RESIDENT / OCCUPANT PRSRT STD ECRWSS US POSTAGE PAID LYONS, CO PERMIT No 2053
Redstone stands with President Zelensky and the people in Ukraine VOLUME 25, NUMBER 5
LYONS, COLOR ADO
$.50
JUNE 19 / JULY 10, 2024
B •R •I •E •F •S North St. Vrain Creek and St. Vrain River closed to tubing and some floatation devices
LYONS – North St. Vrain Creek and St. Vrain River from Apple Valley Road to North Foothills Highway through Lyons are closed to tubing and single-chamber flotation devices for public safety reasons, according to the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office. The closure comes after officials measured the St. Vrain River flowing at approximately 768 cubic feet per second. The office expects the flow to rise due to spring run-off. Kayakers and people with white-water canoes can still use the water, but they should wear life jackets, wet or dry suits and helmets, the sheriff’s office said in a press release. It was closed because of high River flow in excess of 700 cubic feet of water per second or CFS. And that it won’t be lifted until the flow has dipped below that consistently for a period of time. People should be aware that water conditions also may not be safe anywhere in the county outside the closure area, the sheriff’s office said. Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Carrie Haverfield wrote in an email that the office does not have a set end date for the restrictions, and that the office will continually monitor the conditions and re-open the waterway when the conditions are safer. For more information, look up the Boulder County Sheriff’s Department website. Resource Fair on aging to be held at Lyons Library
LYONS – Join the Lyons Regional Library, 451 4th Ave. and the Boulder County Area Agency on Aging (BCAAA) for a Resource Fair focused on supporting adults 60+ and their caregivers. BCAAA and community partners will connect and share resources. Agencies offering volunteer, employment opportunities, and services for job seekers will also be in attendance. Light refreshments will be available and there will be giveaways during the event. Please join us for lunch before the resource fair from 12 noon to1 p.m. at the Redstone Cafe, 335 Railroad Avenue. Call 303441-1415 to listen to the menu options and to reserve a meal. Continue Briefs on Page 6
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The Goat Mowers fire and weed mitigation goats are back! Owner Karl Jones (co-owner wife, Kimberly, not pictured) is talking with neighbors in the Stone Canyon open space. PHOTO BY CATHY RIVERS
and this property is a new PUD. The Tiny Lyons Town Board approves some major Homes located on the property are within the flood zone, and provisions must be met for in case of an emergency. changes requested by Lyons Properties LLC evacuation In other news, the town board approved a By Susan de Castro Redstone Review Editor LYONS – After a very lengthy public hearing, the Lyons Town Board passed Ordinance 1163 to approve the overlay zoning designation of the Planned Unit Development (PUD) to the 501 West Main St. property, also known as River Bend. Chris and Sarah Legh are the new owners applying for the changes to the property. After several hours of public comments and Town Clerk Delores Vasquez reading letters into the record, the board passed, on second reading, the ordinance by a six to one vote with Trustee David Hamrick dissenting. The ordinance would allow for: an extended camping timeframe; the construction of a 6,000 square foot structure for weddings instead of the previously approved 4,000 square foot structure; the addition of ten additional tiny homes; and it would allow for music to be amplified. (Staff proposed: The details of this request would be formalized by an Operational Plan, which would be submitted and approved/denied with the Development Agreement.) The sticking point, for many of the residents living in the River Bend vicinity as well as for some of the trustees, was the issue of allowing amplified music. Many residents objected to the request for amplified music and outdoor speakers, but others said that allowing the changes would create a venue to attract more people to the business and would keep people in town longer which would help many other businesses. The number of people who spoke for and against the amplified music issue was just
about evenly divided. Amplified music has been a problematic issue for several former businesses in town. However, several others at the town board meeting pointed out that there is already amplified music in town on Main Street, with outdoor speakers at A Lodge at 338 W. Main St., Main Stage at 450 Main St., and also at Planet Bluegrass on Hwy. 36 northwest of town, saying it would be unfair to allow some businesses to have amplified music and deny others. The board passed the ordinance upon the condition that there is a development agreement with the ordinance to include several things such as a noise agreement, utilities resolutions, items included with the 6,000 square foot building, and several other things addressed in the development agreement. After the ordinance was passed, it was already 10 p.m. Town Administrator Victoria Simonsen and Mayor Hollie Rogin both proposed that the property owners, Chris and Sarah Legh, meet with town staff to work on the amplified music issue to see if they can find a compromise to satisfy both groups. As it stands now the owners have agreed to shut down the music by 8:30 p.m. If there is a more extensive compromise, it will be written into the development agreement. When that agreement is completed, it will go before the town board for approval. “That will be the next step,” said Trustee Greg Lowell. No time frame was discussed for the next steps. Town planner Andrew Bowen pointed out to the board that the town doesn’t have a development agreement process to work with, so this is a new format that they are working with
resolution to accept an annexation application for two properties, and to set a public hearing for the properties, one on Ute Highway and one on Highland Drive, known as the TEBO annexation. Switching gears, Town Administrator Simonsen reported that the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) Task Force has met twice to date. Doug Matthews was selected as Chair, Martin Soosloff as Vice Chair and Julie Jacobs as recorder. They are planning a tour of the properties being discussed in the IGA next week. They are meeting once a week. This task force was created to discuss the annexation process for the lands surrounding and bordering Lyons. The IGA is an agreement between Boulder County and Lyons as to what lands, owned by Boulder County, Lyons is allowed to annex. Annexation would allow Lyons to expand and grow. Virtually all municipalities in Colorado have IGAs with the counties they are located in. The purpose of the task force is to assure that there is citizen input in the decision-making process when the town decides to annex land and to make sure that the community has access to all the information. Administrator Simonsen reported that sales tax revenues were nearly 13 percent higher than at this same time in June of 2023, and year-to-date receipts are up almost 10 percent higher than 2023. “So that is a good trend to see,” she said. April sales tax revenues showed that 51 percent of revenues collected were from non-local businesses such as internet sales, etc. and 49 percent of sales tax collected for April were from local businesses.