July 26, 2008
Code Amendment Would Alter Rights of Private Property Owners
RIDGWAY – A proposed amendment to the Ouray County Land Use Code that would greatly alter private property rights in the county is set for public hearing before the Ouray County Commissioners tonight at 8 p.m. at the Ouray County 4-H Event Center in Ridgway. The amendment would, if enacted, shift decision-making authority involving changes to existing subdivisions from the homeowners’ association to the Ouray County Board of Commissioners.
The application for the amendment was paid for by Craig and Renee Cambria, owners of the 60-acre Night Hawk Ranch in Log Hill Unit II, under a law that allows the county, private citizens or private or public entities to request legislative changes.
The Cambrias wish to sell two six-acre lots but are restricted from doing so by current code regulations and the planned unit development's covenants. The properties surrounding the ranch currently have zoning densities ranging from approximately one to six acres.
Arguing for the Cambrias will be former county attorney Mike Hockersmith, who says that the existing rules have given neighboring property owners too much power over legitimate applications for amendment or modification of a subdivision's covenants, resulting in hardship for a particular lot owner.
Some homeowners’ associations and the Ridgway-Ouray Community Council have opposed the proposal, arguing that planned unit developments are contractual in nature as far as the lot owners are concerned and that if elected officials are allowed to have the final say on plat amendments or modifications, this would divest all lot owners in PUDs throughout the county of their decision-making power to prevent further divisions of lots prohibited by the covenants of their PUDs.
This hearing will follow an earlier hearing beginning at 6:35 p.m. to review non-substantive housekeeping changes to Section 6 of the Land Use Code that have been proposed by the county.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Sunday, June 8, 2008
New Streetscape plan unveiled in Ridgway
RIDGWAY – Town planning officials and members of the public viewed a proposed streetscape plan for the Downtown Historic Business District on May 27 that, if approved, would serve to position the Town of Ridgway for economic revitalization. The design features a one-way, concrete-cobbled Clinton Street in a pedestrian-friendly, plaza format. The overall plan is replete with ornate iron benches, rustic mining period street lamps, perennial flower palettes, and tree-lined, paved streets.
Representatives from Durango-based Russell Engineering, Inc., a civil engineering and land planning firm commissioned by the town to design a new storm water system and streetscape, gave a PowerPoint presentation and answered questions from members of the Town Planning Commission during its regular meeting at the Community Center. The airing included a street-by-street cost breakdown, recommended construction phasing schedule, as well as the streescape layout. The scope of the project, however, was reduced due to “anticipated funding limitations,” limiting the streetscape plan to just the north side of Colorado Highway 62 between Laura and Railroad streets, according to Assistant Planner Jennifer Coates.
The cost of the project would be $2.7 million and could take 20-30 years to finance, according to Town Manager Greg Clifton, who noted that any recommendation by the Ridgway Town Council would have to be approved by voters at the polls.
The principal streets included in the renovation would be Railroad, Clinton, Laura, Cora, and Lena. The plan depicts the street layout while accommodating underground utilities; the named streets would be asphalted except Clinton, which would be paved in concrete. Clinton would once again serve as the hub of the Historic District, and could be closed to motor vehicle traffic for special events.
The intersections of the streets would also be paved in an earth-toned concrete color to “keep pedestrian flow,” according to William “Frowny” Frownfelter, who, along with Walker Christensen, Katie Nelson and Drew Chandler of Russell Engineering and THM Design, produced the plan.
The plan includes a lighted intersection at Railroad Street and Hwy. 62, with the last several yards of Railroad being moved westward onto what is now the southern portion of the tennis courts, as mandated by the Colorado Department of Transportation; buried power lines; the removal of the microwave repeater dish now in place at the Qwest Communications station on Clinton; the addition of trees on the named streets; and the utilization of more color and flower “palettes” to make Lena Street a “gateway to the town.”
“The additional trees would keep the character of the architecture,” said Chandler.
Parking would be increased from the current 180 places to 200, according to the design team.
The impact of additional street lighting was a topic of concern for some members in the audience. “I would like to see it a little darker,” commented Ridgway resident Brian Peters.
“If this goes forward, we're still two years off from actual construction,” said Clifton.
Hunter to Replace Rogers on Town Council
The ripple effect of the non-renewal of several Ridgway Secondary School teachers by the board of education on April 17 continues to be felt – most recently with some changes in the composition of Ridgway's planning commission and town council.
Planning commission chair Ellen Hunter informed the Town of Ridgway that she will be accepting an appointment to the Ridgway Town Council, filling the vacancy created by the May 15 resignation of Jonathan Rogers, who taught for four years at Ridgway Secondary School.
Town regulations provide that the runner up candidate be given an opportunity to be appointed by the town. Hunter lost to Rogers by seven votes in the April 1 election.
Rogers will be teaching language arts and journalism at Iowa City High. In his May 15 resignation letter, Rogers thanked citizens for the opportunity to serve: “It has been a pleasure to be part of this community and I look forward to hearing about new roads, festivals, green spaces, affordable housing, future issues of the Demon Press, and a renovated downtown that is sure to make Ridgway even better.”
At their May 27 meeting, planning commission members appointed member Jack Petruccelli chairperson and expressed their intent for the town to aggressively find a replacement for Hunter.
