Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout1.22 Public Outreach Summary 1 MEMO TO: Garfield County Planning Commission and Garfield County Commissioners FROM: Project Resource Studio, Kathleen Wanatowicz, Principal DATE: May 17, 2024 RE: Spring Valley Ranch Neighborhood Outreach Summary Outreach Summary My name is Kathleen Wanatowicz, and I am the owner of Project Resource Studio, a strategic communications and project management firm based in Carbondale, Colorado. I am working in partnership with Storied Development (Storied) to execute a locally focused engagement and outreach initiative designed to inform neighbors of the Spring Valley PUD Amendment. This effort is voluntary on behalf of Storied and not a requirement of Garfield County. However, Storied is committed to and looks forward to fostering long-term relationships in the community as the developer of choice and land steward at Spring Valley Ranch. With over twenty years of experience in community engagement and communications in this region, I bring a nuanced understanding of the area, its culture, its challenges, and its rural community ethos. I am a member of the Garfield County Public Information Officers group as well as a volunteer on community boards. This report presents a summary of engagement activities between January and May of 2024. Our team will continue to meet with neighbors and expand our outreach efforts to the greater Garfield County community. The outreach to date has been focused on connecting with neighbors closest to the project. Locally Focused Outreach Two series of outreach meetings with Spring Valley area residents have been held over several separate weeks. There have also been several individual meetings with neighbors and stakeholders. We have documented all the meeting dates, activities, and feedback. One of our goals was to identify community concerns and find ways to understand if we could proactively address them. I have included a chart summarizing the issues we heard from residents and how we addressed them. In many cases, our planning team brought these items back to the County planning staff for further discussion. 2 Outreach Goals 1. Create transparency and provide personal access to the Spring Valley Ranch project team. 2. Present information from the PUD Amendment application in a succinct format. 3. Provide more detailed information on specific aspects of the PUD Amendment 4. Listen, understand, and document community concerns. 5. Bring concerns back to the County planning staff for further discussion (when necessary). Neighborhood Meeting Summary Our meeting approach was to connect with as many adjacent property owners as possible. We held both individual meetings and group meetings between January and April 2024. The January and February meetings provided an overview of the PUD Amendment and an opportunity for the Storied team to meet with neighbors. During the April meetings, we provided more information and details on topics such as water resources, traffic, and phasing. We will continue to make ourselves available and have offered the neighbors time for individual meetings. The meeting list below does not include additional one-on-one meetings between individuals and the development team. I can approximate roughly 40 + meetings have occurred overall, primarily focused on adjacent neighborhoods. 1) Small group meetings were held with adjacent property owners who have legal access easements through Spring Valley Ranch, January 30 – February 1 a. Meeting with the Nieslanik family b. Meeting with the Peckham family c. Meeting with the Farum and James families d. Meeting with Colorado Mountain College Spring Valley campus i. Attendees: o Chief Operating Officer General Counsel, Campus Vice President, Spring Valley, Director of Purchasing and Contracts, Director of Facilities, Assistant to the Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel 2) Neighborhood Meeting and Small Group Meeting, February 20 a. ~ 60 attendees 3) Neighborhood Meeting and Small Group Meeting, February 21 a. ~ 50 attendees 4) Neighborhood Meeting and Small Group Meeting, February 22 a. ~40 attendees 5) HOA Meeting, High Aspen Ranch, February 22 a. ~10 attendees 6) Neighborhood Meeting, April 9 a. ~ 40 attendees 7) HOA Meeting, Elk Springs Neighborhood Meeting, April 9 3 a. ~ 30 attendees 8) Construction and Design Industry Lunch and Learn Meeting, April 10 a. ~ 25 attendees 9) Open House, April 10 a. ~ 25 attendees Feedback Themes At each formal, casual, and individual meeting, we took notes on neighbors’ comments, including their detailed concerns about the current PUD application. The following list is a summary of the feedback we heard organized into various themes. ✓ Request for more information on water resources and the Spring Valley Aquifer ✓ Request that we research what can be done to improve Red Canyon Road. Some neighbors don’t want us to touch it, others would like to see it improved ✓ CR 114 and Highway 82 intersection improvements including both passing lanes and bicycle lanes on CR 114 ✓ Fire and emergency evacuation planning ✓ Inquires on what the affordable housing will look like ✓ Decrease light pollution with downlight and low