Comment Forms Received Online
- I am very much against the unilateral breakup of the IGA by the mayor and trustees Walker and Cenac. Estes Park government has long been indifferent and at times hostile to residential landowners in Town since we do not contribute equally to the tax coffers compared to commercial businesses. This trend has taken a threatening turn when Jirsa was elected, since he has attempted to eliminate our residential zoning laws by permitting an undefined amount of commercial development in residential zones. The fiasco around the Walker mountain coaster is an example of the incompetence of our current government to represent residential taxpayers in Town. We need to keep the current IGA system since generally, the county commissioners have demonstrated more maturity and experience in governmental and land use matters. The current attempt by Estes Park administrators to remove sensible protections of residential landowners rights indicates the level of corruption in Town government. Steps to create a balanced approach to land usage in the valley would entail.: 1) Recall of Trustee Walker to restore some credibility to Estes Park government. 2) A balanced approach to protect residential property owners’ rights and to put some emphasis on open space to promote view corridors, wildlife corridors, and sensible development in the Valley. 3) Complete a Comprehensive Plan for Estes Park and the County that will represent public input and not just the self-interest of commercial developers. This plan need not include boiler plate items of history etc. but should contain one map of the Town and Valley after extensive meetings with landowners in those regions where open land exists. This must include those wanting to profit by selling their land for development and residential homeowners who have an equal financial investment in protecting the value of their land and homes. There also needs to be a reasonable list of key items that governs commercial development such as a) noise levels, b) traffic increase, c) size of proposed commercial development, d) parking needed for project, e) real estimate of contribution of proposed business in terms of tax dollars generated. Unfortunately, the current administration of Estes Park is both corrupt and indifferent to these principles. I doubt that much "peace" will be attained in this Valley until the current administration is ousted.
- We want to see residentially zoned land protected in the Estes Valley. We do not want to see more commercial projects approved under the guise of parks and rec on residential land. A precedent is being set that could spoil the Estes Valley irreversibly. Very risky. We have worked hard for our home in Estes Park, and we are very concerned that spot rezoning and manipulation of code will result in lowering our property values. We do not want to see each project come under special review as the Town is proposing - that opens up each project for different interpretation. Residential land must be permanently protected against commercial ventures. The Estes Valley is thriving! Pushing for more development is greedy. I have read a lot of history of the past 100 years in the Estes Valley. Visitors have been coming here all these years for an escape from the daily grind, to commune with nature, for the small-town experience. Please work to protect residential property rights and to keep the character of this town intact.
- The Estes Valley is one community. The views of residents regarding land use issues do not change when you cross from town to unincorporated county territory within the valley. Where views on land use differ it is due to the background of the individuals such as retirees, business owners, developers, realtors, young families, etc. It is not due to where they live. In terms of common community interests and concerns, there are no boundaries between town and county in the Estes Valley. Decisions on land use within the county affect residents in the town and visa versa. We all share the same roads and trails, the same views of the mountains, the same wildlife, the same utilities infrastructure, the same emergency services, the same schools, the same tourism impact, and the same traffic congestion. The Estes Valley is unique in that it is landlocked and nearly all the land is developed. There is no true Growth Management Area in the way that it is used in other communities in Larimer County. Given the highly integrated nature of the community, the fact that the land is almost fully developed, and the valley-wide impact of all land use decisions, we must continue to have uniform and closely coordinated and land use planning across the Estes Valley. The only way to do this is with a single valley-wide Comprehensive Plan that is updated to reflect current conditions. Uniform and closely coordinated land use planning can best be done by retaining the Joint Planning Area (JPA) with a single valley-wide Planning Commission and Board of Adjustment. Residents of the Estes Valley who serve on these boards are much better equipped to address land use questions than the Larimer County Planning Commission and Board of Adjustment. The Larimer County boards would have to deal with land use issues and the concerns of residents living in the unincorporated part of the Estes Valley. These County boards are very busy with a lot of other issues on their plates. If the JPA is terminated, the development code and zoning in the unincorporated portion of the Estes Valley would have to be retained for some period, perhaps several years. To do otherwise would be unfair to residents and extremely chaotic. If we have one Comprehensive Plan and one set of Development Code and Zoning, would it make any sense to terminate the JPA? The JPA worked well for many years. Then came the Mountain Coaster project and the issue of commercial development in residential zones. I would argue that this makes it even more crucial that we have consistent land use planning across the Estes Valley. In many locations we have residential development close to our remaining open areas that could potentially have commercial development. Thoughtful planning, with an eye toward our valley-wide comprehensive plan and development code, is needed to address commercial and residential development projects when they are proposed.
