Re-zoning Mining Claims

The County is proposing to rezone about 300 privately owned mining claims in the Snake River and Ten Mile basins.

The backcountry zoning changes the rules for building on mining claims, reducing setbacks from 50 feet to 25 feet. It allows property owners to access their lots via existing roads, even if they aren't up to county standards.

Structure size is also limited in the backcountry zone, ranging from 900 square feet on a typical five-acre lot, up to 2,400 square feet on a 35-acre parcel, as well accessory structures like garages and sheds up to 500 square feet.

The move to rezone the private properties is in keeping with county and basin master plans, which aim to "ensure that growth occurs in appropriate locations and that our rural mountain character is maintained."

The basic idea is to limit backcountry homes and steer development toward areas deemed more suitable for development, while still leaving room for development of smaller cabins on backcountry parcels. The backcountry zoning works in tandem with a transfer of development rights (TDR) mechanism that enables owners of backcountry parcels to sell development rights at about $40,000 per unit, explained county planning director Jim Curnutte. That gives owners another option, he explained.

Similar zoning has been in place in the Upper Blue Basin for about six years, where about 60 development rights have been sold out of the backcountry to a TDR bank, Curnutte said.

"It's worked so well in the Upper Blue to maintain the desired backcountry feel," Curnutte said.

The number of requests for minimum lot size variances dropped, and there have only been two building permits issued in the backcountry zone, both for smaller sized homes, he said.

Property Taxes Going Up

County Assessor Beverly Breakstone is expecting many locals to be surprised at news they will soon receive about large increases in property taxes.

Breakstone presented a number of figures to the Summit Association of Realtors recently, explaining that the actual value of all real property in the county has increased since 2005 from $10.9 billion to $14.02 billion.

“The first misconception people have is that we appraise properties arbitrarily,” Breakstone said.

This is not the case, she explained. “We value fairly and uniformly.”

The 28.4 percent increase is mostly due to the amount of open space and government-owned land, according to Breakstone. Vacant land only makes up 6 percent of the county, while commercial property uses 7 percent. Plus, two-third of property owners do not live full time in the county, and only half of the second-home owners live in the state, a statistic often attributed to increased housing prices.

This year is a “reappraisal” year, Breakstone said, which is set by state statute, meaning the assessor will reappraise all parcels in the county. All notices of valuation will be sent out to all real property owners on May 1.

The residential property assessment value this year is 7.96 percent, while commercial, vacant and mining claims are at 29 percent.

Taxpayers can appeal the value throughout the month of May. Appeals must be done in writing and can be delivered in person, by mail, fax, e-mail and online.

Taxpayers can appeal the assessor’s determination by filing an appeal with the County Board of Equalization by July 15.

The assessor’s office analyzes the following data to determine the contributors of value: Inflation/deflation; location; size of land and structure; view; quality of construction; and special features.

Local Author Wins Awards

Books by well-known local author Mary Ellen Gilliland captured three awards at the recent Colorado Independent Publishers Association 2007 Evvy Awards in Denver.

Gilliland's local history, "Rascals, Scoundrels and No Goods," earned the competition's Legacy Award. This book features the antics of shysters and shady ladies, swindlers and rogues of the mineral rush. The book offers a look backward at the brazen seizure of 1860s claim jumpers who not only took possession of prospectors' claims but "jumped" whole towns.

"SUMMIT, A Gold Rush History of Summit County, Colorado, 25th Anniversary Edition," received two awards. They included an EVVY history-category second place and a Tech Award for the book's antique photographs and illustrations. The book details Summit County's history and also offers hands-on field trips, including historical bike, jeep and auto tours.

Colorado Independent Publishers Association is the largest independent book publishers association in the country. Now in its 27th year, Gilliland's publishing company, Alpenrose Press, has published more than 20 books on Colorado history, hiking and the outdoors. Her books are available at most Sujmmit County bookstores.

Vail Resorts Pass Pricing

Vail Resorts has announced spring pricing for its Colorado Pass, Buddy Pass and the new Colorado Pass PLUS.

