Latest news with #SangredeCristoLandGrant
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
AG Weiser backs Costilla County in Cielo Vista Ranch fence dispute
(COSTILLA COUNTY, Colo.) — Attorney General Phil Weiser is speaking up about Costilla County's right to enforce its land use laws and backing the county in its current legal battle to stop a ranch fence. On Tuesday, March 4, Attorney General Weiser filed a court brief to back the county's decision to stop the construction of a large, unauthorized fence on Cielo Vista Ranch. According to the Attorney General, the fence at Cielo Vista Ranch, also known as La Sierra, blocks the community from exercising their historic rights under the Sangre de Cristo Land Grant of 1844. The grant guarantees them access to the land to graze livestock and gather wood. The fence also allegedly threatens the environment by restricting wildfire mitigation and affecting local water sources. According to court documents, the ranch's fence 'the High Fence' violates Costilla County's current land use ordinances, and is classified as 'non-conforming'. This means that landowners cannot get special exceptions to zoning rules unless they can prove that their use of the land was legal before the rules changed. Expanding a nonconforming use is allowed only if certain legal requirements are met. However, Attorney General Weiser argues that the ranch owner failed to prove a legal right to continue the fence construction. 'Local communities like Costilla County have the power to decide how land is used, and their decisions must be respected,' said Weiser. 'In this case, the county carefully followed the law in denying this request, acting to protect the community's longstanding connection to the land and the traditions that depend on it. We have heard directly from residents about how this fence has disrupted their daily lives, cultural practices, and access to essential resources. We are standing with Costilla County and its residents to ensure their voices are heard and their rights are upheld.' Weiser's filing urges the court to affirm the county's authority to enforce zoning laws. According to the filing, in order for the request to be classified as 'nonconforming' Cielo Vista Ranch must have: Complied with all applicable laws to qualify as nonconforming use, not merely the local zoning code. According to court documents, Cielo Vista Ranch failed to do so. In addition, uses of land that violate State law cannot be protected as nonconforming uses. Demonstrate that construction of the high fence was lawful at the time Costilla County's fence ordinances changed. 'Approving such a request would be inconsistent with the requirement that the expansionof a nonconforming use must have been clearly indicated or contemplated, as well as the general disfavor in which nonconforming uses are held,' court documents stated. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Colorado House approves bill that would regulate fence construction on San Luis Valley ranch
Rep. Matthew Martinez, an Alamosa Democrat, speaks at the Colorado Capitol on Jan. 24, 2025. (Sara Wilson/Colorado Newsline) The Colorado House of Representatives passed a bill Thursday that would reign in expansion of a controversial fence in the San Luis Valley that locals say is an environmentally damaging infringement on their land access rights. The chamber passed House Bill 25-1023 on a 45-19 vote that was mostly party-line. Republican Reps. Carlos Barron of Fort Lupton, Matt Soper of Delta and Rick Taggard of Grand Junction joined Democrats in voting in favor of the bill. 'This is not just a private property rights issue, but the land grantees also have rights associated with this. The counties have tried to get their hands wrapped around this and have been unsuccessful, so that's why we're bringing this bill forward,' bill sponsor Rep. Matthew Martinez, a Democrat from Alamosa, said. Martinez ran the bill with Assistant Majority Leader Jennifer Bacon, a Denver Democrat. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX It would require land owners to submit an application to their local government for large fencing projects that are at least 5 feet high and one mile long on Sangre de Cristo Land Grant properties. This would mostly apply to Costilla County. Local governments could approve or deny a project based on the reason for the fence and how it would impact wildlife, ecosystem health and the local community. The bill's goal is to halt construction of an 8-foot-tall fence on the Cielo Vista Ranch, which locals estimate is over 20 miles long and is nearly impossible for most wildlife to cross to access water sources and follow migration patterns. 'Wildlife herds are being separated and trapped in and outside of the property because of how high the fence is,' Martinez said during the bill's House committee hearing earlier this week. 'There's erosion that's causing new flood plains, sediment deposits in irrigation ditches and flooding out houses of locals.' The ranch, which locals call La Sierra, sits on the Sangre de Cristo Land Grant. The land grant offers communal rights to graze livestock, hunt, fish, conduct religious ceremonies and gather firewood for descendants of Mexican settlers in the area. Courts have recognized an easement on the property because of its lengthy community use. The ranch is owned by Texas billionaire William Harrison. He has previously said that the fence is necessary to keep out trespassers and contain his herd of bison. Locals also have keys to get onto the land through some gates in the fence. But retired physician Joseph Quintana called the fence construction a 'four-year nightmare.' 'I am witness to the changing wildlife migration patterns, as the fence now forces animals to cross through my property to access water. The community is horrified and heartbroken by what the fence is doing to the wildlife. We are baffled that the ranch owner does not see what is so obvious to everyone else,' he said. The bill, if passed, would go into effect July 1 and wouldn't apply retroactively to already-constructed portions of the fence. Neither Harrison nor a representative for the ranch spoke during the committee hearing. Attorney General Phil Weiser, a Democrat, testified in support of the bill and called the fence a 'wire grid' similar to one at a prison. Animals cannot get through the small gaps in the wires or jump over the top. He said that because the property is subject to an easement and the fence is creating a nuisance, it is appropriate for the government to step in with legislation like HB-1023. 'This bill is not about limiting property rights for quiet enjoyment, for what is true private property. This is a different sort of situation, and it is about how different groups can live together in harmony,' he said. The bill now heads to the Senate, where it is sponsored by Sen. Cleave Simpson, an Alamosa Republican, and Sen. Julie Gonzales, a Denver Democrat. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