lights ✓ Increase real estate transfer fee for community use ✓ Public access seen as both a good benefit and one that should be monitored with seasonal use ✓ Wildlife habitat reserves areas Below is a chart demonstrating how feedback was incorporated into the applicants (Storied Development) response: Addressing Neighborhood Concerns Concern Applicant (Storied Development Response) Water Resources Produced Spring Valley Aquifer Sustainability Study Offered to meet with individual neighbors to review well location CR115 and CR 110 Presented traffic calming tools to County for review CR 114 and SH 82 intersection improvements Anticipated improvements have been confirmed by CDOT 4 As with any project of this nature and importance, establishing community relationships and responding to issues as they arise is a fundamental practice of good community development. Storied wants to continue this effort in earnest. Over the next months, the outreach will broaden to include Garfield County community-based organizations. Enclosures: A – February letter B – March letter and mailing area map C - Photo collage of outreach meetings Wildlife Habitat The applicant is working with CPW on revised wildlife mitigation plan - Increase wildlife habitat area to 1,320 acres - Reduce the amount of public trails - Increase Real Estate Transfer Fee for the benefit of wildlife Maintaining cattle grazing The applicant met with local ranchers to discuss continued land access Public trails Reduced trail milage based on wildlife concerns and privacy Wildfire mitigation Expanded mitigation efforts 2 % Real Estate Fee Met with the Two Rivers Community Foundation and the Western Colorado Community Foundation S T O R I E D L I V I N G . C O M February 14, 2024 Dear Spring Valley Ranch Neighbor: As you may know by now, Storied Development, LLC (“Storied”) has filed an application for amendment with Garfield County to the currently approved PUD for Spring Valley Ranch. While we wait for County approval, I wanted to introduce myself and my partner – as well as share with you some of our plans for the ranch. My partner (Mark Yarborough) and I formed Storied several years ago and have more than 30 years’ experience at private residential communities across the United States, Caribbean and Mexico. The Storied team is currently developing three (3) projects – The Grove (located in College Grove, TN), Boot Ranch (located in Fredericksburg, TX) and Talisker Club (located in Park City, UT). This land has been approved for development since the early 2000’s, with nothing substantive done since, and thus the future of Spring Valley Ranch has been in flux. Storied ’s PUD amendment, if approved, will bring more certainty to the future of Spring Valley Ranch and is significantly improved over the currently approved plan. The current plan has homesites scattered across the entire property, no public access or use, no open range for wildlife, and no planned transfer fee to benefit the surrounding area's communities, schools and wildlife refuge. Our vision for Spring Valley Ranch is to reduce the development footprint on the land, create more opportunities for community recreation, add a new fire station servicing the property and surrounding neighbors, preserve wildlife habitat, create wildfire breaks and decrease trips into Glenwood Springs by offering a general store to meet basic grocery needs. The amended plan will maintain the same density in a more compact and clustered format that reduces the required infrastructure and preserves open space. Our goal at any project is to be good stewards of the land and to become productive members of the community. The only way to accomplish this is to listen. To that end, we have contracted with Project Resource Studio, a local communications firm, to ensure our outreach is comprehensive, meaningful, and proactive. Kathleen Wanatowicz, Project Resource Studio principal, is coordinating all our neighborhood meetings, she can be reached directly at 970-618-5114 or kathleen@prstudioco.com. In the meantime, you can learn more about us at www.storiedliving.com. Please let us know if you can attend one of the neighborhood outreach meetings listed below. We aim to keep these meetings in smaller groups so that we can be available to answer questions and meet you personally. All meetings will be held at the Ascent Center at the Spring Valley Ranch Colorado Mountain College campus, 3000 CR 114 Glenwood Springs, Colorado 81601. I. Tuesday, February 20 at 3:00 p.m. II. Wednesday, February 21 at 12:00 p.m. III. Thursday, February 22 at 9:00 a.m. 2690 Orchard Circle • Watkinsv ille • Georgia 30677 • StoriedL iving.com The comprehensive Spring Valley Ranch PUD Amendment and associated studies, reports can be accessed via the Garfield County website > Link to Spring Valley Ranch PUD Amendment. We look forward to sharing more about the vision for Spring Valley Ranch with you and hearing your feedback. Sincerely, Mark Enderle, Partner Storied Development March 14, 2024 Dear Spring Valley Ranch Neighbor: If I haven’t already met you, my name is Mark Enderle. My partner, Mark Yarborough, and I are the principals of Storied Development, LLC (“Storied”). The Storied team