The Colorado Pass offers unlimited access to Breckenridge, Keystone and Arapahoe Basin with no restrictions, plus 10 restricted days at Vail and Beaver Creek. The pass is offered at $419 for adults, $319 for teens, ages 13-18 and $199 for children, ages 5-12. That’s $40 more than last spring’s prices, but the same as the pass cost last fall.

The Buddy Pass provides unlimited lift access at Breckenridge, Keystone and Arapahoe Basin with no date restrictions at $379 for adults, $299 for teens and $189 for children — a $30 increase over last spring.

New for next season is the Colorado Pass PLUS, which features six unrestricted days at Vail and Beaver Creek, plus four additional days to which restrictions apply, and unlimited lift access at Breckenridge, Keystone and Arapahoe Basin. The pass is priced at $519 for adults, $379 for teens and $239 for children

When purchased by May 6, the Colorado Pass and the Colorado Pass PLUS include four unrestricted $45 lift tickets valid all season at Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone and Arapahoe Basin. People who purchase their passes by May 6 will also earn unlimited skiing and riding at Vail and Beaver Creek during the month of April 2008, and receive a one-year subscription to SKIING Magazine.

Vail Resorts season passes can be secured at the current prices for $29 down and the balance of the payment will be deferred until September 2007. The prices are guaranteed through May 6.

Pass renewals are available online at www.coloradopass.com . New passes will go on sale on April 13 at select Front Range locations including Boulder Ski Deals, Colorado Ski and Golf in Aurora, Arvada, Colorado Springs and Littleton, and REI’s Denver flagship and Fort Collins stores from Friday through Sunday during store hours.

Chief Ski Exec Resigns

Roger McCarthy, chief operating officer of Breckenridge Ski Resort and co-president of Vail Resorts’ mountain division, announced his resignation Tuesday after seven years in Summit County.

McCarthy, often the public voice of Breckenridge and Keystone resorts during most of the last decade, will be joining a private investment company to develop a new ski resort in Russia.

McCarthy’s new project — Rosa Khutor resort — is located near the city of Sochi in southwestern Russia, one of three finalists bidding on the 2014 Winter Games (cities in Austria and South Korea are also in the running).

Moscow-based Interros, the private investment firm, said on its website that plans for the ski area include multiple growth steps over the next five years in order to reach its maximum goal of 9,500 visitors per day.

“It’s a bittersweet decision, but I have been offered the rare opportunity to be involved in leading the development of an entirely new resort from the ground up,” said McCarthy, whose final day will be May 4.

“Not many people have (this opportunity). There hasn’t been a resort built in this country in 25 years since Beaver Creek.”

Dillon Reservoir at 95% of Capacity

Denver Water will soon start to increase outflows from Dillon Reservoir.

With average snow and rain the next few weeks, the boating season could last for a month. During some recent dry summers, boating the Lower Blue wasn't even an option.

"Things are looking good, but I said that last year, too," said Denver Water's Marc Waage. If there's some extra spring moisture, boating in the Lower Blue could last nearly all summer, Waage added.

"We saw the inflow come up in March, which is pretty unusual," Waage explained.

As of April 1, Dillon reservoir was 95.6 percent full, only 3.5 feet below the level of the spillway, according to caretaker Dave Fernandez. That's the highest level for that date since 1984 and the fourth-highest ever, according to Waage.

Denver Water's entire storage system is at 90 percent of capacity, the highest April 1 storage figures since Dillon Reservoir was built, he said.

"We actually gained storage during the winter for the first time ever," Waage said.Heavy Front Range snows led to record winter stream flows in the South Platte. So the Roberts Tunnel, which carries water from Dillon Reservoir to the Front Range, was off all winter, Waage explained.

"Obviously, we'll easily fill the reservoir," Waage said. Right now, the aim is to balance between reducing the risk of flooding downstream from the reservoir and generating enough flows for boating and to flush sediments out of the Lower Blue.

Keystone to Extend Hours

Thanks to two feet of snow in the last week at Keystone, the resort will extend its hours next week.

