Red Feather Lakes draft area plan nears completion

By Linda Bell
Correspondent

In less than two months, Red Feather Lakes will have an official record of how residents want to see the mountain community grow and develop.

The final plan, as it will be submitted in a joint hearing before county commissioners and the planning commission on Aug. 10, will first be presented to the Red Feather Lakes community on July 27 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Red Feather Lakes POA.

In mid-June, with almost half the members of the Red Feather Lakes Planning Advisory Committee absent and only four members of the public present, the committee decided to meet again July 7 to work out the final wording of the draft area plan. The meeting will start at 11 a.m. at the POA building.

Following the open house forum on June 3, some sections of the draft plan still remain unresolved for PAC members and the community.

Comments from approximately 75 residents before and during the open house showed a majority, or 77 percent, support the draft plan, although concerns about change and growth were noted in 39 percent of all comments. Six people supported more economic and material growth in the area, while 11 rejected both the plan or any change.

Many comments reflected concerns residents have about water, sewer and road issues. Homeowners in the area proposed for an expanded, commercially zoned village center expressed concern about congestion, having businesses too close, their property values rising, or even rights of eminent domain.

Wording in the draft plan regarding commercial or residential development leaves a door open to new development and could override the county's master plan in areas zoned O-Open (mostly residential). However, Larimer County planner Jill Bennett told PAC members that water and sewer are the basic restrictions to growth in the area, not zoning.

The draft plan says the existing zoning is appropriate under current conditions, but if public water and sewer service becomes available to the community in the future, it may be appropriate to consider higher density residential development. The draft plan states individual development applications should be judged on a case-by-case basis according to the plan's broad statements of community vision and the chapter addressing land use and development.

In a June 12 letter to Larimer County Commissioners, individuals representing large land holdings opposed adoption of the Red Feather Lakes Area Plan, stating they didn't agree to have their properties included in the plan. The plan does not address economic sustainability or viability, they said, and the plan is a precursor to limiting the property rights of large landowners. Representatives of Bear Creek Development Corp., The Fox LLC, Mary Ross Quaintance Trust, CKM Living Trust and Campbell Development Inc. signed the letter.

Once the area plan, estimated as a 20-year guideline, is adopted as part of the Larimer County Master Plan, it will provide more detailed direction to the county, property owners and community on issues of land use, growth management and community development.

PDF files of the draft plan and an executive summary are on the Larimer County web site at www.larimer.org/redfeather.