During a work session held by the Archuleta County Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) on Tuesday, Nov. 10, the board unanimously approved Resolution 2026-83, temporarily authorizing building permit fee waivers and expedited administrative approvals for flood relief.
According to the resolution, “establishing a temporary 100% waiver of County-controlled permitting, building, and planning fees for disaster-damaged properties serves a vital public purpose and promotes the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of Archuleta County.”
The resolution also defines eligibility criteria for waivers and states the property must have suffered damage directly caused by the flooding events and have “reasonable documentation.”
According to the resolution, the availability of the temporary fee waivers will last for six months — until May 10, 2027 — “unless explicitly extended by a subsequent Resolution of the Board.”
Before voting on the matter, Commissioner John Ranson clarified that the resolution could be extended after the initial six-month period.
Commissioner Veronica Medina stated that she initially had some concern about the six-month period not being enough time for the community, but noted she is “comfortable” with the BoCC being able to extend the resolution at a later date.
Earlier that day during a work session held by the BoCC, County Attorney Cathleen Giovaninni explained that the state has a template for this type of resolution and recommends not going over six months at a time.
County Manager Longinos Gonzalez explained during the work session that the BoCC approved a resolution in 2017 that allows the county to waive certain regulations and fees in order “to facilitate the efficient restoration of buildings and properties within the county” under a disaster declaration.
He also explained that some of the “reasonable documentation” property owners could provide in order to receive a waiver could include Invoices “demonstrating you’ve spent money on some of this.”
During the work session, Medina also asked about what property owners need to do for a variance in order to perform riverbank stabilization work to protect their homes and other buildings.
Medina commented that the river is now “running through people’s homes” in some cases, noting that the “river is not where it was before.”
Paralegal Tonya McCann explained that floodplain variances are possible for property owners to be able to perform bank stabilization “to shore up and support their homes.”
She also explained that those variances can be approved by the BoCC in public hearings with a 24-hour notice, or potentially through emergency meetings called by the BoCC.
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