Keystone had planned to end its night skiing operations on Sunday, but will keep the lights on for an extra week because of the recent snowfall, this year’s earlier Daylight Savings Time and the timing of the Easter holiday.

The resort will stay open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. starting Monday and ending April 8, giving skiers and riders 14 extra hours on the slopes.

The Montezuma, Summit Express and A51 chairlifts will remain open until 6 p.m. to shuttle riders up the mountain. Also starting on Monday, lift access for day guests will be out of the River Run village.

Lift access out of the Mountain House base area will be limited to morning hours starting Monday through the resort’s closing date set for April 15.

Starting on April 9, Keystone will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, go to www.keystoneresort.com or call (800) 468-5004.

Breckenridge Ski Resort's Master Plan

Breckenridge vice president of operations Rick Sramek described the master plan as a road map for the next six to eight years. The list of projects updates the existing ski area master plan, a document that dates back to the 1980s and has been updated with projects like the Imperial Express lift.

Along with upgrades to existing facilities and terrain, Sramek said the resort is considering an expansion on Peak 6, an as-yet undeveloped part of the ski area's permitted terrain. The Peak 6 expansion is likely to generate the most discussion.

According to Sramek, the improvements won't significantly add to skier visit totals at Breckenridge, but are intended to meet the existing demand. Together, the upgrades would boost the area's "comfortable carrying capacity" to about 18,000 skiers per day, a number that Breckenridge sees on a regular basis on peak days.

Roger McCarthy, ski area chief operating officer and vice president of Vail Resorts mountain division, acknowledged during the January work session that Peak 6 plans may stir some controversy. But he said no one should be surprised by the idea, given that Peak 6 has been zoned for ski area use since a revised White River National Forest plan was released in 2002.

"We need the capacity," Sramek said at the time, describing plans to add one or two lifts on Peak 6.

The expansion would add about 400 acres of intermediate and advanced terrain that would match the demand Breckenridge is seeing.

The ski area and the Forest Service laid the groundwork for the Peak 6 expansion last year. The resort swaped terrain between the resort and the adjacent Breckenridge Nordic Center to give the resort access to a spot for the base of a new Peak 6 lift.

Frisco Kayak Park

Construction is expected to begin this autumn to create a whitewater feature for kayakers in Ten Mile Creek near the trailhead parking lot in Frisco.

The ideal dates for use, because of the water run-off, will be from May through July and the goal is for it to be ready next spring, said Jocelyn Mills, senior planner with the Town of Frisco.

To create the whitewater feature, rocks will be reconfigured and bank improvements are planned. Basically, it involves making a "more fun feature for kayakers ... more of a challenge," Mills said, adding that it will likely improve fishing as well.T he project will not change the level or appearance of the creek, but it involves restructuring a fish habitat that was built there in the early 90s, she said.

About three years ago, the idea for the project came up and the town has been working ever since to get the necessary permits. Currently, they are waiting for Colorado Department of Transportation and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approvals. Town officials are hoping to have both in hand by this summer, Mills said. Bidding is expected to take place this summer for this first phase, and Frisco Town Council has allocated $100,000 in the budget for the Ten Mile Creek Kayak Park.

Dillon Approves Walgreens Development

Developers of a new Walgreens pharmacy could break ground as early as April on a 16,600 square foot store in Dillon.

Recently the Dillon Town Council gave final approval for the nation’s largest pharmacy chain to open a new store in town.

The store and parking lot will sit on approximately two acres of land between the Comfort Suites and Blockbuster Video on Dillon Ridge Road.

The council approved the planned unit development for Ptarmigan Trails Estates — the official name of the property where the Walgreens will be — on a 5 to 1 vote, and unanimously approved a conditional use permit for a drive-up window for the pharmacy.

Frisco Ponders Peninsula Use

The possibilities include a tubing hill, luge, expanded trails, additional disc golf course and another Nordic building.

The Town of Frisco is looking for some public input as to what they would like to see added to the Peninsula Recreation Area.

This week, Frisco Recreation Open Space and Trails (FROST) Committee met with the town council at a work session to offer suggestions and dates for the public process.

