Following a March 28 ethics complaint lodged against two members of the La Plata County Planning Commission, County Manager Chuck Stevens has determined that no violation of the county’s code of ethics and conduct policy occurred.
In a two-page April 13 letter to Jack Turner, a two-time candidate for county commissioner who filed the complaint, Stevens said he reviewed the meeting in which the alleged violation occurred and found that neither commissioner acted inappropriately.
Turner’s complaint addressed Planning Commissioner George Hepner’s and then-Commissioner Jean Walter’s comments and votes at a Jan. 12 sketch plan hearing on the controversial luxury RV park that has been proposed in the Animas Valley.
The complaint alleged that Hepner and Walter had disregarded the land-use code, violated the county code of ethics and conduct, and violated their responsibility and duty as planning commissioners.
The Planning Commission voted 3-2 to approve the project sketch plan, with Hepner and Walter in opposition.
The primary contention was that, as stated by planning staff, the project aligns with the land use dictated by the Animas Valley Land Use Plan, meaning that Hepner and Walter should have voted to approve the sketch plan on that basis.
In his letter to Turner, Stevens pointed out that sketch plan approval criteria also include other elements of the land-use code, such as conformity with the adopted plan and the absence of “significant unmitigated adverse impacts on surrounding property or the natural environment.”
There is no evidence the commissioners stood to benefit in any way from their nay votes, Stevens said. They did not benefit financially or from a personal standpoint, such as if they were neighbors of the proposed development and denying the project meant they were preserving their “global view” on what the neighborhood should look like, he said.
“None of those things were there. And so, the short answer is I just didn't think that it was substantiated,” Stevens said in an interview with The Durango Herald.
Turner responded by email to Stevens on Wednesday, and said his evaluation of Stevens’ response was ongoing. Turner called Steven’s response “complicated, run-on legalese (which) says nothing more than my interpretation of the Land Use Codes is incorrect because ‘It’s in the Code.’”
Turner’s original complaint requested an independent review, noting that the three county commissioners all accepted donations from Walters. In 2017, the county opted to hire the Eagle County Attorney’s Office to investigate ethics complaints made against county commissioners.
When asked if he was satisfied with Stevens’ review of the complaint, Turner said he was unsure.
“I don't know if it was handled appropriately,” Turner said. “That legal description, that paragraph is so complicated and run-on and complex ... that it may be right. That's why I'm talking to an attorney and other planners to find out ‘am I off base?’”
The stakes of the situation remain unclear, given that Walter’s term as a planning commissioner ended. Turner admitted this may render his complaint against her moot.
However, the sketch plan hearing in question was also an optional undertaking by the developer, and even a vote to deny the application would not have killed the project.
Turner said that Hepner’s and Walter’s votes only fueled the growing opposition to the development and encouraged detractors to take up the time of county staff. He also argued that the vote may detrimentally impact property values in the Animas Valley, where zoning is supposed to assure that qualifying developments can go through with some ease.
In his email to Stevens, Turner said he would back down upon receipt of a satisfactory explanation.
“If it’s explained and confirmed that I erred, I’ll be the first to write a formal apology to the BoCC, Hepner and Walter, and you,” Turner wrote. “No one deserves unjust criticism.”
rschafir@durangoherald.com
