exhibit 2- (letter of request) Exhibit 3-Resolution
Adams County Community and Economic Development Department 4430 South Adams County Parkway, W2000A Brighton, CO 80601 Dear Mr. Chris LaRue, On October 20 th, 2015 the Adams County Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously to approve SunShare s Imboden II solar garden Conditional Use Permit application (Case # RCU2015-00020, Rec # 201600000529). SunShare still plans on developing and constructing this project, we plan on constructing the Imboden II solar garden in conjunction with the Imboden III solar garden on the adjacent parcel. On August 2 nd 2016 The Commission approved the Imboden III (Case # RCU2015-00011, Rec # 2016000065799). SunShare would like to request an extension of the Imboden II CUP to align with the expiration dates of Imboden III. This is because we plan to finance, permit, and build both projects at the same time as if they were one project. We are in the closing stages of financing and have selected our general contractor. However, we don t have enough time to produce a building permit before the CUP expires. Thus we need a CUP extension to provide enough time to align the projects and produce engineering documents for the building permit applications for both sites. We would like to request an extension of approximately 9 months to align with the Imboden III approval and expiration of August 2 nd 2016 and August 2 nd, 2037 respectively. We hope this extension request can be approved at the next Planning Commission Hearing. If you have any questions or need additional info, please contact me. Best Regards, Jon Sullivan jon@mysunshare.com (303)718-3291 1441 18 th Street, Suite 400 Denver, CO 80202 303.296.0919 info@mysunshare.com www.mysunshare.com