Rico Planning Commission to review North Silver fence-height variance

A fence higher than six feet, or a new fence in Rico’s Historic Commercial District, can pull a simple property project into the town’s approval process before a post goes in the ground. The town homepage listed a May 13, 2026, 6:00 p.m. Planning Commission meeting to review a fence-height variance at 123 North Silver, with Dan Vandermast identified as the applicant.

That request sits inside a rulebook many owners overlook until they are already ready to build. Rico’s Planning in Rico page says a Historic Alteration Certificate is required to substantively alter a historic landmark structure or to build a fence in the Historic Commercial District. It also says approval is required for any fence that exceeds six feet in height or uses materials not permitted by the Rico Land Use Code.

The town’s fence permit application adds the practical limits that often catch people off guard. Front-yard fences generally may not exceed four feet, and back-yard fences generally may not exceed six feet. When the Planning Commission reviews a request, it can weigh lot size, shape, topography, surrounding conditions, access and location, along with snow removal, streetscapes, fire protection, parking, solar access, view corridors and the effect on neighbors.

Those details matter in a town as compact and historically sensitive as Rico, where a fence can affect sightlines, access and wildfire readiness at the same time. The Planning Commission normally meets the second Wednesday of every month at 7:00 p.m. at Rico Town Hall, 2 Commercial Street, unless another notice says otherwise. Article II of the land-use code also sets out Section 243, Fences in the Historic Commercial Zone District, and Section 244, Standards for Review.

Rico has used similar review before. In May 2021, Joe Dillsworth and Julia Prejs sought a fence variance at 4 E. Soda Street under Section 204.3, which limited fence height in the residential zone district. In September 2023, Matthew Fulton sought a building-height variance at 337 N. Piedmont, where staff calculated the proposed structure at 45.5 feet, 15.5 feet above the allowed height.

The fence case also comes as Rico updates land-use rules to match newer wildfire standards. The town’s 2026 ordinance text says the Colorado Wildfire Resiliency Code took effect on July 1, 2025, and that state law requires local governments to adopt a code meeting or exceeding those standards by April 1, 2026. The Planning Commission reviewed the wildfire code on March 11, 2026, and recommended adoption.

Rico’s land-use code was first adopted in 1999 and last revised in 2011, but the pressures now reaching the commission are newer: wildfire rules, historic preservation, steep lots and tight streets. In a town incorporated on October 11, 1879 and settled as a silver mining center in the Pioneer Mining District, even a fence line can become a land-use decision with lasting consequences.