Blevins writes:

Seth Roberts’ Weathervane Farm on the banks of Cottonwood Creek feeds dozens of families in the Upper Arkansas River Valley. His organic produce, free-range chickens and eggs, and fresh cut flowers are in high demand at the local farmers markets.

He is living his life dream. But when Roberts ponders settling permanently near Buena Vista, he laments the short-term lease for his farmland. He has looked at land to buy that was as small as 15 acres or as big as 50 — and both cost more than $750,000 in this valley, where a state research group predicts a pending “tsunami of development.”

“That permanence, that land security, is crucial,” says the 32-year-old farmer, thrusting his hands into a weathered Carhartt jacket. “We have laws to protect endangered animals. We need that kind of protection for farmland, which will soon be extinct.”

A proposed program sprouting from a farmhouse in Buena Vista could allow Roberts to establish stable roots for both his family and his vegetables in the valley. The Chaffee County Land Link program is based on programs in 21 other states that unite retiring or aging farmers with their young, energetic counterparts.

“It’s like a matchmaking service, providing access to the next generation of farmers who want to be a part of their local food system while helping older, local farmers keep their land’s agricultural heritage and get some benefit — like a steady paycheck — from it,” says David Lynch, whose Guidestone organization works to stimulate sustainable farming in the Upper Arkansas River Valley and is spearheading the Land Link plan.

Read the full article at the Denver Post.

Developer P.T. Wood, the applicant, purchased 17 acres on Tenderfoot Mountain from Judy Everett and subsequently traded the parcel to the City of Salida for 12 lots at base of the mountain. If approved by the City Council, the plat application would replat the 12 lots, resulting in three larger lots.

Local resident Jack Chivvis spoke in favor of the application.

The trail used for the Tenderfoot Hill Climb during FIBArk crosses one of the proposed lots and was the cause of some discussion. According to City staff, the Recreation Advisory Board recommended that a proposed easement for the trail be rejected by the City — the easement would be used only one day a year — and suggested instead that Wood pay a fee-in-lieu which could be used as leverage to help obtain grants for purchase of open space or park improvements.

Ultimately, the Commission approved the preliminary plat on a split vote, incorporating the trail easement rather than a fee-in-lieu and adding language to require a 1.2% real estate transfer assessment (RETA) from future buyers of the property. P.T. Wood, who sits on the Commission, recused himself during the discussion and vote.

Chair Don Stevens and newly-appointed alternate Lisa Malde were generally supportive of the application but voted against it because of language which would allow building footprints to be 40% of the lot size. Stevens said landowners would be allowed to build houses larger than 10,000 square feet. “I have a problem with that,” Stevens said.

“I’m sure any house that big would be beautiful,” Commissioner Verl Curtis said.

Wood had said earlier in the meeting that he would have been amenable to a reduction in the allowed size of the building footprint and, as a longstanding proponent of real estate transfer assessments, that he accepted the imposition of the RETA by Commissioner Chris Tracy. The final plat for the Hillside Minor Subdivision will be considered by the City Council.

In other business, the Planning Commission unanimously recommended that the City Council adopt the Regional Transportation Plan.