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Steamboat Springs — Routt County is again playing mediator between a rural ranch and neighbors who are concerned about noise generated by wedding receptions and other parties.

This time, the Routt County Board of Commissioners is expected to decide how late a wedding party can celebrate the new union and still remain compatible with nearby campgrounds in Steamboat Lake State Park. Tuesday’s hearing is at 3 p.m. in the Routt County Courthouse in downtown Steamboat.

The commissioners will consider the appeal by Jonah Lotz and Molly Fetcher Lotz, of Hahn’s Peak Ranch, to modify conditions placed on their wedding reception operation when the Routt County Planning Commission voted, 8-0, on July 7 to grant them a conditional-use permit. Fetcher and Lotz are asking that when they host wedding receptions on 7 to 10 acres of the 538-acre ranch on the northwest side of Steamboat Lake, the band be allowed to play an hour later — until 10 p.m. — and the party be granted another hour — until 11 p.m. — to wind down.

In addition, after consulting with their neighbors, they are asking the commissioners to reduce the number of events they are allowed to host annually from eight to five.

The Planning Commission heard Steamboat Lake State Park Manger Julie Arington say there have been instances in the past when campers have complained about noise coming from large parties hosted at the picturesque Fetcher Barn on the property. She asked the Planning Commission to limit live music to 9 p.m. and require receptions to end at 10 p.m. to conform to quiet hours in the park’s campgrounds, and they agreed.

The Lotzes say it would be difficult to book wedding receptions under those time constraints.

The Fetcher Barn is just off a sharp bend in Routt County Road 62 and adjoins the state park. The Fetcher Ranch and Hahn’s Peak Ranch are owned by the same Fetcher family limited liability company, Jonah Lotz said.

County Planning Director Chad Phillips said he became aware of the wedding receptions at Hahn’s Peak Ranch through an advertisement.

“I was looking at a local magazine and saw several ads for wedding receptions and said, ‘Hmm, those are nonconforming uses,’” Phillips said.

Jonah Lotz confirmed to the Planning Commission on July 7 that the area around the barn has been used for weddings, receptions and other events for “a long time,” primarily for parties being held by friends and family members.

Karen Kosakowski, a resident of the Ranches at Steamboat Lake, told the commissioners her home is across an inlet of the lake from the Fetcher Barn. She said the sound from parties there travels very clearly across the lake.

Phillips said the conditional-use permit granted to the Lotzes can be approved by the Planning Commission and does not have to go to the full board of county commissioners unless the applicants appeal. In contrast, a special-use permit, like the one sought earlier this year by Sweetwood Ranch off Elk River Road, is designed for a more complex application and must gain formal approval of the county commissioners, he said. The Sweetwood Ranch proposal drew considerable opposition from nearby property owners.

County Commissioner Diane Mitsch Bush said the intensity of the use defines the difference between the two permits.

Commissioner Nancy Stahoviak noted that the Lotzes would limit their receptions to 150 or fewer people.

County Manager Tom Sullivan said the commissioners plan to begin discussing new regulations that would guide future decisions about permitting operations that host parties on rural properties. There currently are no regulations designed specifically for those uses, he said.

To reach Tom Ross, call 970-871-4205 or email tross@SteamboatToday.com