Throughout the last few months, FROST evaluated possible recreation amenities based on what they've heard from the community, Jocelyn Mills, the town's senior planner, told the council Tuesday.

From that, the committee developed a list and will begin to gather feedback from focus groups the week of March 26 with a public forum following on March 29.

Colorado Mountain College Moving Ahead

Colorado Mountain College is well on its way to a new Breckenridge site.

The Breckenridge Town Council passed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) at this week’s meeting, CMC’s floor plan designs are expected to be completed by the end of this month, and a groundbreaking is planned for this summer for the facility that will be on a 20-acre parcel on Block 11 near the town’s north entrance.

It is a “very aggressive timeline,” said Leah Bornstein, Ph.D., CMC’s dean.

“We’re still on track at this point,” she continued and said that they are hoping to move into the new school in the fall of 2008.

According to the MOU, the college will purchase 20 acres from the town for $1 and it will have 20 years to develop the land. After that, any portion of the property not required to implement its plan will be given back to the town at no cost.

National Forest Roadless Areas

State officials are taking yet another look at the management of national forest roadless areas in Colorado and may consider making some changes — or even withdrawing — the management petition that was submitted to the federal government last November.

Gov. Bill Ritter and the Colorado Department of Natural Resources (DNR) are studying the issue, and are likely to make a decision sometime within the next month, said DNR deputy director Mike King.

"The Governor and (DNR director) Harris Sherman are trying to get their arms around this," King said, explaining that there is a window of opportunity to make some changes because the federal government has not yet started its state-by-state review of roadless management.

"Gov. Ritter has the authority he needs to modify the petition or even withdraw it," King said.

At issue is the management of millions of roadless acres across the U.S. that were tabbed for protection under a national roadless rule issued in 2001 under the Clinton administration. In Summit County, about 60,000 acres of national forest land could be affected by any changes in roadless management.

Silverthorne Sales Taxes Climb

Silverthorne ended 2006 on a financially positive note, with year-to-date sales tax numbers coming in 12.5 percent higher than in 2005.

The town collected $7,899,155 in sales tax in 2006 compared with $7,019,374 the year before, according to a sales tax report released by the town.

The final figure was about $60,000 higher than where the town expected to finish the year, said town finance director Donna Braun.T

his is the second consecutive year of strong growth in Silverthorne, after the town suffered setbacks in sales tax collections when City Market moved to Dillon in 1998, and again when the national economy weakened following 9/11.

New Fishing Regulations for Blue River

After several rounds of public input and internal rule-making, the Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDOW) has finalized adoption of new catch-and-release regulations for a trout-rich section of the Blue River below Green Mountain Reservoir.

The new rules, which simply require anglers to return all fish to the water immediately after catching them, go into effect May 1.

The change in regulations was prompted in part by a land trade that will enable more public access to the scenic stretch of river through ground managed by the Bureau of Land Management. Anglers concerned about potential impacts to the thriving fishery encouraged the wildlife agency to establish a catch-and-release regime for the reach.

Last summer, CDOW biologists sampled the fish population in the river with a non-lethal electro-shock survey, finding a healthy trout population. Some of the data, combined with anticipated changes in flows resulting from the operation of the dam’s hydropower plant, suggested that a limited harvest of rainbow trout may have benefited the brown trout population by reducing competition. But public input at a series of angler’s roundtable meetings overwhelmingly favored the no-take option. Advocates said the catch and release regs are the easiest for the agency to enforce, making it the best way to protect the fishery.

Arapahoe Basin's Montezuma Bowl

Construction is set to begin this spring on Arapahoe Basin's $3 million expansion into Montezuma Bowl, a project that will represent the ski area's largest addition of new terrain in its 60-year history.

The White River National Forest gave A-Basin the final approval last week to construct Zuma Lift, which will provide skiers and riders access to 400 acres of intermediate and advanced terrain in Montezuma Bowl.

Crews will begin work this spring beginning with the installation of the bottom lift terminal, said ski area spokesperson Leigh Hierholzer.

"It will not affect the operations on the front side of the mountain, so we are still going to stay open until early June," Hierholzer said.

