OURAY – With more than an 800 percent increase since 2007, Ouray County has seen the state’s largest percentage increase in foreclosure filings among Colorado’s 64 counties.
According to Colorado Department of Local Affairs statistics, foreclosure filings in Ouray County grew from seven in 2007 to 71 in 2009, representing an 871.43 percent increase. In comparison to other counties in the state, Gunnison County was the only county to come close to Ouray County’s foreclosure filings with a 626 percent increase since 2007. For the same time period, San Miguel County saw an increase of 390 percent and Montrose County saw an increase of 187 percent.
“This is hitting me really hard,” Ouray County Commissioner Heidi Albritton said on Monday after county Treasurer Jeannine Casolari presented the numbers. “I am shocked at these numbers.”
Percentage wise, a good number of Colorado’s small and rural counties have seen the largest increase in foreclosure filings when compared to the more populated, urban counties. Jefferson County, on the Front Range, had 3,588 in 2007 compared to 4,027 in 2009, which is an increase of just over 12 percent. Both Denver and Adams counties saw decreases in foreclosure filings by 22 percent and 10 percent respectively.
Albritton concluded that the numbers continue to indicate instability in Ouray County. “We did experience a huge construction, land-use boom and now we are seeing how deep that speculation was,” Albritton said. “This is a measure of the instability we are experiencing. Ouray County has a higher level than any of us had expected.”
All three commissioners expressed concern that with the high number of foreclosures and the subsequent lowering of those values, many residents will become frustrated that their property valuations and property taxes won’t be dropping as fast and as much as the foreclosed properties. Commissioner Keith Meinert said the county should begin educating the public on that issue.
Casolari said there have already been three new foreclosures filed since Jan. 1, which are included among the 35 foreclosure files still open from 2009.
“It does appear that small tourism based counties like us – Gunnison is another – had huge increases and are the most hard hit,” Meinert said. “Although the numbers of foreclosures and the publicity of foreclosure problems have been greatest in the metropolitan areas, those numbers don’t [reflect] that they have had a big increase in foreclosure activity.”
Commissioner Lynn Padgett agreed and added that the increased tax burden to property owners combined with thinning student enrollment in Ouray will cause funding to become even more scarce.
“People are suffering right now,” Padgett said.
New Land Use Fees Approved The Ouray Board of County Commissioners this week approved an amendment to the county’s Land Use fee schedule with the addition of a $150 Special Use Permit renewal fee as well as the addition of a $250 Board of Zoning Adjustment Administrative appeal fee.
With a two-year time limit on Special Use Permits in Ouray County (a change from perpetuity), Ouray County Planner Mark Castrodale suggested that a $150 renewal fee be applied to Special Use Permits that expire rather than having developers pay the $1,000 Special Use Permit after one has expired.
For developers who appeal an administrative decision, a $250 appeal fee will now apply to cover the cost of processing the appeal.
“We are spending a great deal of time on these appeals,” Castrodale said. “This [fee] will cover some of those costs.”
While all three commissioners were supportive of the appeal fee, commissioners Lynn Padgett and Keith Meinert expressed concern that the fee may keep developers from an appeal process.
“I tried to put myself in the position of somebody who was grieved because of a staff decision,” Meinert said. The code allows for an appeal to be made. Does levying a fee for that get in the way of due process?”
“I am sensitive of that,” Commissioner Lynn Padgett said. “I don’t want to be in a position that we don’t give people access to an appeals process.”
County Attorney Mary Deganhart said she believes the fee is legal as long as it is used to cover the costs of the appeals process as opposed to generating revenue for the county.
It was decided that $250 is a reasonable cost for an appeal and subsequently, both land use fees were approved.
“These are citizen initiated applications to start with and the rest of the citizens shouldn’t have to pay for an application that benefits one citizen,” Meinert said. “I am comfortable with it.”
List of LUC Priorities Set for Commissioners
By Resolution 2010-007, the Ouray Board of County Commissioners on Monday approved a set of priorities for Land Use Code modifications and amendments that place minor housekeeping changes to the county’s road standards at the top of the list.
The approved resolution states that minor housekeeping changes to Section 23.1, or road standards, are the first priority and Section 9 of the LUC, which deals with visual impact regulations, are the second priority. The commissioners have already had numerous and lengthy work sessions on amending visual impact regulations and hope to have recommended changes sent to the Ouray County Planning Commission sometime in March.
Third on the approved list of priorities is “administration” with a particular emphasis on changes to site development permits. Fourth on the list is work the county’s road standards. The approved resolution also acknowledges that other sections of the LUC are in need of review, including Section 7 “Improvement Standards,” Section 8 “Sign Regulations,” Section 20 “Amendments,” and Section 24 “Wildfire Mitigation Regulations.” All of these priorities will be revisited by the board in six months to assess progress and reevaluate priorities.
While there was little discussion about the resolution’s language on Monday, the commissioners said they are giving the public every opportunity possible to be part of any changes made to the LUC.
“We are hearing that we are taking way too long on some of these and we are also hearing that we are not giving enough time to comment on these things,” Commissioner Heidi Albritton said of the board’s progress with LUC amendments so far. “We are being as transparent as we can possibly be. We publish the notices and record the work sessions. We have been working our way through visual impacts, which is a huge Pandora’s Box and we have tried to incorporate people’s comments fairly and county wide. I don’t understand people who think we are shoving things through.”
Appointments, Reappointments, Vacancies
It was a day of appointments and reappointments to various Ouray County boards at this week’s Ouray County Commissioner meeting.
For the Board of Visual Appeals, the commissioners unanimously reappointed Jim Kennedy and Kay Lair to three-year terms.
Dick Allison was reappointed to Region 10’s Business Loan Fund and Board of Directors for two-year terms each.
Both Duane Beamer and Jorge Hernandez were reappointed to two-year terms on the Ouray County Fair Board, while Bruce Norwood and Amanda Flowers were appointed to fill board vacancies with one-year terms.
No one officially submitted interest to serve on the Right-to-Farm Agricultural Review Board. It was decided to leave that vacancy open for now to see if anyone expresses interest in the future.
“I think our right-to-farm ordinance is very important and it is one which I want to preserve,” Commissioner Keith Meinert said. “We have recognized it as publicly as we can. By having this difficulty maintaining its board members, it tends to dilute its importance.”
The Right-to-Farm Agricultural Review Board hears right-to-farm cases, which so far have occured infrequently.
“The other possibility, if we can’t get enough activity level to get people’s interest in keeping a standing board, is to go to a system of appointing a board on an ad hoc basis.”
No decisions were made by the commissioners and vacancies on the Right-to-Farm board remain open for those interested in serving.
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