Representatives from Durango-based Russell Engineering, Inc., a civil engineering and land planning firm commissioned by the town to design a new storm water system and streetscape, gave a PowerPoint presentation and answered questions from members of the Town Planning Commission during its regular meeting at the Community Center. The airing included a street-by-street cost breakdown, recommended construction phasing schedule, as well as the streescape layout. The scope of the project, however, was reduced due to “anticipated funding limitations,” limiting the streetscape plan to just the north side of Colorado Highway 62 between Laura and Railroad streets, according to Assistant Planner Jennifer Coates.
The cost of the project would be $2.7 million and could take 20-30 years to finance, according to Town Manager Greg Clifton, who noted that any recommendation by the Ridgway Town Council would have to be approved by voters at the polls.
The principal streets included in the renovation would be Railroad, Clinton, Laura, Cora, and Lena. The plan depicts the street layout while accommodating underground utilities; the named streets would be asphalted except Clinton, which would be paved in concrete. Clinton would once again serve as the hub of the Historic District, and could be closed to motor vehicle traffic for special events.
The intersections of the streets would also be paved in an earth-toned concrete color to “keep pedestrian flow,” according to William “Frowny” Frownfelter, who, along with Walker Christensen, Katie Nelson and Drew Chandler of Russell Engineering and THM Design, produced the plan.
The plan includes a lighted intersection at Railroad Street and Hwy. 62, with the last several yards of Railroad being moved westward onto what is now the southern portion of the tennis courts, as mandated by the Colorado Department of Transportation; buried power lines; the removal of the microwave repeater dish now in place at the Qwest Communications station on Clinton; the addition of trees on the named streets; and the utilization of more color and flower “palettes” to make Lena Street a “gateway to the town.”
“The additional trees would keep the character of the architecture,” said Chandler.
Parking would be increased from the current 180 places to 200, according to the design team.
The impact of additional street lighting was a topic of concern for some members in the audience. “I would like to see it a little darker,” commented Ridgway resident Brian Peters.
“If this goes forward, we're still two years off from actual construction,” said Clifton.
Hunter to Replace Rogers on Town Council
The ripple effect of the non-renewal of several Ridgway Secondary School teachers by the board of education on April 17 continues to be felt – most recently with some changes in the composition of Ridgway's planning commission and town council.
Planning commission chair Ellen Hunter informed the Town of Ridgway that she will be accepting an appointment to the Ridgway Town Council, filling the vacancy created by the May 15 resignation of Jonathan Rogers, who taught for four years at Ridgway Secondary School.
Town regulations provide that the runner up candidate be given an opportunity to be appointed by the town. Hunter lost to Rogers by seven votes in the April 1 election.
Rogers will be teaching language arts and journalism at Iowa City High. In his May 15 resignation letter, Rogers thanked citizens for the opportunity to serve: “It has been a pleasure to be part of this community and I look forward to hearing about new roads, festivals, green spaces, affordable housing, future issues of the Demon Press, and a renovated downtown that is sure to make Ridgway even better.”
At their May 27 meeting, planning commission members appointed member Jack Petruccelli chairperson and expressed their intent for the town to aggressively find a replacement for Hunter.
Ridgway Schools Focused on the Future
RIDGWAY – Preparing students for the complexities of the 21st century’s increasingly competitive marketplace was the theme at the Ridgway School Board’s Tuesday, May 27 meeting. As Board President Kara Mueller explained it, the board’s main goal is to discern “what is the mission of our school district as we prepare our students for the 21st century” – a world, she observed, that’s obviously “different from 20, 30 or 50 years ago.”
In an effort to come up with a mission statement that will inspire students, faculty and the community at large to focus on the future, the board spent more than half-an-hour telephone conferencing with Colorado Association of School Boards advisor Vera Dawson about how to involve the public in the process.
“You don’t want to confuse them,” Dawson cautioned the board, regarding public involvement in coming up with a compelling statement, “or cause them to burn out.” Describing the current mission statement as more “slogan” than mission statement, Dawson emphasized the need to come up with a public process that “won’t bore people to death.”
“It’s always a challenge to get people there,” Mueller told Dawson, “and then, once they are there, to get them to feel they are part of the necessary process,” feeling “useful and heard in the process” and “making it worthwhile for them.”
“We are a small mountain community,” emphasized former Board President Howard Butcher, a lifelong Ridgway area resident, who is moving his family to California later this summer, “and it’s kind of isolated.
“Sometimes I feel a certain amount of complacency” on the part of students and parents, Butcher continued, as well as a lack of awareness that students will eventually compete in the workplace with, say, “Korean students who are studying 15 hours a day” right now to increase their eligibility in the job market.
Butcher, who had begun the meeting by declaring that his recent tour of schools in California – of a range of public, charter and private schools – left him impressed by “the talent and capable teaching here and how there is so much going right, going well here, at our schools,” he went on to emphasize that the district’s mission statement – which it is hoped will be completed by the start of the next school year, will “reflect the reality that we’re very serious about this world” today’s students must prepare themselves for.
The board hopes to have a perfect-pitch mission statement in place for the 2008-09 school year.
Budget ‘Looks in Line’
Comparing the end-of-the-school-year wait to balance the books to “a tidal wave,” with “three-quarters of the revenue coming crashing in” now that the school year has ended, Superintendent Douglas Bissonette voiced confidence that, with $500,000 outstanding, “everything still looks in line; now, it’s a matter of waiting” for revenues mostly from property taxes.
