The Dillon Town Council voted 6-0 on Tuesday, March 25, to allow variances for the subdivision of a single property into two lots in an effort to help preserve a historic log cabin at the site.

The property where the subdivision was sought is located at 415 E. La Bonte St., adjacent to the Summit Historical Society’s school house museum, Dillon senior town planner Ned West told the council during a meeting.

The property contains a one-story log cabin built in 1947 in the old town of Dillon, which was flooded when the dam at the Dillon Reservoir was built, West said. While the cabin does not have an official historic designation from the state or federal government, it is nonetheless part of the town’s history, he said.

“We are here tonight considering a variance in addition to the subdivision application, that is really constrained by that existing cabin, which the property owner very much would like to preserve” West said. “Although it is not a designated historic structure, it feels historic.”

The two new lots created by the subdivision of the property would each be about 11,000 square feet, which is above the minimum lot size outlined in the town code of 8,000 square feet, West said. The property is in the residential-low zone district.

One of the variances the property would need to be subdivided is related to the lot width, since the width of the southernmost lot would be about 43 feet, less than the 60-foot lot minimum width outlined in the town code, West said. 

The other variance the property owner requested for the subdivision was related to the two subdivided lots being somewhat irregular shapes that do not conform with the code’s requirement that lots be “geometric shapes,” West said. 

West said that these variances were required to allow the existing historical cabin, which would be difficult to relocate or alter, to remain in place, while allowing development on the southern lot of the subdivision. He also noted that there are several other examples of properties in town that have been subdivided but do not create clean geometric shapes.

The property owner also agreed to offer a joint access and maintenance agreement to provide shared driveway access to both lots, West said. He said the plans for the southern lot include constructing a home with a garage, which would meet the parking requirements for that site, while the northern lot has room for the two vehicle requirement in the driveway.

Dillon Town Council member Kyle Hendricks asked if the Summit Historical Society had weighed in, to which West responded that the group has been supportive of the proposed subdivision.

36,000 people get the latest news from us daily. You should, too.

Sign up for daily or weekly newsletters at SummitDaily.com/newsletter

Council member Barbara Richard asked whether approving the variances would set a precedent. West responded that because each variance is considered on an individual basis, approving the variances does not set a precedent.

Mayor Carolyn Skowyra said that the town is looking for “density” in places and that “more housing is more housing and that’s good for our town.” Skowyra asked whether the resolution being considered by the town includes any provision that the cabin will be preserved in perpetuity.

West said that the resolution does not include such language because without a historic designation by the state or federal government, he is unsure if the town has “the legal standing to do that.”

Council member Oliver Luck recused himself from the discussion and subsequent vote, stating that he is “an interested party.”

“I think that everything that came from the bottom of the lake is really important to preserve whether it has historic value to those who have historic standards or not,” Skowyra said. “I think it’s important to the town’s history. Having those buildings around is super cool.”