The Boulder County Commissioners approved the Wolf Driveway earthwork off Caribou Road during a meeting at 1 p.m. on Thursday, September 22, 2022. Sam Walker with the Community Planning & Permitting Department introduced a limited impact special use review to permit 8,000 cubic yards of non-foundational earthwork for improvements to an existing access drive at 834 Caribou Road.

The proposal as submitted by Emily Wolf is in the Forestry zoning district, about one mile west of the intersection of Caribou Road and Highway 72.

Commission Chair Marta Loachamin could not attend, so Commissioner Claire Levy led the meeting and said this was a quasi- judicial hearing.

Special use review is required for this non-foundational earthwork because it exceeds 500 cubic yards of fill; this earthwork is analyzed pursuant to the Special Use Standards outlined in a Boulder County Land Use Code. The subject parcel is a legal building lot because it exceeds the minimum 35-acre size required in the Forestry zoning district. It is developed, including an earthship residence and two unpermitted accessory structures.

Per the narrative submitted with the application materials, the existing driveway was created by following the route of an old mining road that existed when the current owner purchased the property. A building permit was issued for the earthship in 1993, but the property owner was never able to close the permit because the driveway did not meet the County’s access standards.

Walker said the site is north of Caribou Road. The area will have some impacts but the department staff have no concerns. The existing driveway is steep, has geological hazards, and is in a rural preservation planning area. It is adjacent to County Open Space.

According to the engineer, the project will involve 4,000 cubic yards of cut and fill. A small branch of the driveway will remain as is. The southern portion goes to the earthship, and the proposed driveway alignment changes the slopes to meet multimodal standards. The portion of the parcel where the proposed driveway improvements will take place is entirely on the north side of Caribou Road.

Although the earthship building permit has now expired, it is the applicants’ intent to have the building permit reopened upon completion of the driveway improvements so that the permit can be finalized, and the earthship can be issued a Certificate of Occupancy.

The improved driveway will follow the path of the existing driveway in sections, but deviates from this route as it approaches the earthship location. The parcel topography slopes steeply upward from Caribou Road, necessitating long stretches of roadway and several switchbacks to gain enough elevation to reach the current earthship location.

The proposed driveway reconfiguration is the result of several discussions between staff and the property owner that formally began with an on-site pre-application conference in 2019.

Following a second pre-application conference in early 2022, the Director determined that a new site plan review was not required to approve the earthship as a new residence and that the existing permit could instead be reopened once approval for a new driveway was granted. Therefore this review only contemplates the proposed driveway realignment.

Staff indicated that most of the submitted driveway design appears to meet the multi-modal standards (MMTS) and recommended a condition of approval that the driveway be constructed to meet those standards. Staff therefore recommend conditions of approval requiring that the driveway be constructed to meet the MMTS and any portion of the driveway not meeting the MMTS must receive an individual design exception.

Additionally, an access permit will be issued for the point of access to Caribou Road at the time of building permit review. Staff has determined that, meeting all conditions, the proposal can meet all the applicable criteria of the Boulder County Land Use Code for Limited Impact Special Review. Therefore, staff recommend that the County Commissioners conditionally approve the Wolf Driveway earthwork..

Applicant Emily Wolf and her engineer, Dana Smyly, said that the earthship has electricity and a septic system. It is a livable house. They have been working with the fire department on the slope, and they have been working with Planning and Permitting Department staff to ensure that everyone is comfortable with the changes.

The Commissioners approved the Special Use Review permit.

The Commission met on October 4, 2022, at 10:30 a.m., and meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays. For more information on meetings, go to https://pub-bouldercounty. escribemeetings.com/