Bingo!
“We want to do more than just a turkey dinner and a carnival” on the fund-raising front, Mueller told the board, and to that end, the board is considering bingo gatherings – as a fundraiser as well as “a vehicle for creating community.”
Greenhouse Studies
District resident Heidi Comstock, who has a greenhouse in her home at Log Hill, and has developed greenhouse-curriculum in the past, has offered to work with the district on a greenhouse program for the schools.
A Cool Mission
The Ridgway High School graduating class earned $1,360,700 in committed scholarship money this academic year; the total committed moneys from colleges accepted by students, to date, is $598,120; and 19 students with college offers have accepted.
Staff Comings and Goings
The board voted unanimously to approve recommendations to hire Emma Brockman as secondary principal; Maggie Guscott (high school math teacher); Anne Hilleman (secondary special ed; Mary Ownes (11/12 English teacher); Mary Haskins (6-8 English teacher); Tim Lyons (technology teacher); Nancy Randall (middle school Spanish teacher); Ryan Wilson (high school social studies teacher) and Jessica Kimball (secondary school PE teacher); Robyn Cascade (third grade teacher); Kelly Charrier (elementary Spanish teacher) and Rebecca Hazen (pre-school teacher.” The board accepted resignations from Kelly Hagemeyer (paraprofessional); Beth Costa (librarian); Charlie Jones (athletic director); and Gina Rogers (English teacher).
In an effort to come up with a mission statement that will inspire students, faculty and the community at large to focus on the future, the board spent more than half-an-hour telephone conferencing with Colorado Association of School Boards advisor Vera Dawson about how to involve the public in the process.
“You don’t want to confuse them,” Dawson cautioned the board, regarding public involvement in coming up with a compelling statement, “or cause them to burn out.” Describing the current mission statement as more “slogan” than mission statement, Dawson emphasized the need to come up with a public process that “won’t bore people to death.”
“It’s always a challenge to get people there,” Mueller told Dawson, “and then, once they are there, to get them to feel they are part of the necessary process,” feeling “useful and heard in the process” and “making it worthwhile for them.”
“We are a small mountain community,” emphasized former Board President Howard Butcher, a lifelong Ridgway area resident, who is moving his family to California later this summer, “and it’s kind of isolated.
“Sometimes I feel a certain amount of complacency” on the part of students and parents, Butcher continued, as well as a lack of awareness that students will eventually compete in the workplace with, say, “Korean students who are studying 15 hours a day” right now to increase their eligibility in the job market.
Butcher, who had begun the meeting by declaring that his recent tour of schools in California – of a range of public, charter and private schools – left him impressed by “the talent and capable teaching here and how there is so much going right, going well here, at our schools,” he went on to emphasize that the district’s mission statement – which it is hoped will be completed by the start of the next school year, will “reflect the reality that we’re very serious about this world” today’s students must prepare themselves for.
The board hopes to have a perfect-pitch mission statement in place for the 2008-09 school year.
Budget ‘Looks in Line’
Comparing the end-of-the-school-year wait to balance the books to “a tidal wave,” with “three-quarters of the revenue coming crashing in” now that the school year has ended, Superintendent Douglas Bissonette voiced confidence that, with $500,000 outstanding, “everything still looks in line; now, it’s a matter of waiting” for revenues mostly from property taxes.
Bingo!
“We want to do more than just a turkey dinner and a carnival” on the fund-raising front, Mueller told the board, and to that end, the board is considering bingo gatherings – as a fundraiser as well as “a vehicle for creating community.”
Greenhouse Studies
District resident Heidi Comstock, who has a greenhouse in her home at Log Hill, and has developed greenhouse-curriculum in the past, has offered to work with the district on a greenhouse program for the schools.
A Cool Mission
The Ridgway High School graduating class earned $1,360,700 in committed scholarship money this academic year; the total committed moneys from colleges accepted by students, to date, is $598,120; and 19 students with college offers have accepted.
Staff Comings and Goings
The board voted unanimously to approve recommendations to hire Emma Brockman as secondary principal; Maggie Guscott (high school math teacher); Anne Hilleman (secondary special ed; Mary Ownes (11/12 English teacher); Mary Haskins (6-8 English teacher); Tim Lyons (technology teacher); Nancy Randall (middle school Spanish teacher); Ryan Wilson (high school social studies teacher) and Jessica Kimball (secondary school PE teacher); Robyn Cascade (third grade teacher); Kelly Charrier (elementary Spanish teacher) and Rebecca Hazen (pre-school teacher.” The board accepted resignations from Kelly Hagemeyer (paraprofessional); Beth Costa (librarian); Charlie Jones (athletic director); and Gina Rogers (English teacher).
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Affordable Housing in Ridgway?
Affordable Housing on the Wane in Ouray County
by Kate Kellogg1 day 11 hrs ago | 83 views | 0 | 0 | | RIDGWAY – A new analysis of Ouray County’s housing needs, packed with facts and figures, provides the hard evidence of a growing dearth of affordable housing in Ouray County.
Consultants from Denver and San Miguel County presented their Ouray County Housing Needs Assessment to the public on Wednesday, April 16 at the Ridgway Community Center. In view of trends in wages and home prices, the assessment predicts that by 2015, 30 percent of new employee households in the county will need some form of affordable housing.
