Editor’s note: This is the third story of a series about the proposed Nutrient Farm development. The first story ran Wednesday, Jan.29. The second story ran Monday, Feb.3. 

Abbie Cheney and Mac Benning closed on a house in the Riverbend neighborhood outside of New Castle in 2023. 

Garfield County’s housing shortage, combined with high prices and property taxes, means many local families may never have the chance to own their home. So the cozy blue house, nestled in a picturesque plot surrounded by nature — the Grand Hogback to the south, the Colorado River to the north — was a golden opportunity for the young couple. 

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Like other residents who have moved to the Riverbend neighborhood in the last few years, Cheney and Benning didn’t know before purchasing their home about the large development proposed for a few blocks away. 

Nutrient Farm, the organic, biodynamic ranch, farm and food processor next to Riverbend, created a proposal for a new planned unit development in 2022.

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The project could include a water park, retreat, adventure park, power facility, music and entertainment venue and a host of other developments, according to the project narrative.

“Besides being a food producer, Nutrient Farm wants to provide the farm-to-table experience,” Andy Bruno, owner of Nutrient Holdings LLC, told the Post Independent in an email interview on Thursday. “Although Nutrient Farm’s primary focus is clean food, health is not complete without healthy lifestyle activities. Therefore, a variety of recreational activities have been envisioned for land areas that are above the historical irrigation ditch that weren’t previously used for farming.”

The development is now being considered by the Garfield County Planning Commission for rezoning approval.

“Not all uses are likely to be realized, but good health requires healthy lifestyle activities and being outdoors,” Bruno said. “The Nutrient Farm (Planned Unit Development) includes opportunities for several healthy lifestyle activities. Each use is envisioned as modest interpretations of what is possible. Anyone expecting dense build-out, Denver-like water parks or Nascar tracks will be disappointed.”

Cheney remembers when she and Benning first heard of the development. “Mac was going into the (Garfield County) planning office for an (earth moving permit) for grading for our house, and someone in the planning office was like, ‘Oh you live there?'” Cheney told the Post Independent during a group interview with several Riverbend residents last week. 

“I was like, ‘Yeah, what’s going on?'” Benning added. “And he was like, ‘Well, they want a water park.'”

“I remember being like, ‘No they don’t,'” Cheney said. “That’s fake. There’s no way.”

Their experience mirrors that of Rachel Rusnak and Devin MacRostie, who purchased a house in the neighborhood last summer.

“We were excited about (Nutrient Farm) when we purchased this home,” Rusnak said. “Within a week, we bought a membership with Nutrient Farm and we were getting our meat there, we were getting produce there, we were telling our friends how amazing this was, the proximity to this biodynamic farm that was ‘accelerating the world back to clean food,’ which is their mission.”

On a trip back from Moab in October, Rusnak and MacRostie spotted signs informing neighbors of an upcoming hearing regarding the Nutrient Farm development. 

“We went and got the certified letter at the post office and were in utter shock because of the misalignment with another one of their promises: we continue to always innovate, quality over quantity,” Rusnak said. “You look at that (planned unit development), and there’s a lot of quantity.” 

“We bought the house with a two-year plan of improvements and renovations and the moment we got that letter, we just put everything on hold,” MacRostie said. “Maybe we’re going to sell, and we’re not going to invest all this time and money building the house that we want and wanted to love.”

Cheney, Benning, Rusnak and MacRostie, as well as Lyn Williams and Rachael Newman, who moved to the neighborhood in 2023, were some of over 40 individuals who signed up to comment on the proposed development during a Jan. 29 planning commission meeting.

Their worries range from disruptive construction and light pollution to strained infrastructure and decreased property values.

“I think I’d be significantly more amicable to the plan if phase one included building up our water capacity infrastructure,” Williams said. “Perhaps they could have, in the event of an emergency…a lever they just switch that can be used for fire extinguishing.

“These are things that we can engineer and figure out,” he added. “I think there is a middle ground here, personally.”

Bruno believes the development will benefit the surrounding community.

“I believe Nutrient Farm will over-willingly be considered a community treasure; and as such this would likely not have a negative effect on property values,” Bruno said. “The (planned unit development) will not deplete Riverbend’s water supply; we have enough of our own water and will be quadrupling the water available for their fire safety. 

“We have proved that noise will not be of concern. All of our recreational vehicles planned are electric and we can determine the safe and appropriate sound level for music events,” he added. “Furthermore, most lighting in the Farm Store already turns off automatically every evening and there are strict rules in place for managing light pollution in future developments.”

After listening to almost two hours of public comments at the Jan. 29 meeting, the Garfield County Planning Commission voted to extend the public hearing for the rezoning request. The extension gives Nutrient Farm time to address 53 conditions for approval recommended by county staff — and the public another opportunity to comment. 

“Nearly all with concerns will be relieved when they realize that there will not be intensive build-outs or major nuisances like they have been worried about,” Bruno said when asked if there’s anything he’d like to say to those who commented. “The implementation of the uses will be modest, slow to develop and phased over time. Further, we vow to continue improving in performance of farming, ranching, grazing, land stewardship, weed mitigation and more.”

Conditions notable to Riverbend residents include removal of the industrial and commercial zone proposed for the west end of the development and updates and improvements to County Road 335 prior to any non-agricultural uses within the development.

County staff also noted that the adventure park should have seasonal restrictions and will need to be approved by the Colorado River Fire Protection District.

Nutrient Farm must create a wildfire mitigation plan, including evacuation and fuel mitigation, prior to approval of the development, according to the staff report. 

“The conditions proposed are overwhelmingly fair and will be easy to agree on,” Bruno said. 

Meeting those conditions will not be enough for everyone to accept the development. Over everything, what some Riverbend residents want most is collaboration. 

“Let’s say he meets all of the conditions of approval from the referring bodies and from the staff…” Benning said. “I still want to know, what are your phases of development? What are you doing to reach out to the neighbors?

“I would still go to the BOCC and recommend disapproval until there is some visible and actionable collaborative efforts occurring in the community,” he added.

Bruno told the Post Independent that the community is welcome to reach out anytime.

“We are doing our best to fulfill our duty. We have posted physical signs six weeks in advance. All of the plans are online and have been for much longer,” Bruno said. “We welcome community engagement and have carefully followed the county’s (planned unit development) process regarding noticing. We have met multiple times with residents across the river who took initiative to reach out to us. We have also engaged multiple times with the press.”