Special permit given…

In separate meetings during April, the Rio Blanco County Planning Board and County Commissioners approved a conditional-use permit for The Friends of the Tank, the group that initiated a Kickstarter campaign last March to raise more than $46,000 for an unused water tank west of Rangely to become an educational and recording sound space. The approval by the two boards assigns the term “assembly” to the space rather than “water tank” and allows the Friends of the Tank to move forward with building permits, a driveway — which Urie Trucking began earlier this month, and several required changes, among them a larger door and additional ventilation and lighting. At the meetings, Rangely resident and adjacent landowner Scott Hejl expressed concerns about the tank’s safety among other issues he outlined in opposing the Tank’s proposed use. Other residents at the planning board meeting spoke in favor of the project moving forward. After hearing a presentation by Friends of the Tank’s Bruce Odland and Lois LaFond and accepting public comments, the planning board and commissioners approved the permit request.