Nearly half of the 650 Ouray County households who responded to a survey on housing needs ranked affordable housing as one of the most serious problems facing the county.
The assessment was commissioned by the newly formed county-wide Affordable Housing Authority, an independent entity created to help locate, finance, build, and administer affordable housing in Ouray County. The authority is comprised of representatives from the county, City of Ouray and Town of Ridgway. Funded by a grant from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs, the housing needs assessment is the work of two consulting firms: the San Miguel County-based Affordable Housing Solutions and the Denver office of Economic & Planning Systems, Inc.
“One purpose of the assessment was to find out what residents want and need and to target appropriate housing prices,” said Affordable Housing Solutions’ Dawn Ibis.
The report highlights the growing disparity between income and housing prices. While real wages earned in the county have increased by 2.1 percent annually since 2000 (exceeding the rate of increase for the state), the increase in median value of Ouray County homes has risen 11.6 annually since 2003. The median price of a single-family home in Ouray County in 2006 was $395,000 and in 2007, $431,500. The average sale price for a condo or townhouse was $310,000 in 2007.
In 2006, the county’s area median income was $51,250 for a 2.5-person household. Not surprisingly, 26 percent of all renters and 33 percent of homeowners in the county are what the report calls “cost burdened,” meaning they spend over 30 percent of their incomes on housing. Moreover, 40 percent of all county households meet the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s definition of low income, as they earn 80 percent or less of the county’s median income.
Andy Knudtsen, of Economic & Planning Systems, attempted to “put a human face” on such affordability measures. He cited the report’s example of a household comprised of a teacher earning the average 2006 wage of $25,832 and a retail trade worker earning the 2006 average wage of $20,088. Combining their incomes, an affordable house would be priced at $157,400, far below the average available market unit from 2006.
That hypothetical household is earning about 90 percent of the area median income. Those 40 percent of the county’s population who earn 80 percent of the median could only afford a $140,000 home or a $1,000 per month rental unit.
One group that is apparently finding adequate housing is second home owners. While total housing units in Ouray County increased by an average of 112 per year from 2000-2006, the number of resident households increased by about 42 per year. Thus, 70 new housing units per year were either vacant or occupied by part-time residents.
A survey of employers in the county found that about 33 percent of Ouray workers and 75 percent of employees who work in Ridgway commute from other locations, both within and outside Ouray County. The 21 employers who responded attributed a number of employee losses to housing problems. About 25 percent of the employer respondents offer some form of housing assistance to their employees.
To prevent further shrinkage of the employee pool, essential workers should receive priority ranking as candidates for affordable housing, the study recommends. “Teachers, tellers and cops” broadly describes the cross-section of key service providers who may not be able to find affordable housing in the county, noted Knudtsen.
According to the study, the county’s current housing deficit is 165 units, a figure derived by adding the number of unfilled jobs countywide to half of the county’s in-commuters (assuming some employees commute for reasons other than housing costs). Based on employment projections, that deficit could grow to 881 by 2015.
A review of master-planned development projects highlighted the six affordable units planned for the Silvershield development in Ouray and 10 affordably priced units in Ridgway’s Parkside and Preserve developments. According to the assessment, none of the prices for any of these units will be below $220,000, or affordable for households earning less than 100 percent of the median income.
“All of these projects were initiated by developers,” said Ibis. “To achieve lower costs, such projects must be subsidized with state or federal grants.” She said the new affordable housing authority may eventually identify funding sources that will help fill the gaps.
The housing study recommends that Ridgway create a standard zoning requirement that developers set aside a portion of new units as affordable housing. Accordingly, the town should provide incentives to developers such as permit fee waivers, tap fee deferrals and density increases. It suggests that the city of Ouray could capitalize on its tourism economy by designating a fraction of sales or accommodations tax for affordable housing. Ibis noted that Telluride reserves .5 percent of its sales tax for that purpose. Since developable land in Ouray is limited, the city might provide incentives to include affordable housing in redevelopment sites.
Recognizing that the county and municipalities are protective of environmentally sensitive areas, the assessment recommends targeting areas of lesser growth, such as the Colona area, for affordable housing. The county might also use this approach for lands that immediately abut Ridgway and Ouray.
David Schwartz of Economic Planning & Systems commended the countywide attempts to address the area’s critical housing needs. “It’s great to see this collective community effort,” he said. “The challenge is to develop clear and consistent standards and generate public support for administration of future programs.”
by Kate Kellogg1 day 11 hrs ago | 83 views | 0 | 0 | | RIDGWAY – A new analysis of Ouray County’s housing needs, packed with facts and figures, provides the hard evidence of a growing dearth of affordable housing in Ouray County.
Consultants from Denver and San Miguel County presented their Ouray County Housing Needs Assessment to the public on Wednesday, April 16 at the Ridgway Community Center. In view of trends in wages and home prices, the assessment predicts that by 2015, 30 percent of new employee households in the county will need some form of affordable housing.
Nearly half of the 650 Ouray County households who responded to a survey on housing needs ranked affordable housing as one of the most serious problems facing the county.
The assessment was commissioned by the newly formed county-wide Affordable Housing Authority, an independent entity created to help locate, finance, build, and administer affordable housing in Ouray County. The authority is comprised of representatives from the county, City of Ouray and Town of Ridgway. Funded by a grant from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs, the housing needs assessment is the work of two consulting firms: the San Miguel County-based Affordable Housing Solutions and the Denver office of Economic & Planning Systems, Inc.
