{"id":138657,"date":"2026-07-12T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-12T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/judge-upholds-montezuma-county-commissioners-denial-of-dollar-general-permit\/"},"modified":"2026-07-12T05:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-12T11:00:00","slug":"judge-upholds-montezuma-county-commissioners-denial-of-dollar-general-permit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/judge-upholds-montezuma-county-commissioners-denial-of-dollar-general-permit\/","title":{"rendered":"Judge upholds Montezuma County commissioners\u2019 denial of Dollar General permit"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Dollar
Dollar General at 1001 East Broadway in Bloomfield, New Mexico. A proposed dollar store on County Road N in Montezuma County, Colorado, is at the center of a civil case between Leaf Properties and Montezuma County over the denial of a high-impact permit, dating back to 2024. (Journal file)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

Twenty-second Judicial District Court Judge Todd Plewe ruled in favor of the Montezuma County Board of County Commissioners in the latest court battle involving a long-standing Dollar General civil case.<\/p>\n

Plew wrote the commissioners\u2019 second denial of a high-impact permit is sustained by competent evidence, concluding the developer was afforded due process and the Montezuma County Land-Use Code was properly applied.<\/p>\n

Leaf Properties, Inc., wishes to build a dollar store on a rural property located on the southeast corner of Colorado Highway 145 and County Road N between Dolores and Cortez.<\/p>\n

Through attorney Andrew Peters, the company claimed the quasi-judicial actions involving the commissioners\u2019 denial of a high-impact permit overstepped its statutory power.<\/p>\n

Peters requested summary judgment in his client\u2019s favor, which Plewe denied Wednesday in a detailed and thorough order filed with the 22nd Judicial District Court.<\/p>\n

Peters said in an email to The Journa<\/em>l his client intends to appeal the decision immediately. He said an appeal generally takes one to two years in his experience, involving transferring the case materials to the Colorado Court of Appeals, preparing briefs and allowing time for the court to hear oral arguments in Denver.<\/p>\n

The application received an outpouring of public opposition, but Plewe wrote most community criticism during hearings in 2025 was not considered to be \u201ccompetent evidence,\u201d a term used during the judicial review process.<\/p>\n

Plewe also did not rely on all seven findings made by the county to uphold the denial. He concluded the first basis stood on its own: the development could generate significant negative traffic impacts.<\/p>\n

County officials argued the dollar store would lure an estimated 678 vehicle trips per day, contributing heavy use to an already dangerous intersection.<\/p>\n

They cited many public comments from past public hearings stating more traffic increases danger for residents. Plewe upheld the commissioners\u2019 decision to side with lay testimony over the traffic study submitted by Leaf Properties.<\/p>\n

Many residents voiced disagreement with the traffic study submitted by the developer, saying it gathered data during a lower-volume traffic month of February.<\/p>\n