Changes to Montezuma County’s land use code involving noise and light restrictions will be part of further discussions, after Montezuma Planning and Zoning Director Don Haley proposed changing threshold standards Oct. 26 at the Board of County Commissioners meeting.
The county does not plan to take immediate action, Haley told The Journal. The changes merely came up in discussions, he said.
The IronWood Group mill in Dolores has garnered pushback from residents for its expansion proposals and 24/7 operations. Neighboring residents said they remain concerned in light of suggested changes to the land use code.
“It hasn’t gone anywhere, but everybody freaks out, goes into panic mode,” Haley said.
John Godbout, general manager of adjacent Circle C RV Park and Campground, attended the commissioners meeting Nov. 2 and protested potential changes to the noise threshold of the land use code by making a phone call during the meeting.
At the previous meeting Oct. 26, it was stated that the current code’s nighttime threshold of 55 decibels was equivalent to the noise levels a conversation would produce.
Godbout said he was demonstrating that a voice speaking at 55 decibels, the current code’s nighttime threshold, could be disruptive.
Commissioner Jim Candelaria responded that his demonstration was not an effective way to make a point.
“The last year and a half has been pretty invasive,” Candelaria said at the meeting. “People are really just wanting to make their points in a disrespectful and rude manner, and it doesn’t work that well.”
Instead, he said, the public comment portion of the meetings should be utilized for sharing opinions.
“If you’re trying to make a point to us, be respectful, come in and make a point, but do it in a logical manner that makes sense. We sit up here, we listen to everything. We listen to both sides, and that’s what people have forgotten — is there are two sides to every story.”
Godbout was escorted out of the meeting by a ununiformed sheriff’s deputy, Montezuma County Sheriff Steve Nowlin confirmed.
The disturbance paused the meeting for several minutes.
Godbout told The Journal he was initially taken aback by the deputy making contact with him, and told him not to touch him, but said the conversation afterward was calm and he was permitted to leave with no charges made against him.
“It appears they’re trying to change the rules before playing the game,” he said about county officials.
He expressed ongoing frustration with mill operations and county response.
Haley said that the changes are not related to discussions about the IronWood mill.
Lana Kelly, who runs neighboring Circle C RV Park and Campground and has organized a group of mill workers, and RV park and nearby residents to discuss IronWood operations, disagrees.
“It relates directly to what’s affecting us,” she said.
Haley proposed changing a standard that protects county residents from “glares,” stating that this language isn’t specific enough. He said the term “glare” needs to be defined so that it can be addressed.
Haley said he made the recommendation not based on the mill, but rather, calls from elsewhere in the county about lights.
Changes would require public hearing and notice, he said. The land use code was last changed in November 2020, and the public was given a 30-day notice, he said.
At the county commission meeting Nov. 2, County Attorney Ian MacLaren said the proposed changes would not be addressed at this time.
At the Oct. 26 meeting, Haley discussed changing Item 24 under “Nuisance Standards” of the land use code, which states, “All direct rays confined to site and adjacent properties protected from glare.”
He said that the term “glare” is subjective.
“I’m not sure if ‘glare’ can be in there because there’s no way to measure it; there’s no way to address it,” Haley said at the meeting.
Commissioner Jim Candelaria agreed, questioning how light was measured and stating that noise, for example, could be measured using a decibel meter.
“When you just say protected from glare, how do you measure glare? At nighttime, you can get glare off of a light off of Mesa Verde that shines into Cortez,” he said.
MacLaren said the language of the standard should be updated to be more specific, but that the standard serves a purpose in protecting property owners.
He said he would look more into into it for future discussions on changing the code.
Candelaria then mentioned also changing Item 25, as well, which details noise restrictions.
Under that item, noise levels cannot exceed 70 decibels “at any point on any boundary at any time.” For operations adjacent to residential areas, noise must not exceed 55 decibels between 7 p.m. and 6:59 a.m, the code states.
He said the noise thresholds are outdated, citing the example that 55 decibels is equivalent to the noise levels a conversation would produce.