“One purpose of the assessment was to find out what residents want and need and to target appropriate housing prices,” said Affordable Housing Solutions’ Dawn Ibis.
The report highlights the growing disparity between income and housing prices. While real wages earned in the county have increased by 2.1 percent annually since 2000 (exceeding the rate of increase for the state), the increase in median value of Ouray County homes has risen 11.6 annually since 2003. The median price of a single-family home in Ouray County in 2006 was $395,000 and in 2007, $431,500. The average sale price for a condo or townhouse was $310,000 in 2007.
In 2006, the county’s area median income was $51,250 for a 2.5-person household. Not surprisingly, 26 percent of all renters and 33 percent of homeowners in the county are what the report calls “cost burdened,” meaning they spend over 30 percent of their incomes on housing. Moreover, 40 percent of all county households meet the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s definition of low income, as they earn 80 percent or less of the county’s median income.
Andy Knudtsen, of Economic & Planning Systems, attempted to “put a human face” on such affordability measures. He cited the report’s example of a household comprised of a teacher earning the average 2006 wage of $25,832 and a retail trade worker earning the 2006 average wage of $20,088. Combining their incomes, an affordable house would be priced at $157,400, far below the average available market unit from 2006.
That hypothetical household is earning about 90 percent of the area median income. Those 40 percent of the county’s population who earn 80 percent of the median could only afford a $140,000 home or a $1,000 per month rental unit.
One group that is apparently finding adequate housing is second home owners. While total housing units in Ouray County increased by an average of 112 per year from 2000-2006, the number of resident households increased by about 42 per year. Thus, 70 new housing units per year were either vacant or occupied by part-time residents.
A survey of employers in the county found that about 33 percent of Ouray workers and 75 percent of employees who work in Ridgway commute from other locations, both within and outside Ouray County. The 21 employers who responded attributed a number of employee losses to housing problems. About 25 percent of the employer respondents offer some form of housing assistance to their employees.
To prevent further shrinkage of the employee pool, essential workers should receive priority ranking as candidates for affordable housing, the study recommends. “Teachers, tellers and cops” broadly describes the cross-section of key service providers who may not be able to find affordable housing in the county, noted Knudtsen.
According to the study, the county’s current housing deficit is 165 units, a figure derived by adding the number of unfilled jobs countywide to half of the county’s in-commuters (assuming some employees commute for reasons other than housing costs). Based on employment projections, that deficit could grow to 881 by 2015.
A review of master-planned development projects highlighted the six affordable units planned for the Silvershield development in Ouray and 10 affordably priced units in Ridgway’s Parkside and Preserve developments. According to the assessment, none of the prices for any of these units will be below $220,000, or affordable for households earning less than 100 percent of the median income.
“All of these projects were initiated by developers,” said Ibis. “To achieve lower costs, such projects must be subsidized with state or federal grants.” She said the new affordable housing authority may eventually identify funding sources that will help fill the gaps.
The housing study recommends that Ridgway create a standard zoning requirement that developers set aside a portion of new units as affordable housing. Accordingly, the town should provide incentives to developers such as permit fee waivers, tap fee deferrals and density increases. It suggests that the city of Ouray could capitalize on its tourism economy by designating a fraction of sales or accommodations tax for affordable housing. Ibis noted that Telluride reserves .5 percent of its sales tax for that purpose. Since developable land in Ouray is limited, the city might provide incentives to include affordable housing in redevelopment sites.
Recognizing that the county and municipalities are protective of environmentally sensitive areas, the assessment recommends targeting areas of lesser growth, such as the Colona area, for affordable housing. The county might also use this approach for lands that immediately abut Ridgway and Ouray.
David Schwartz of Economic Planning & Systems commended the countywide attempts to address the area’s critical housing needs. “It’s great to see this collective community effort,” he said. “The challenge is to develop clear and consistent standards and generate public support for administration of future programs.”
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
County Considers Donation of Historic Mining Claims
County Considers Donation of Historic Mining Claims
Courtesy of the Ouray County Watch
JONATHAN MINE – The Ouray County Board of Commissioners has been asked by the Red Mountain Project group to acquire two mining claims: the seven-acre American Girl near the top of Red Mountain Pass just off U.S. Highway 550 and the 10-acre Jonathan Mine (above) on Gold Hill overlooking Ouray, which according to Ouray Mayor and a RMP group member Bob Risch included a blacksmith shop, boarding house with kitchen, and tram station. (Courtesy photo)
slideshow OURAY – Ouray County could be the recipient of approximately 17 acres of historic mining sites in the near future, including the seven-acre American Girl Mine just south of Ironton and the 10-acre Jonathan Mine north of Ouray.
Ouray Mayor Bob Risch, speaking on behalf of the Red Mountain Project at the March 31 meeting of the Ouray Board of County Commissioners, invited the commissioners to consider taking title to the land so that preservation of these prominent mining sites and the buildings on them may continue.
The commissioners agreed to consider the offer and asked County Attorney Mary Deganhart to explore any legal issues that the county may encounter by accepting ownership. They also asked County Administrator Connie Hunt to schedule a workshop soon with the Red Mountain Task Force and the Ouray County Historical Society. Risch said he is already planning to have a meeting in early May with the historical society, which usually participates in the process of transferring historic mining sites to public ownership.
