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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1.05 Detailed Project DescriptionDetailed Project Description/Project Narrative Proposed Community Meeting Facility to be located at 3059 County Road 103 Carbondale Colorado 81623 What: We are applying for an administrative land use change permit for a community meeting facility to diversify and sustain our farm. This permit will allow us to use the 67 acres of agricultural land and mulit- use barn & arena year round mainly during the spring summer and fall months for events such as weddings, educational workshops, farm schools and tours, retreats, and meetings. The site venue would primarily consist of outdoor area for event and use of the pre-existing mixed use barn arena structure. Where: Located approximately 3 miles off of highway 82, the farm property is located at 3059 county road 103 Carbondale Colorado 81623 and is served by an existing gravel driveway off the county road 103. Why: We are a family run business that has owned said property for over 20 years boarding horses and cow and hay operations which we continue to do. In the past years we have begun to diversify and have more farm and livestock ventures. We raise large black pigs, zebu cattle, and chickens and have dedicated space for vegetable gardens for local beginning farmers to grow and promote locally raised food. As we have learned about agritourisim we feel that our ranch offers a perfect opportunity to diversify and host special event such as weddings, events, educational workshops, farm schools, and retreats. As ranchers and farmers we are striving to adapt to the ever changing, encroaching population and maintain and improve our agricultural land while generating enough money through service ventures in order to sustain financially. We uphold the value of quality over quantity and want to offer special unique experiences for guests whether it is a wedding day, farm tour, educational workshop or yoga outdoor retreat. As farmers and ranchers it is important to protect the agricultural landscape while being able to financially afford it without impacting the landscape and environment. This is why allowing our property to be used as a venue for events offers small impact on the landscape and helps us to be able subsidize our agricultural livelihood and maintain agricultural production. With every opportunity that we look at, we put first priority on keeping all things in balance and to continue to be good stewards of the land. These values have and will continue to lead our decisions and creates the basis of our reasoning for a 195 person maximum for events and a limited amount of events a year. A place to come, create, and cultivate is what we strive for. We have hosted the horse community for the last 20 years which has included horse shows to fundraising events. We enjoy hosting people on our ranch and have been able to coordinate and bring in the necessary utilities to make the events safe and enjoyable. Now that we are embracing agritourisim we will be able to connect with a wider range of people and hope to become an exemplary model for agritourism in Garfield county and Colorado to show how farmers can sustain while boosting tourism for the county. Agritourism is on the rise throughout the United States. Reflecting a rise in agricultural nostalgia and urban populations. Gush 2005 notes “this nostalgia is an emotional phenomenon quite possible of saving the small American family farm from extinction.” Reader and Brown 2005 found that “increased rural tourism improved local economies through higher employment rates and income and decreased poverty rates.” Rural culture is broader that agriculture production and can include local artists, artisans, writers, and galleries. Agritourisim operations can and should link with the whole range of cultural experiences available in their landscape to entice visitors. Colorado’s support and initiative for agritourisim is strong. From the state of Colorado website Colorado State’s position on Agritourism: “When people first think of Colorado, they might picture the majestic Rocky Mountains and wintertime fun on skis and snowboards. However, you might be surprised to know that the foundation of the state is agriculture. Agritourism covers a wide variety of recreational, educational and other leisure activities and services, provided by farmers and ranchers and experienced by consumers who value the activity or service they receive and seek it out. Agritourism may be defined as activities, events and services related to agriculture that take place on or off the farm or ranch, and that connect consumers with the heritage, natural resource or culinary experience they value. There are three general classifications of agritourism activities: on-farm/ranch, food-based, and heritage activities. We encourage visitors and Coloradans to experience the state's agricultural heritage by visiting agritourism events and activities. The last USDA Ag Census (2012) indicated that 864 Colorado farms offered agritourism and recreational services, totaling nearly $30 million in farm income. In 2006 more than 13 million visitors experienced agritourism in Colorado and the economic impact was $2.2 billion. Whether you visit a farm, shop at a farmers' market or tour a winery, you are helping to support Colorado's agriculture industry.” Our property we feel is extremely well suited for agritourisim and special events and being that it is close to Carbondale but is on 67 acres in a small valley which allows us the opportunity to host groups and have guests visit to connect with agricultural heritage and the farm without having impact on neighbors. Having an event venue Mid-valley would benefit many local business, such as florists, hotels, restaurants, rental companies, and local stores while increasing overall tourism for the county. There is a need for Mid-valley venues for weddings, workshops, and event functions as the only venues similar in farm feel to us are only in Pitkin County in the Roaring Fork Valley. Farm weddings and the desire for farm events has grown in popularity and is now a strong growing trend. We hope to offer people the ability to enjoy and cultivate an appreciation for agricultural landscapes and natural surroundings of a farm while granting us the opportunity to educate them on sustainability, local food, and land stewardship through various events when they visit. How: In the past our property and infrastructure