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County pulls Bondad bar's liquor permit
Building violations were found
Herald Staff Writer
The Bondad roadhouse so familiar to U.S. Highway 550 drivers is facing an uncertain future after La Plata County commissioners on Tuesday voted not to renew the tavern's liquor license.
County staff recommended not to renew the license after an inspection of the Bondad Hill Saloon turned up several building and land-use code violations, including double doors and a covering over an outdoor seating area that were built without a permit.
A hearing on the renewal application scheduled for last month was continued at owner Guy Kemp's request. The hearing was rescheduled for Tuesday, the date of the license's expiration, and two notices were sent.
Neither Kemp nor a representative attended the hearing.
The future or the decades-old bar was already cloudy with the planned four-lane expansion of Highway 550.
In an interview in October, Kemp, a Florida transplant who purchased the bar a couple years ago and had been fixing it up, said he would contest plans that had the widened highway passing right through the tavern.
"I feel like I have to put up a fight for the bar," Kemp said at the time. "I at least owe it to them old-timers."
Messages left for Kemp at the bar Tuesday were not returned.
County Attorney Sheryl Rogers said the decision not to renew the license was effective immediately. To reopen, Kemp would have to apply for a new liquor license, she said.
The Colorado Department of Transportation has not made Kemp an offer on his property yet, CDOT spokeswoman Nancy Shanks said.
She said it was still being determined whether all or part of the property would be needed for the highway right of way. It's not clear how losing its liquor license will affect the value of the bar.
"A change in use could certainly affect the appraised value," she said.
Though work is under way south of the bar, it has not been determined when the widening project might reach Bondad because of the uncertainty of funding.
Commissioner Wally White said it was a shame to see the bar close.
"I'm disappointed that the owners have not been able to follow through on this," he said. "I'd have to say in my four years on the board this is first time that we've ever come across this kind of situation."
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