The donation would add to the120 acres that the county previously acquired from RMP for its mining claim inventory, including the Ironton Townsite, the Larson Brothers claims and the Beaver/Belfast mines, as well as to nearly 200 acres of mining claims already in county ownership.
The American Girl Mine, according to Risch, is a favorite subject for area artists and photographers and is “one of the most prominent historic mining structures along the length of the San Juan Skyway,” he said. The mine was supposed to be deeded to the U.S. Forest Service along with two other claims collectively named White Cloud, but the overlapping juxtaposition of those claims triggered some confusion, and the American Girl was missed during the transfer. The result, said Risch, is that the Trust for Public Land still holds title and is making it available to the county.
Acquisition of the Jonathan Mine, located on Gold Hill overlooking Ouray, is crucial for its future preservation, according to the task force. This site contains a tram terminal, blacksmith shop and boardinghouse. Access to the site is by historic roads and trails, which cross privately owned claims, making access to the mine problematic. Risch said that the county should be able to negotiate road access with neighboring landowners at that location in the future. “Our hope and expectation is that county acceptance of the Jonathan would be a positive step toward the protection of the public interests in this remarkable property,” Risch said.
Risch said that most of the county’s approximately 320 acres of mining holdings might eventually be worthy of protection as a National Historic area. “Under those circumstances the county’s inventory of historic properties might best be sold, exchanged or otherwise conveyed to the federal government. In the meantime, acceptance of the above-listed properties is one more invaluable step the BOCC can take in the continuing role as stewards of irreplaceable resources,” said Risch in a memo to the county commissioners.
The Red Mountain Project was founded in 1998 with a goal to preserve 10,500 acres of historic landscapes and structures within and around the historic Red Mountain Mining District. The Trust for Public Land, a national nonprofit land conservation organization, has acquired and conveyed approximately 7,800 of those acres to the Forest Service. TPL is a key member of the Red Mountain Project Task Force, along with county commissioners from Ouray and San Juan counties, representatives of Fort Lewis College and the U.S. Forest Service.
Courtesy of the Ouray County Watch
JONATHAN MINE – The Ouray County Board of Commissioners has been asked by the Red Mountain Project group to acquire two mining claims: the seven-acre American Girl near the top of Red Mountain Pass just off U.S. Highway 550 and the 10-acre Jonathan Mine (above) on Gold Hill overlooking Ouray, which according to Ouray Mayor and a RMP group member Bob Risch included a blacksmith shop, boarding house with kitchen, and tram station. (Courtesy photo)
slideshow OURAY – Ouray County could be the recipient of approximately 17 acres of historic mining sites in the near future, including the seven-acre American Girl Mine just south of Ironton and the 10-acre Jonathan Mine north of Ouray.
Ouray Mayor Bob Risch, speaking on behalf of the Red Mountain Project at the March 31 meeting of the Ouray Board of County Commissioners, invited the commissioners to consider taking title to the land so that preservation of these prominent mining sites and the buildings on them may continue.
The commissioners agreed to consider the offer and asked County Attorney Mary Deganhart to explore any legal issues that the county may encounter by accepting ownership. They also asked County Administrator Connie Hunt to schedule a workshop soon with the Red Mountain Task Force and the Ouray County Historical Society. Risch said he is already planning to have a meeting in early May with the historical society, which usually participates in the process of transferring historic mining sites to public ownership.
The donation would add to the120 acres that the county previously acquired from RMP for its mining claim inventory, including the Ironton Townsite, the Larson Brothers claims and the Beaver/Belfast mines, as well as to nearly 200 acres of mining claims already in county ownership.
The American Girl Mine, according to Risch, is a favorite subject for area artists and photographers and is “one of the most prominent historic mining structures along the length of the San Juan Skyway,” he said. The mine was supposed to be deeded to the U.S. Forest Service along with two other claims collectively named White Cloud, but the overlapping juxtaposition of those claims triggered some confusion, and the American Girl was missed during the transfer. The result, said Risch, is that the Trust for Public Land still holds title and is making it available to the county.
Acquisition of the Jonathan Mine, located on Gold Hill overlooking Ouray, is crucial for its future preservation, according to the task force. This site contains a tram terminal, blacksmith shop and boardinghouse. Access to the site is by historic roads and trails, which cross privately owned claims, making access to the mine problematic. Risch said that the county should be able to negotiate road access with neighboring landowners at that location in the future. “Our hope and expectation is that county acceptance of the Jonathan would be a positive step toward the protection of the public interests in this remarkable property,” Risch said.
Risch said that most of the county’s approximately 320 acres of mining holdings might eventually be worthy of protection as a National Historic area. “Under those circumstances the county’s inventory of historic properties might best be sold, exchanged or otherwise conveyed to the federal government. In the meantime, acceptance of the above-listed properties is one more invaluable step the BOCC can take in the continuing role as stewards of irreplaceable resources,” said Risch in a memo to the county commissioners.
The Red Mountain Project was founded in 1998 with a goal to preserve 10,500 acres of historic landscapes and structures within and around the historic Red Mountain Mining District. The Trust for Public Land, a national nonprofit land conservation organization, has acquired and conveyed approximately 7,800 of those acres to the Forest Service. TPL is a key member of the Red Mountain Project Task Force, along with county commissioners from Ouray and San Juan counties, representatives of Fort Lewis College and the U.S. Forest Service.