has more than 30 years’ experience developing private residential communities across the United States, Caribbean and Mexico. We are currently developing three (3) projects – The Grove (located in College Grove, TN), Boot Ranch (located in Fredericksburg, TX) and Talisker Club (located in Park City, UT). (More information about our company and projects can be found at https://storiedliving.com/.) We began meeting with neighbors of the Spring Valley Ranch project over the last month and are continuing our outreach in April. If you’ve already attended a meeting, thank you for your interest and involvement. We welcome you to continue the conversation at one of the upcoming April meetings. If this is your first communication from us, I’d like to provide a short introduction to the Spring Valley Ranch project.  Although the current development plan for Spring Valley Ranch has been approved since 2008, no action has been taken on the property during the past several years. The approved plan has homesites scattered across the entire property, no public access or use, no open range for wildlife, and no planned transfer fee to benefit the surrounding area's communities, schools, and wildlife refuge.  Storied has filed an application for an amendment to the approved planned unit development for Spring Valley Ranch (the “PUD”) with Garfield County. This amendment, if approved, will bring more certainty to the future of Spring Valley Ranch, and is a significant improvement over the [currently] approved plan. The amended PUD will maintain the same density in a more compact and clustered format that reduces the required infrastructure, creates a water and sewer system for the entire ranch (rather than partial well and septic) and doubles the preserved open space. Our vision for Spring Valley Ranch is to reduce the development footprint on the land, create opportunities for community recreation, add a new fire station that will service Spring Valley Ranch and surrounding neighbors, preserve wildlife habitat, establish a comprehensive wildfire protection plan, and help decrease trips into Glenwood Springs by offering a general store to meet the basic grocery needs of our community and neighbors. Our goal for any Storied project is to be good stewards of the land and to become productive members of the community. That’s why we want to continue to provide opportunities for us to meet, share information, and listen to your feedback. Please let us know if you can attend one of the upcoming neighborhood outreach meetings listed below. We plan to host meetings with the Garfield County community at large in the future but aim to keep the April meetings focused on Spring Valley area residents to ensure we have connected with neighbors closest to the project area. –   We want to continue providing opportunitie s to meet, share information, and listen to your feedback. Please let us know if you can attend one of the upcoming neighborhood outreach meetings listed below . March 14, 2024 Page 2 All meetings are in-person only and will be held at the Ascent Center at the Spring Valley Ranch Colorado Mountain College campus, 3000 CR 114 Glenwood Springs, Colorado 81601. The meetings will be recorded, and the recordings will be made available to you. I. Tuesday, April 9, 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. | Area Residents Meeting o This meeting is open to all Spring Valley area residents. II. Tuesday, April 9, 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. | Elk Springs neighborhood o This meeting will be only open to the Elk Springs neighborhood residents. III. Wednesday, April 10, 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. | Area Residents Open House o This is an open house with no presentation open to all Spring Valley area residents. IV. Wednesday, April 10, 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. | Area Residents Meeting II o This meeting is open to all Spring Valley area residents. To assist in our outreach efforts, we have contracted with Project Resource Studio, a local communications firm. Kathleen Wanatowicz, Project Resource Studio principal, is coordinating all RSVPs and meeting appointments. She can be reached directly at 970-618-5114 or kathleen@prstudioco.com. We have also carved out time for area residents who would like an individual meeting or a smaller group meeting of 10 or fewer people. If you would like to schedule an individual or smaller group meeting on April 8, 9, 10 or 11, please contact Kathleen. The comprehensive Spring Valley Ranch PUD Amendment and associated studies and reports can be accessed via the Garfield County website, www.garfield-county.com. We look forward to sharing more about our vision for Spring Valley Ranch with you and hearing your feedback. Sincerely, Mark Enderle, Partner Storied Development –   We want to continue providing opportunitie s to meet, share information, and listen to your feedback. Please let us know if you can attend one of the upcoming neighborhood outreach meetings listed below . 2024 Local Community and Neighbors Outreach Meetings | Spring Valley Ranch PUD Amendment 2024 Local Community and Neighbors Outreach Meetings | Spring Valley Ranch PUD Amendment