{"id":2458631,"date":"2020-05-19T22:40:00","date_gmt":"2020-05-20T04:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/pitkin-countys-variance-request-to-state-touts-outdoor-spaces-common-sense\/"},"modified":"2020-05-20T07:37:10","modified_gmt":"2020-05-20T13:37:10","slug":"pitkin-countys-variance-request-to-state-touts-outdoor-spaces-common-sense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/pitkin-countys-variance-request-to-state-touts-outdoor-spaces-common-sense\/","title":{"rendered":"Pitkin County\u2019s variance request to state touts outdoor spaces, common sense"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image p402_hide\">\n<div class=\"caption-container\">\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"716\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/cover-atw-040920-21-1024x716.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/cover-atw-040920-21-1024x716.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/cover-atw-040920-21-300x210.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/cover-atw-040920-21-768x537.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/cover-atw-040920-21-1536x1073.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/cover-atw-040920-21-2048x1431.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"><\/p><figcaption><strong>After skinning up Aspen Mountain, Sian Jones, left, Anne Goldberg, center, and Susan Saghatoleslami have a glass of champagne while abiding the social distancing requirements on Saturday, March 21, 2020.<\/strong><br \/><em>Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText DropCap\">The use of outdoor spaces and allowing common-sense social-distancing protocols are key components of Pitkin County\u2019s request to the state to deviate from current and future public health orders, an official said Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt makes sense to align with the state public health order as much as possible,\u201d Pitkin County Manager Jon Peacock told county commissioners Tuesday. \u201c(But) we want some flexibility. We want to chart our own path.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">County staff submitted the request for a variance from the state public health order to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment on Monday, Peacock said. State officials have given no indication of a timeline for their decision, he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Pitkin County included its \u201c<a id=\"N0x2b97840N0x2c29ae0:N0x2b97840N0x2c1eb08\" href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/spreadsheets\/u\/1\/d\/e\/2PACX-1vSC7IP5TQHcA1f-FibfLPZfQv-tmaRYS4OyQBSxhf7dXGRPDydH1IENc8wQEgxdLCRAOT67ahnnYWck\/pubhtml\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Roadmap to Reopening<\/a>\u201d with the request, which sets out the community\u2019s plan for loosening coronavirus-related restrictions. It includes data on a sustained decrease in local infections and hospital readiness, as well as a plan to be able to test for and trace every case of the virus.<\/p>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col\" readability=\"6\">\n<div class=\"row at-donation at-donation-mobile p-0\" readability=\"7\">\n<div class=\"col-xl-4 p-2\">\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/AT-logo-white.png)\" class=\"p-0 mt-2 mb-2 h-75 text-center rocket-lazyload\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/AT-logo-white.png\" class=\"logo m-0 p-0 invisible\"><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><h3 class=\"d-inline mr-3\">Support Local Journalism<\/h3>\n<p><button class=\"btn d-inline\" type=\"button\" onclick=\"handleDonationButtonClickMidArticle()\">Donate<\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">A more or less flat infection rate in the county for at least the past month has set the stage for restaurants and lodging \u2014 Airbnb-style short-term lodging is excluded \u2014 to open on a limited basis May 27, when the state and local public health orders expire, local officials have said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Colorado Gov. Jared Polis has said he will provide information on the state\u2019s next public health order by Memorial Day. Peacock said Tuesday that county public health officials are still waiting for state guidance on opening restaurants and lodging.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Many of Pitkin County\u2019s requests of the state have to do with group size limitations and being able to set them within responsible social-distancing guidelines based on the particular space involved, Peacock said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">For example, group size now is capped at 10, though local officials anticipate increasing that to between 25 and 50 on May 27 as part of Phase 2 reopening, and possibly to 250 when the county decides to implement phase 3 restriction loosening, he said. In addition, local officials want to be able to tailor group sizes, especially in the case of lodging, to specific business spaces.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The county\u2019s most significant request, however, involves \u201cplaces of public accommodation\u201d such as restaurants, bars, gyms, movie theaters and performance theaters, Peacock said. The county is anticipating opening restaurants and bars for dine-in service May 27 with distancing and hygiene guidelines in place.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cAdditionally, the county asks for variances to reopening places of worship, museums, gyms, movie and performance theaters, concert halls, or music venues under guidelines that limit gathering sizes, create strict physical distancing and cleaning requirements that all venues must meet,\u201d according to the county\u2019s variance request.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cHowever, limitations on gathering sizes will effectively keep many of these venues closed until phase 3 is reached.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">With indoor restaurant seating certain to be limited, probably to 50% seating capacity, the county asked the state to allow outdoor dining as much as possible within social-distancing requirements to allow restaurants more capacity \u201cto survive this pandemic,\u201d Peacock said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The state is already talking about streamlining liquor license requests to allow outdoor drinking, he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cOutdoor venues will also be promoted as a less riskier environment than indoor venues,\u201d according to the variance request.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">In the case of retail stores, the county made a similar request to that of hotels, though it goes the other direction.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIn instances where the square footage of a retail business cannot accommodate the gathering size permitted while maintaining the minimum of 6 feet separation between employees and customers, a reduced number for entry will be set,\u201d according to the variance request.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The county also asked to be able to utilize public transportation \u201cfor any permissible purpose\u201d provided social distancing and hygiene guidelines are in place.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The Pitkin County Board of Health is scheduled to meet Thursday at 1:30 p.m., when the new phase 2 local public health order is likely to be discussed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Any questions about current rules surrounding the local public health order, or any other business-related questions can be answered by sending an email to businessliaison@ pitkincounty.com.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Tagline\"><a href=\"mailto:jauslander@aspentimes.com\">jauslander@aspentimes.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/pitkin-countys-variance-request-to-state-touts-outdoor-spaces-common-sense\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After skinning up Aspen Mountain, Sian Jones, left, Anne Goldberg, center, and Susan Saghatoleslami have a glass of champagne while abiding the social distancing requirements on Saturday, March 21, 2020.Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times The use of outdoor spaces and allowing common-sense social-distancing protocols are key components of Pitkin County\u2019s request to the state to deviate [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2458631","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-17 11:27:05","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley&#039;s Quality 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