The bowl is located directly south of the top of the existing Norway and Lenawee lifts. The expansion will increase the small ski area's terrain by 80 percent, resulting in 900 skiable acres.

The new terrain is scheduled to open next season.

Above Average Snowfall

After two months of light snowfall, February ended with total monthly snowfall in downtown Breckenridge at above average for the first time since early in the season.

Rick Bly, who measures snowfall for the National Weather Service, tallied 35 inches for the month, well above the 23.4 inches that's average for the month based on records going back more than a 100 years.

The snow melted down to 2.38 inches of water, also well above the average 1.72 inches. Bly said the high winds made it tricky to measure the snowfall totals toward the end of the month. For the season to date, Bly has measured 130.8 inches of snow, making for a 23 percent surplus based largely on the big October storms that added up to more than three times the normal snowfall for that month.

"March is typically the snowiest month," Bly said, adding that Breckenridge averages 26.5 inches for the month. The record March snowfall for the area dates way back to the legendary winter of 1899, when Breckenridge saw 120 inches.

"The last real stinker we had was in 1999, with only 11.5 inches," Bly said, adding that March is the most consistently snowy month. March 2003 was noteworthy for the big Front Range upslope blizzard that hammered a few spots with more than 90 inches of snow. Avalanches after that storm closed I-70 east of the tunnel for a while and even damaged a 100-year old building near Georgetown. That storm spilled far enough over the Continental Divide to help boost March 2003 snowfall at Breckenridge to 47.5 inches.

"Gateway" to Breckenridge?

The opportunity to create an impactful "gateway to town" hangs in front of Breckenridge with the McKain/Block 11 property, according to Town of Breckenridge's long range planner Laurie Best.

At a work session last week, DTJ Design, a firm out of Boulder, presented preliminary plans to the town council for the property located near Coyne Valley Road at the north end of town.

DTJ specializes in environmental sensitivity, and Best said that was a main focus for the council. Twenty acres of the 72-acre Block 11 property is slated for a new CMC campus.

Right now, the college is planned for the north end of Block 11. The area may also include up to 200 units of affordable housing.

The 127-acre McKain property is being looked at for a 30-acre reservoir that could hold 400 acre feet of water, Best said.

A more complete Blue River restoration (to finish off the partial restoration that occurred in the late '80s) is also planned for the McKain side. At this point, the river channel on the McKain property has not been restored because river rock is still being extracted from dredge boat mining. Future plans include bringing the river back to the western side of the McKain property and restoring the channel so the river will slow down. Riparian corridor and wetlands restoration are also included in the plans.

NRO's Executive Director Let Go

The National Repertory Orchestra's executive director since 1999 will not get a chance to see her ninth season through.

The NRO board announced Thursday that they will not renew Terese Kaptur's contract, citing an inability to mutually agree on an extension.

"Terese specializes in taking ailing organizations, especially symphonies, and breathing life into them, and getting them back on their feet," said NRO board president Reginald Gray.

"She's done an exceptional job for us."

"After nine years we wanted to take a look in the marketplace and see who could be the next executive director for our organization as it reaches a million-dollar-plus budget," Gray said.

Kaptur first served as the director of artistic operations for both the Breckenridge Music Institute and the National Repertory Orchestra.

How to Manage 4.1 Million Acres of Forest

Lawmakers are giving Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter and his administration some time to decide how 4.1 million acres of roadless forest land in Colorado should be managed while several groups are lobbying officials on a plan endorsed by the former administration.

Sen. Josh Penry, R-Grand Junction and Sen. Jim Isgar, D-Hesperus, said they’ll delay introducing a resolution asking Ritter to adopt the plan to give him and new state natural resources chief Harris Sherman time to talk to the groups.

But the legislators want Ritter to leave intact the plan written by a task force and approved by Owens before he left office in January.

Owens, a Republican who couldn’t run again because of term limits, sent the petition seeking protection for most of the 4.1 million acres of forest land to federal officials. In 2005, Owens criticized a Clinton-era road-building ban on 58.5 million acres of forests nationwide as creating wilderness outside the congressional process.