Community Meeting Re: Rezoning Request for St Malo Catholic Center, Pine

Here is the link to the video of the Planning Commission Hearing that was held on August 24, 2016, prior to the Board of County Commissioners hearing on September 13, 2016 (previously posted): jeffersonco.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=5&clip_id=2228

Case # 16-105311RZ

This again underlines the need for the county to relook its planning and zoning process for the wild land urban interface. In this meeting the Planning Commissioners are doing the work that the staff should have done prior to the meeting. I'm sure the staff followed standard planning procedures, this points to inadequate county planning and zoning standards. This meeting demonstrates that the cart is in front of the horse. The commissioners are asked to approve zoning requests before there is a site development plan that clearly outlines and explains the proposed development. Approving zoning changes based on concepts is plain wrong.

The largest issue that must take precedence in the JEFFCO planning and zoning considerations is the reduction of the wildfire threat to the mountain communities. Only wildfire can destroy an entire community. Other risks and considerations must be secondary in the front range mountain communities. The latest Core Logic report www.corelogic.com/research/wildfire-risk...zard-risk-report.pdf shows Colorado as the number two state in the nation with residential properties at very high risk to wildfire. The Evergreen and Conifer zip codes represent the majority of the properties at very high risk in the report.

Why didn't the concerns of the Elk Creek Fire Department receive priority consideration? Why were the proposed structure heights waived when structure height is an issue with the fire department? The existing county fire codes have not adopted the International Wildland Urban Interface fire codes. Why? There are no specific policy statements with respect to wildfire hazard mitigation in the 285 master plan that address the unique needs of communities living in the WUI. Why? Approximately 50% of the wildfires started in Colorado are human caused. This proposal increases the number of people in the wild land area. What steps does the county believe are necessary to address the increased potential for fire caused by more people in the wild lands? Emergency evacuation routes are already inadequate in the areas surrounding the proposed development. Why exacerbate the problem by increasing the population that will utilize the existing evacuation routes?

Until the planning and zoning process and county development standards are improved, the wildfire problem on the front range and in our community will continue to increase. This is not a problem for district firefighters to solve, it is our problem and growth without better planning in the wild land urban interface will only mean larger and more expensive fires.

Please contact all the Commissioners and make your voice heard. An remind both Szabo and Tighe who are up for reelection in November how you will vote.

So lets say that the Archdiocese is required to remove all the trees around the main building including the 50 and 60 feet ones in accordance with Jeffco Regs, what happens to all the other trees/bushes in a very overgrown forest? Doesn't this increase the risk even more? Wouldn't an alternative of 43 homes that are required to mitigate reduce fire risk? And wouldn't it make more sense to have residents who are contributing to the tax base. The Archdiocese as nonprofit contributes absolutely nothing. Why would anyone consider this to be a good idea?

If you favor this, consider that you are dooming surrounding homeowners to their potential death in a wildfire which is 'not if but when'.

If you live in the Jeffco Elk Creek Fire District please contact the Commissioners and let your voice be heard. Rosier seems like a done deal in favor of the Archdiocese but enough of an outcry might sway Szabo who seems to be leaning in favor. With both Szabo and Tighe up for reelection, a loud cry should make a difference. Also keep in mind that more than likely there will be a deluge of in favor from Catholic community residents who will support the Archdiocese.

I am opposed to the sheer SIZE of this project and very concerned about fire threats, destruction of scenic beauty, and volumes of traffic from the transient groups of persons who would be using the facility.



THE PLAN: The current plan submitted by the Archdiocese (Jeffco Permit 16-105311RZ) will allow two structures of 100,000 SF (Main lodge, 60 double occupancy rooms, 55 feet tall) and 60,000 SF (Youth lodge), a chapel to accommodate 160 people, gift shop, kitchen, 5 dormitory pods for 16 children and 2 adults each, 4 cabins for 1-2 persons each, camping for up to 80, 2 houses for staff, and 6 open fire pits. Total 'bodies' if filled to capacity would be about 485 people per day. The Archdiocese has expressed that the facilities will be open to religious groups, business meetings, weddings and other events - it is a commercial enterprise. Fire mitigation plan calls for thinning 50% of 2 out of 3 major tree stands. Occupancy density will require building of a water treatment facility on site.

ISSUES: This project as proposed is OUTSIZED for the area; the Archdiocese is intent on expanding the facility; and the structures are the equivalent of the size of a Sam's Club or a Costco. Situated on a high hill, structures of this size and the accompanying access roads, parking, and lighting will be visible, create significant fire threats not defensible by the ECFD and volunteer firefighters, and are inconsistent with the scenic beauty and rural character of the community. The plan is not approved yet and the Jeffco Board of County Commissioners have the options at the BCC Meeting at 8:00 a.m. on October 25 to, 1.) deny the proposal outright, 2.) approve it without modification, or 3.) approve with modification. Community activism in the form of questions, comments, and recommendations, as well as visibility at the hearing, carry significant weight.

