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MMRR Quarry, M-2004-067 Response to Sept. 20, 2005 Adequacy Review October 24, 2005 Page 7 The County's assertion that the Applicant is responsible fora "continuing failure (or refusal) to comply with Gilpin County Zoning Regulations governing the off- site impacts of the proposed quarry operation" is an unprecedented attempt to frame a zoning violation with no evidence to substantiate such a claim. Regardless of the effect of state Mineral Rules and Regulations, Gilpin County Zoning Reguiations do not contain any provision regarding the timing of a County Special Use application relative to a state Regular 112 Reclamation Permit application. Like any other proposal to develop land, the Applicant for the proposed MMRR Quarry is tackling the permitting process prior to actually engaging in the land use. It would be illogical and counterproductive for an applicant to be deemed in violation of zoning for a land use that has no physical existence and is nothing more than a proposal. There is simply no basis in the Gilpin County Zoning Resolution to find a zoning violation or proceed with an enforcement action against the proposed MMRR Quarry. In its September 12 letter, Gilpin County cites Section 1.713 of its code and attaches its Special Use requirements for mining operations. The Applicant has acknowledged the potential applicability of these County regulations on several prior occasions. There is no active controversy regarding County regulations, and, in any case, the Regular 112 permitting process does not provide an appropriate forum for the resolution of questions that may exist about the meaning of County regulations or their application to the MMRR Quarry. The Applicant is committed to obtaining approval of all appropriate permits prior to engaging in quarry-related land uses and will do so in a sequence that is permitted by both state and local law. Gilpin County (Petrock 8 Fendel, PC) - Highway 119 Access Permit. The Applicant has been processing a State Highway Access Permit in parallel with the M-2004-067 Regular 112 application. The State Highway Access Permit for a driveway to the proposed quarry was issued on August 23, 2005 and reflects the point of access as revised on Exhibits C and F submitted to the DMG on August 19, 2005. A copy of the Access Permit was transmitted to the DMG by email on September 8 and is attached hereto for your reference. Gilpin County is incorrect in its statement that the Applicant has failed to submit application materials describing the access point presently under consideration. The first part of the August 19, 2005 applicant submittal specifically and explicitly addressed a technical revision that adjusted plans to reflect the driveway location on State Highway 119 under present consideration, now permitted as a state highway access.