Mayor Bill Pinkham told an audience of about 60 citizens gathered to hear a presentation by the Association for Responsible Development (ARD) Friday that the panel discussion would help clear up misinformation on "open space" and offer an opportunity to move ahead to make logical, sound decisions on acquiring and maintaining such areas.
Defining what is and is not a natural area (the new preferred term for "open space," being more neutral and less emotionally charged) will help government entities to move ahead and catalogue such properties, Pinkham said. He is a member of the Estes Valley Lands Trust board, and said he had landed at the right place at the right time.
ARD president Tom Gootz said, "Open space doesn't need to be controversial."
It means many different things to many different people, he added. Among those are provisions for recreation, aesthetic enjoyment, wildlife preservation and tourist attraction for the scenery and wildlife.
ARD co-facilitator of the event Fred told the Trail-Gazette following the meeting: "I think, as (panelist) Kerri Rollins said, this barely scratches the surface of this complex subject, but I have hope that a positive result of (Friday's) meeting is that, as a community, we can actually begin to have meaningful discussions with everyone, pro and con, about what Estes sees as values and jointly decide on a way to deal with our future."
He also said, "I guess we can't say 'open space' anymore.... My only regrets are that the time passed so quickly. Just as the conversations were getting really interesting, three of our four trustees in attendance had to leave early. The sad part is those three are the ones that have historically thought any conversation about open space was a cry for money to purchase more land. I had hoped this would help to address some of the misconceptions the mayor spoke about...maybe next time."
An audience member noted that some trustees seemed to feel the subject had already been addressed and did not need revisiting.
However, ARD's presentation emphasized that, according to the town's 2011 Citizen Survey, 77 percent of Estes Park respondents felt that preservation of open space was either essential or very important to the town 49 percent of respondents said they would be "willing to fund preservation of open space with additional sales taxes or fees." Gootz called those responses "remarkable" and "strong." As far as funding for potential natural areas, he said exploring partnering with other entities -- such as was done to acquire Hermit Park -- is important and it's good to try to build a consensus on how much effort to spend going forward. Estes Park doesn't have a formal plan to provide for natural areas, although the comprehensive plan mentions them, he said. There is about $200,000 annually available from the county under the Help Preserve Open Space Initiative, so there is money coming in for this purpose, he said. An integrated effort with the stakeholders to review potential open space and prioritize the most desirable open space parcels for preservation is necessary and might help to solve the conflicts in opinion, he added. An inclusive definition of open space would be essential. That would include no intent of eminent domain. Additionally, the poor economy is an excellent time to approach land owners who may wish to sell or establish a conservation easement on priority open space that they can't sell or develop.
How can we justify acquiring additional open space when we are right next to the Rocky Mountain National Park, some critics ask. Rick Spowart, of the Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife, said that the park is not a complete ecosystem for all the wildlife. Where some animals feed and spend the winter may be outside the park. Where there's more development, there's less actual open ground where animals can survive the winter, and wildlife is important for the town's economy.
Many business and government leaders feel that preserving open space conflicts with land that could be developed for business and housing, ARD members said. Estes Park is a resort town, with very seasonal tourism. Town government and private interests are constantly trying to bring new commercial or industrial business into town, to balance out our largely seasonal tourism economy. Many view the commercial needs of the town as the top priority for diversifying and growing our economy. To lead to a balanced and sustainable growth and development policy requires a definition of and plan for permanent open space for Estes Park in the Estes Valley Comprehensive Planning document or by a town ordinance. This must be a comprehensive plan that can be widely supported by private, business and governmental stakeholders, ARD members said.
"Today, we are seeking your knowledge, experience and advice on how to accomplish this goal," Gootz said.
ARD neither purchases nor develops open space and merely wants to facilitate communication with stakeholders, acting as advocates for balance and sustainable growth in the community, he added.
Acting town administrator Lowell Richardson said Estes Park has had a 17-year relationship with Larimer County in the use of open space funds and open space is a part of the infrastructure. Panelist Rebecca Urquhart, president of the Estes Valley Land Trust, said it is critical for government agencies to coordinate on open space. While the missions and focus of government agencies may change, "if we partner with (them), we can protect open space forever." Conservation easements are held in perpetuity and insulate areas from change in government policies and procedures.
"I'm glad we're coordinating here. Definition of open space is a critical mission." Panelist Kerri Rollins, Larimer County Open Lands Program manager, said the loss of community separators in the rapid growth of our Front Range makes an important case for the preservation of natural areas. The open space sales tax of one-quarter cent sunsets in 2018, she said. With that annual $8 million, 44,500 acres of natural areas through the county have been purchased, 28,000 in fee-simple conservation easements and 83 miles of trail. County commissioners have the final authority on how the money is spent.
Rollins told Estes Park trustees they have their work cut out for them and suggested there might be a referendum or ballot initiative concerning how money for natural areas is raised.
Is the issue one of open space versus development? No, she said.
"A good community has both," Rollins said. "If you pit them against each other, nobody wins."
Panelist Dean Paschall, community and public process manager, for open space and mountain parks in Boulder, said that Boulder is built out to the limits of the edge of the city, and that open space will help cap growth and provide a natural buffer, so there is not one big conglomeration of communities.
"It's a huge quality-of-life issue," he said.
Such things as pocket parks in town and community gardens actually add value to the area, he said. The Front Range has one of the most diverse populations of wildlife anywhere, and we have the responsibility of preserving that diversity, he added.
Being able to walk out your back door and go for a walk in nature, after a hectic day is "critical to (humans') well-being," Paschall said. "We suffer if we don't have (that ability)."
"Connectivity to nature for youth and families" is the new thing now, providing social, physical and mental health benefits, Rollins added. While defining open space is like chasing ghosts, she said "you all will define it for your community," through public forums, surveys, the planning process. She suggested that leaders should make sure they have the funding to do a thorough planning process and that it is thoroughly described to and supported by the public. Diverse opinions should be sought through community outreach, she said. Then, once a plan is drafted, it should be made available to the public.
"It has to be an open, thorough and very transparent process," she said.
Paschall said that, rather than defining natural areas, it might be better to define the values that are important to the community. How much density do you want to support, he asked.
"When I come up here in the summer..." he said, to laughter. "Enough said."