has hosted large equine events and our existing structures were built to accommodate large groups of people, agricultural and livestock access, and support services and vehicles. This is why we believe our property is a great fit for a community meeting special use permit. Historically equine events we have hosted have been successful and have had no negative impact to our neighbors or community. As can be seen on the site plan, the location for the outdoor events is centered in our property and our buffered by the landscape and is not visible by the county road creating for very low impact location. We plan to have guests to access the facility by using the access that already exists off of County Road 103. The existing gravel road has clear visibility in both directions; the road is currently 20 feet average width with many places where the road widens and many additional pull outs. The environmental impact of guests from events on the road is minimal, the road will be watered to control dust if necessary. The road has plenty of places to turn around which is important for emergency vehicles, guests, and service providers. Parking will be located on the North and North West side of the barn/arena on nonproductive landscape which are road buffers consisting of a combination of gravel and grass level surface. We believe all drainage would continue to be very similar to what it is now and the parking locations have been used and are currently used for parking, trailers, and farm equipment so the proposed use is not different. During proposed events we plan to used cones and marking flags to delineate the area for 30 cars. We do have a maximum of 30 car limit and will require shuttles to be used for guests over that limit. The existing drive way has a circle drive around the barn/arena which can accommodate deliveries, pickups, catering, handicapped/elderly drop off, trash removal, maintenance and turnaround for emergency vehicles. Additional support facilities would be located in the existing multipurpose barn and arena building and would include limited bathroom facilities and changing areas. For larger events, event coordinators will be responsible for contracting to brining in portable restrooms and provide drinking water for their guests. The scale of the operation is anticipated to be moderate serving a maximum of 195 guests. We have established a limit on vehicle parking of 30 cars and will require wedding and event coordinators to provide a shuttle service when the attendees exceed that limit. We have had the Garfield County Fire Department on site to appraise the ease of access and details are enclosed in the traffic and road access portion of the application. The property currently includes extensive areas of meadows and natural agricultural landscape, a single family home a large barn and arena approximately 14,500 feet in size, hay barn, hoop houses, tent, yurt, and other accessory agricultural buildings. The types of events we foresee having at the property are a combination of weddings, educational workshops, retreats, meetings, and special occasions. We project having a maximum of 30 events a year with an average of 110 guests from small events averaging 20-45 guests to larger events from 150- 195 guests. Our research shows that the average wedding has 136 guests. The multiuse barn/arena area will be used for small events or for inclement weather back up to outdoor events. The arena capacity is ample enough to hold up to 195 guests and there are overhead doors on both east and west side of the structure for outside and access. The barn noted from Bill Gavette from the fire department site visit believed that the egress and travel distances from this area appeared to be adequate and well. All electrical has been done to code and was additionally noted by Bill Gavette that the electrical wiring appeared to be adequate. The barn area has 2 overhead doors similar to the arena and (typical for equipment and livestock access) that will provide events additional ventilation and access in addition to a double door exterior door that is situated in the middle of the barn. All food and beverage will be catered and all potable water and portable restrooms will be delivered and managed by the event representative. We are not providing any of these services. Conclusion: In conclusion we are asking for a special use permit for the community meeting facility to all ow us to diversify to maintain our farm and to offer agricultural experiences to the community at large. As we have been hosting large equine events over the years we are confident that our infrastructure will easily accommodate any present or future community events. We are not asking to build any new access points, road improvements, resurfacing, or any changes to the landscape. We believe that our property has the capacity to accommodate the described events without impacting the agricultural land and our neighbors. We appreciate the opportunity to submit this application and look forward to the planning department’s inputs on the request for this permit. We thank you all in advance for all of your support through this process and help in creating the next chapter of agritourisim in Garfield County together. References Agricultural Tourism: Linking the Arts and Humanities with Agricultural Direct Marketers and Specialty Producers. Journal of Extension. https://www.joe.org/joe/2007december/iw3.php Adam, Katherine. 2001. Entertainment Farming & Agri-tourism. ATTRA. California Agricultural Homestay Bill (AB1258). University of California Cooperative Extension. http://sfp.ucdavis.edu/agritourism/factsheets/ab1258/ Changing the Rules: Planning for and Regulating Agritourisim in California. http://sfp.ucdavis.edu/agritourism/planners/ (This is a great resource that lists all the counties and documents related to various stages of the process of planning and regulating agritourism in California, gathered by the UC Small Farm Program, as an aid to county planners, agritourism advisory committees and concerned agritourism operators.) County Code Agri Tourism and Agri-nature Tourism Minutes from agritourisim advisory committee meetings available upon requests or online at www.mariposacounty.org/planning Salatin, Joel. 1998. You Can Farm: The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Start and $ucceed in a Farming Enterprise. Polyface Inc., Swope, Va. South Dakota State University Experiment Station Technical Paper 3587. Copy right by Extension Journal, Inc. Issn 1077-5315