Ouray Ice Park Price Tag: $870,000
by Christopher Pike7
OURAY – An unexpectedly high price of $870,000 is what an appraiser has attached to 40 acres of U.S. Forest Service land situated on the south edge of Ouray. The acreage, however, is choice: It is the site of the world-acclaimed Ouray Ice Park, the purchase of which has been a topic of negotiation between the forest service and Ouray officials for at least 18 months.
“The appraisal is a little higher than the city would like. We just got it back. We all have a real vested interest for this. We want to help the city,” Tammy Randall-Parker, forest service district ranger, told representatives of Ouray, Montrose and San Miguel counties at their quarterly Tri-County meeting on March 18 in Ridgway.
Both Ouray officials and the forest service would like the deal to be consummated, now that the details have been worked out. But is the late-arriving price out of reach?
City officials see the park as an essential component of Ouray’s reviving winter economy. However, with an already tight budget, and the 6th Street renovation about to break ground at a price tag of $478,000 (of which the city will pay approximately $150,000 out of pocket), acquisition of the ice park is likely to become more complicated.
“I thought there was going to be a land swap or buy/re-sell/trade. I thought it was for land, like an inholding,” said Ouray County Commissioner Keith Meinert.
“Yes, but for essential, critical needs,” replied Randall-Parker. “We can do land exchanges or an outright sale.”
Ouray Mayor Bob Risch told The Watchthat the city is still negotiating, but for less land. “There was not enough of an exchange value. We will have to reduce the size of the parcel. The appraiser is looking for the highest and best value to protect the public’s interest, even though we wouldn’t allow any real estate development… [Ouray’s acquisition of the ice park] is something everybody wants. The forest service doesn’t want the permitting challenges [associated with the ice park] either, including liability concerns.”
In other forest service news, some of the 22 existing range allotments for cattle and sheep in Ouray County could be permanently closed. “It’s down to 13 cattle and nine sheep allotments,” said Randall-Parker. Invoking the Range Rescission Act, the forest service and the Colorado Division of Wildlife have visited with all of the livestock permit holders and are instituting measures to reduce the risk of contact between bighorn sheep and domestic cattle and sheep, which can spread pneumonia to local populations of bighorn.
Randall-Parker also announced that the U.S. Forest Service plans to host field trips on Red Mountain National Historic District’s trails and roads to talk with user groups about management of the areas.
This summer Volunteer Outdoor Colorado will create a new campsite in Yankee Boy Basin for climbers approaching Mount Sneffels, and will eliminate others due to resource damage along the streams.
The forest service has also joined forces with Northern Arizona University’s Ecological Restoration Institute in a forest restoration project covering about 80,000 acres on the Uncompahgre Plateau, according to Randall-Parker.
by Christopher Pike7
OURAY – An unexpectedly high price of $870,000 is what an appraiser has attached to 40 acres of U.S. Forest Service land situated on the south edge of Ouray. The acreage, however, is choice: It is the site of the world-acclaimed Ouray Ice Park, the purchase of which has been a topic of negotiation between the forest service and Ouray officials for at least 18 months.
“The appraisal is a little higher than the city would like. We just got it back. We all have a real vested interest for this. We want to help the city,” Tammy Randall-Parker, forest service district ranger, told representatives of Ouray, Montrose and San Miguel counties at their quarterly Tri-County meeting on March 18 in Ridgway.
Both Ouray officials and the forest service would like the deal to be consummated, now that the details have been worked out. But is the late-arriving price out of reach?
City officials see the park as an essential component of Ouray’s reviving winter economy. However, with an already tight budget, and the 6th Street renovation about to break ground at a price tag of $478,000 (of which the city will pay approximately $150,000 out of pocket), acquisition of the ice park is likely to become more complicated.
“I thought there was going to be a land swap or buy/re-sell/trade. I thought it was for land, like an inholding,” said Ouray County Commissioner Keith Meinert.
“Yes, but for essential, critical needs,” replied Randall-Parker. “We can do land exchanges or an outright sale.”
Ouray Mayor Bob Risch told The Watchthat the city is still negotiating, but for less land. “There was not enough of an exchange value. We will have to reduce the size of the parcel. The appraiser is looking for the highest and best value to protect the public’s interest, even though we wouldn’t allow any real estate development… [Ouray’s acquisition of the ice park] is something everybody wants. The forest service doesn’t want the permitting challenges [associated with the ice park] either, including liability concerns.”
In other forest service news, some of the 22 existing range allotments for cattle and sheep in Ouray County could be permanently closed. “It’s down to 13 cattle and nine sheep allotments,” said Randall-Parker. Invoking the Range Rescission Act, the forest service and the Colorado Division of Wildlife have visited with all of the livestock permit holders and are instituting measures to reduce the risk of contact between bighorn sheep and domestic cattle and sheep, which can spread pneumonia to local populations of bighorn.
Randall-Parker also announced that the U.S. Forest Service plans to host field trips on Red Mountain National Historic District’s trails and roads to talk with user groups about management of the areas.
This summer Volunteer Outdoor Colorado will create a new campsite in Yankee Boy Basin for climbers approaching Mount Sneffels, and will eliminate others due to resource damage along the streams.
