Red Feather Lakes plan approved

By Linda Bell
Correspondent

The Red Feather Lakes Area Plan, the culmination of a two-year effort, took less than a half hour on Aug. 10 to be unanimously adopted by the Larimer County Commissioners and Planning Commission.

The planning commission also unanimously passed a resolution to make the plan an element of the Larimer County Master Plan. To reach that point, a volunteer Plan Advisory Committee, made up of 12 area representatives, drafted the language with the assistance of the county's planning department.

Lucille Schmitt, a PAC member and Red Feather Lakes Realtor, told the assembled officials the PAC worked hard to craft a document for the overall benefit of Red Feather Lakes.

Bill Gilbert, who attended most of the PAC meetings, especially thanked Commissioner Kathay Rennels for getting the ball rolling for a plan in Red Feather Lakes, and he thanked county employees for their time and effort.

Gilbert urged the plan's approval, saying at times there were very contentious issues, but the skilled county staff got the PAC members to at least stay in the same room.

Rennels said one of the key elements of the plan is the recommendation the PAC continue serving. She said all the current members will be invited to stay, but there will be openings sooner or later, and county officials will interview new applicants and initiate a system of staggered terms of service.

Gilbert noted the PAC was dominated nine-to-four by area business owners, Realtors and large property owners, and he suggested new community members be brought on to the committee while scaling down the number of members to perhaps seven or nine.

One of the catalysts that brought the community both together and apart in early 2004, the same year the PAC was created, was a proposal by Steve Kolle at the Pot Belly Restaurant to build an amphitheater on the property for special events. Kolle already had a contract with country-western singer Charlie Daniels for a June concert when a required neighborhood meeting took place to discuss a special exemption to zoning.

Rennels said this kind of development change will now be presented to the PAC first for its recommendation. In this way, the community is given a voice in future planning decisions and everyone is aware of what is happening. Any development proposal is still subject to the county's requirement for a neighborhood meeting.

The community vision in the plan says the village should maintain its existing historic character as a family recreation area and its small mountain village atmosphere; embrace and respect its history and natural beauty; pursue solutions for the challenges that could threaten its existing character and viability; and sustain a safe, healthy and viable community for residents, businesses, visitors and property owners in a rural mountain environment.

Rennels said she could attest that each section or word in the plan was carefully crafted and in some cases battled over by members of the PAC.

The full text of the adopted Red Feather Lakes Area Plan is on the Internet at www.larimer.org/redfeather.