Commissioners axe Bellvue campground plans

By Cherry Sokoloski
North Forty News

When Jacob Flowers led settlers from Kansas to Colorado in 1873, they could see their future home--and a great vista--from the top of Bingham Hill. Flowers had looked throughout the state for the best location for his colony, and he decided on Pleasant Valley. He and his followers would form a town there called Bellvue, or "beautiful view."

Now Flowers' great-great-grandson, Mike Matson, and dozens of Bellvue residents are breathing a sigh of relief that the view will not be spoiled by the addition of a campground in the valley. On Feb. 8, the Larimer County commissioners decided to shelve the campground plan at the north end of Horsetooth Reservoir, a move that the parks and open lands department had pursued to generate more revenue.

"I was pleased with the decision," said Matson. "The commissioners' action has helped preserve the quiet character of the valley and the environment that its residents enjoy. With a little luck, my grandchildren may still be able to enjoy the seclusion of the family homestead."

Matson said the experience also gave him more confidence in local government. "I felt that the public's collective voice was heard, and the process worked," he said. "The commissioners showed great consideration to the concerns of citizens that would have been most impacted by the project."

Bellvue residents who rallied against the Horsetooth campground have scheduled a town hall meeting to discuss how to influence future recreation development in their area. The meeting will be March 26, 1 to 4 p.m., at the Cache la Poudre Grange in Bellvue. James Carrion, one of those who led the recent citizen effort, said anyone interested in protecting natural resources in the county, "especially those of recreation interest," is welcome to attend. The future of Horsetooth Reservoir, Watson Lake and other areas will be discussed, he said. For more information about the meeting, people may call Carrion at 472-1614.

The parks department is now looking into other options for adding amenities --and revenue--to the county parks system. Parks director Gary Buffington said that for the present, the staff is looking for ways to maximize existing campgrounds at Horsetooth Reservoir and Carter Lake. "We'll maximize all those areas first before we look outside again," he said, noting that possible sites for new campgrounds have been deemed too emotionally charged by the county commissioners.

Residents speak out

Bellvue residents turned out in force at two public meetings to show their displeasure about the Horsetooth campground idea. The Bureau of Reclamation, which owns Horsetooth Reservoir, and the commissioners held meetings in late January. About 150 Bellvue residents turned up for the commissioners' meeting, with no one speaking in favor of the project.

The commissioners then scheduled a work session for Feb. 8, at which they discussed a mandate for self-sufficiency given to the parks department six years ago. At the meeting, commissioners Kathay Rennels and Karen Wagner backed off that stance, with Glenn Gibson dissenting. Rennels and Wagner also said they did not want the campground idea pursued further.

Carrion said he was "elated" by the commissioners' decision. He was also pleased that Rennels expressed interest in getting citizens' input on how the parks are managed. "The citizens of Bellvue have gladly taken that challenge to heart," he said, referring to the upcoming town hall meeting.

During the two public meetings, Bellvue residents' complaints focused mostly on quality-of-life issues in the Bellvue valley if a campground were developed, such as increased traffic and noise or light pollution. Residents also pointed out the vulnerability of Horsetooth Reservoir with an RV park located so close to the dam, and the fact that there is already serious traffic congestion at the boat ramp at Satanka Cove, located at the north end of the reservoir. Other concerns included the danger of children drowning in the Hanson Canal, increased fire danger with limited escape routes, water contamination, disruption of wildlife and unfair competition with private campgrounds.

"This is a zone for peaceful kinds of recreation," said Bellvue resident Rosanne Cochrane, adding that it would be "an incredible travesty" to destroy the area with an RV campground.

Funding is issue

At the work session, Rennels noted that the county parks system is now about 92 percent self-sufficient. "I don't think it's possible to get to 100 percent sustainable," she said. She asked the parks staff to give "more creative thought" to revenue options for the parks system, "as opposed to wringing out the last dollar with a campground."

In particular, Rennels questioned the validity of using "emotional acres" such as the Bellvue location to build campgrounds. "It's beautiful," she said, referring to the Bellvue valley. "That's what open space is for."

Gibson, in dissenting from the majority view, said it's too easy to deplete the parks budget for other county needs when the budget is tight. "I want to keep our parks and recreation," he said, "and the only way is to be self-sufficient."

Rennels suggested looking at the open space tax if it is reauthorized by voters and sharing more of that revenue with the parks system. Currently, 30 percent of the open space tax is designated for maintenance, and 15 percent of that can be used for the parks system. However, with high demands from open-space lands the county has purchased, the commissioners decided in 2003 to use the entire 30 percent for open lands. That has left the parks department short of funds. "In the last nine years, we received about $3 million from the open space tax for parks," said Buffington.

Besides camping, Buffington said another high priority for visitors is boat parking and access at the reservoirs managed by the county. For parking-related projects, he said, the county must work with the Bureau of Reclamation on locations where security problems can be mitigated.