- In general statutes/laws/regulations/codes (rules) are designed to meet a specific need. A need that has, in general, been worked out by citizen and not special interest groups. The most important factor of having the rules work is enforcement. When the rules are good and not supportive of special interest groups do we see the corruption of government. Therefore it is very, very important to have in any sets of rules the ability for independent, effective enforcement to happen and for citizen recourse. Politics should not be the measure of truth and trust and any set of the rules should have safeguards written in them to stop any political views from taking over the rules or hamstringing them such that independent and effective enforcement is blocked. One of the problems that the Estes community faced was a rewrite of the rules in such a manner as to hide the true intent by having no "legislative history" to fall back on when concerns or challenges arose. So, coming up with a new Intergovernmental Agreement (IGS) needs to full and complete analysis of the impacts, cost, enforcement required and mechanisms and how special interest groups have influenced the process to safeguard the corruption of the rules (IGA). You ask, "well how do we do this?" It is simple to find guidelines from other jurisdictions that have good, sound, and reasonable instructions and formats for the production the rules ... go out and find them. Yes, implementing such guidelines takes time, which means funding must be available to do the work. (And speaking of funding it must also be allocated also for proper independent and effective enforcement of the rules!) The reduction of funding is the primary way in which politics control the agenda of making fair citizen based rules. So, if you are not going to put funding and enforcement independence requirements in the IGA you are on the road to produce another failed set of rules.
- It is important to address both the interests of both the residents (mostly county outside the the town, but including many in within town boundaries) and commercial interests in arriving at an equitable land use plan. Most residents outside the town want tranquil residential environment mostly made up of 5 or 10 acre single family plots. On the other hand the commercial interests, perhaps to counter reduced traffic flow resulting from the potential rationing of visitors to rocky mtn national park restrictions, are trying to find ways to make Estes park a destination all its own. My fear is that the commercial interests will resort to a dollyville, kings dominion, silver dollar city, knoebels or cedar point solution, while something like stone mountain focusing on attractions derived from the history of rnp and early estes valley would the destination venue i believe the commercial interests want and will need. If the town relies highly visible attractions, they run the risk of losing those who visit for the wildlife, scenery and nature and those who moved to the valley for the same benefits. It should also be noted that the valley can’t support more automobile traffic. We have a growing number of increasingly dangerous air quality alerts, mostly ozone attributable to auto traffic. It’s a difficult assignment to develop a plan that will appease most valley residents.
- A replacement IGA should be sought. Cooperation between town and county are essential for preserving the character of an area as tightly constrained by geography as is the Estes Valley. The current IGA does not seem to have been able to maintain a good balance between town and county interests in recent days. The county’s willingness to defer to the towns administrative staff in important land use decisions does not seem fair to the interests of county residents. The development of a comprehensive plan for the Estes Valley is essential. Serious thought needs to be given to just how much development the Estes Valley can accommodate without negatively impacting commercial, community and environmental interests, all three.
- Although I will not be attending this evenings meeting, I want to thank you for holding it and for your interest in soliciting feedback on this critically important topic. As an Estes Valley resident, I have observed our current development plan approach and its implementation as more and more of the Valley is dedicated to multiple types of development, and have grown increasingly concerned as less and less open land exists for either public parkland, conservation easements or preserved wildlife habitat. I fear were on a path here that many other communities have taken: we encourage development until the time has passed for any meaningful preservation of what remains. As you know, this Valley is environmentally critical as winter range for deer, elk, and other animals. In addition, overall congestion in both the town and outlying areas continues to mount - we risk creating a community where fewer want to visit, and where fewer still want to live. I strongly encourage consideration of plans to partner with the Estes Valley Land Trust and other agencies to purchase available parcels for protection and public use. I further do not support any additional development in the Valley beyond town limits. It’s time to transition from development efforts to quality of life goals that will benefit residents, visitors, wildlife, and future generations.
- Sidewalk -- parallel with W. Wonderview west of MacGregor