The forest service has also joined forces with Northern Arizona University’s Ecological Restoration Institute in a forest restoration project covering about 80,000 acres on the Uncompahgre Plateau, according to Randall-Parker.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Ouray County Real Estate News
Kuijvenhoven Drops Lawsuit Against County
by Christopher Pike1 day 3 hrs ago | 30 views | 0 | 0 | OURAY – On Friday, March 7 JV Real Estate, owned by local real-estate developer John Kuijvenhoven, put an end to a lawsuit against the Ouray County Board of Commissioners by filing a “stipulation of dismissal with prejudice.”
The lawsuit sought revisions to an amended plat for the Cornerstone Subdivision that was approved by the county commissioners in October 2007.
Kuijvenhoven said the commissioners ignored a provision in a 2004 development agreement inked by the county and JV Real Estate that required all streets, roads and driveways within the development to be privately owned and maintained. He contended that an October 2007 amendment to the Cornerstone final plat would increase traffic on Dave Wood Road and, subsequently, through his property that borders the road.
In rebuttal, County Attorney Mary Deganhart maintained that the development agreement contained adequate traffic restrictions.
Deganhart said at the March 10 meeting of the county commissioners that there were no settlement negotiations, and that the dismissal followed an answer filed by the county in late January.
County Clerk Encourages Mail Voting
With the primary and general elections approaching, Ouray County Clerk and Recorder Michelle Nauer recommended that voters consider their options – including voting by mail.
“This office is committed to making your voting experience trouble free,” she said at the commissioners’ March 10 meeting. “All voters will receive a letter from this office notifying everyone of their opportunity to receive their ballot by mail. This is optional. You may still go to the polls on Election Day, same as always, unless the legislature allows further changes.”
New to Colorado residents is the permanent vote-by-mail option.
“[Vote by mail] is the easiest way to receive your ballot,” said Nauer. “Your only responsibility is to keep this office apprised of any changes, whether it be your name, street or mailing address.”
Nauer also advised citizens to check their voter registration for accuracy by verifying that their name, address and party affiliation are correct. That can be done online at www.sos.state.co.us by providing name, birth date and the zip code of one’s current physical address.
Denison Appointed to Gunnison Basin Roundtable
The county commissioners appointed Ridgway resident Cary Denison to the Gunnison Basin Roundtable at their March 10 meeting. Nine basin roundtables represent each of the state’s major river basins and facilitate discussion on and develop solutions to water management issues locally and throughout the state.
Denison’s term will expire in May 2012.
Denison is owner and president of Colorado Land and Water Specialists, a consulting firm focusing on water rights management, augmentation plans, water court filings, mapping, hydrologic measurements, wetlands delineations, and water diversion project management.
The next meeting of the Gunnison Basin Roundtable is Monday, April 7, from 4-7 p.m. at the Hampton Inn, 1980 N. Townsend in Montrose.
by Christopher Pike1 day 3 hrs ago | 30 views | 0 | 0 | OURAY – On Friday, March 7 JV Real Estate, owned by local real-estate developer John Kuijvenhoven, put an end to a lawsuit against the Ouray County Board of Commissioners by filing a “stipulation of dismissal with prejudice.”
The lawsuit sought revisions to an amended plat for the Cornerstone Subdivision that was approved by the county commissioners in October 2007.
Kuijvenhoven said the commissioners ignored a provision in a 2004 development agreement inked by the county and JV Real Estate that required all streets, roads and driveways within the development to be privately owned and maintained. He contended that an October 2007 amendment to the Cornerstone final plat would increase traffic on Dave Wood Road and, subsequently, through his property that borders the road.
In rebuttal, County Attorney Mary Deganhart maintained that the development agreement contained adequate traffic restrictions.
Deganhart said at the March 10 meeting of the county commissioners that there were no settlement negotiations, and that the dismissal followed an answer filed by the county in late January.
County Clerk Encourages Mail Voting
With the primary and general elections approaching, Ouray County Clerk and Recorder Michelle Nauer recommended that voters consider their options – including voting by mail.
“This office is committed to making your voting experience trouble free,” she said at the commissioners’ March 10 meeting. “All voters will receive a letter from this office notifying everyone of their opportunity to receive their ballot by mail. This is optional. You may still go to the polls on Election Day, same as always, unless the legislature allows further changes.”
New to Colorado residents is the permanent vote-by-mail option.
“[Vote by mail] is the easiest way to receive your ballot,” said Nauer. “Your only responsibility is to keep this office apprised of any changes, whether it be your name, street or mailing address.”
Nauer also advised citizens to check their voter registration for accuracy by verifying that their name, address and party affiliation are correct. That can be done online at www.sos.state.co.us by providing name, birth date and the zip code of one’s current physical address.
Denison Appointed to Gunnison Basin Roundtable
The county commissioners appointed Ridgway resident Cary Denison to the Gunnison Basin Roundtable at their March 10 meeting. Nine basin roundtables represent each of the state’s major river basins and facilitate discussion on and develop solutions to water management issues locally and throughout the state.
Denison’s term will expire in May 2012.
Denison is owner and president of Colorado Land and Water Specialists, a consulting firm focusing on water rights management, augmentation plans, water court filings, mapping, hydrologic measurements, wetlands delineations, and water diversion project management.
The next meeting of the Gunnison Basin Roundtable is Monday, April 7, from 4-7 p.m. at the Hampton Inn, 1980 N. Townsend in Montrose.
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