PLEASE GET INVOLVED:
Write Emails or letters to Jefferson County Commissioners and permit Case Manager. State your opposition, concerns, questions, or recommendations, AND include Case #16-105311RZ. Include all 4 email addresses:

Libby Szabo: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Casey Tighe: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Donald Rosier: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Justin Montgomery: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

PUBLIC HEARING @ 8:00 a.m. OCTOBER 25 AT JEFFCO ADMIN BUILDING
100 Jefferson County Pkwy.
Admin and Courts Facility
Golden, CO 80419

Reminder that the hearing is next week, please mail or email your positions, concerns, etc to the Commissioners about this development so that they can be considered and added to the case file under Citizen Comments. The Archdiocese and Elk Creek Fire Department have been meeting, but as of yet there is no official consensus agreement to share.

If you can't make it to the hearing on the 25th, we will post the link to the live streaming video if you have time to watch.

Tonight on CBS4 News at 10 p.m.: Catholic Retreat Concerns
October 18, 2016 9:06 AM

For the latest update from Chief McLaughlin on discussions with the Archdiocese, mentioned during the Fire Chief Report at the last Elk Creek Fire Board Meeting (start at the 26:50 minute mark):

Proposed Archdiocese Retreat Facing Wildfire Questions
By Brian Maass
October 18, 2016 10:09 PM

Dollins talked to CBS4 about the proposed 241-acre facility the Archdiocese wants to build on property it bought in 2015 in Jefferson County. The church is trying to have the property rezoned so it can build a main lodge with 52 guest rooms, meeting and eating facilities along with a chapel, a dormitory-style youth retreat center and small cabins.

A open letter to the County Commissioners and the Archdiocese:

This issue points out the much larger problem in our small mountain district. Development in mountainous areas is being approved with insufficient consideration of the only major hazard that can destroy our entire community.

Forest fuels have been allowed to increase over the years to the point that the front range is now a tinderbox. The potential for community destroying fires now exists across the entire front range. The Federal land management agencies, the State, the County, and Denver Parks have not sufficiently mitigated their public lands. None of the agencies have provided sufficient staffing or funding to manage their forest mitigation problems. The money that should have been spent on mitigation was allocated for other projects. We are now living in and using recreational facilities in an explosive environment.

The Planning and zoning process has allowed population density to increase adjacent to these insufficiently mitigated public lands that are now a tinderbox. Building codes allowed construction of excessively vulnerable structures. Evacuation issues were not sufficiently considered before population density was allowed to increase. Approximately half of our wildfires are human caused or human enabled. Any process that increases the number of people or fire enabling development in the forest increases the probability of wildfire in our community.

Inadequate understanding of the fire issues allowed Colorado and Jefferson County to develop without adequate consideration of firefighting capabilities and organization necessary to address today's extreme wildfire problems. Our present firefighting capability is a throwback to our early statehood days. The critical first few hours of wild fire fighting when a small fire can be kept small are primarily the responsibility of individual fire protection districts manned predominately by volunteers, funded by local taxes. Even though these districts were created to protect private property, the State and County have seen fit to place primary responsibility for fire fighting on public lands on these same individual fire protection districts supported solely by local taxes. For protecting public lands, these fire protection districts receive no compensation from the State or the County. The Federal, State, and County agencies do not significantly contribute firefighting capability or support to the initial firefighting effort. They only show up after the small fire becomes a large fire.

Here in Conifer, our small property tax base supports a fire department with the responsibility for not only providing fire protection, EMS, and rescue services on private property, but also protecting Staunton State Park, all JEFFCO open spaces in the district, all Denver Mountain Parks lands in the district, and providing services for a major highway, US 285. None of the insufficiently mitigated public lands or highway system provide any funding to support our fire department, neither do other tax exempt entities.
With this kind of situation, our fire department cannot possibly keep up with the growing fire threat in the district.

We are being nibbled to death by a thousand ducks and this latest project just adds another significant one. Taken in isolation, it doesn't seem to be a large problem. However, by looking at each problem and issue in isolation, over the years we have managed to get 25% of the state population sitting on a tinderbox with inadequate mitigation or fire protection.

Until we get a handle on badly needed mitigation and the requirement for significantly increased fire protection including support from the State and County for initial fire attack, please stop adding to our problems and start helping us manage them.

FNP - Agree with your thoughtful comments and concerns! To ensure they reach the Commissioners, please -- email your comments to the Jeffco Case Manager on this rezoning request, Justin Montgomery: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Additional fire facts found online:

According to the US National Park Service, “Wildfires can be caused by nature—like lava or lightning—but most are caused by humans. ... As many as 90 percent of wildland fires in the United States are caused by humans. Some human-caused fires result from campfires left unattended, the burning of debris, negligently discarded cigarettes and intentional acts of arson. The remaining 10 percent are started by lightning or lava.” www.nps.gov/fire/wildland-fire/learning-.../wildfire-causes.cfm

According to EcoWest, a group that tracks, analyzes and visualizes environmental trends, “Over the past dozen years, more than 80 percent of all wildfires have been caused by people and that rate has been very steady.” ecowest.org/2013/06/04/wildfire-ignition...ns-versus-lightning/

All,

To ensure that your feedback reaches the Commissioners, it is critical to send them directly by email to the Jeffco Case Manager on this rezoning request, Justin Montgomery: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. If you haven't already, please send today!