Conifer Center (fmr Conifer Commons): Proposed Development at Light Lane

OH wait, in all their wisdom, they OMITTED water will escalate the price of the dwelling $$$$$
to make it out of reach for most.......just like the safeway fiasco......oh and there is this.......a GLOBAL slowdown that WILL bring a recession....forward thinking is NOT their forte. jmo

It would appear that JEFFCO did not learn much about housing density and construction in the Wildland Urban Interface [abbreviated as WUI] from the Waldo Canyon and Black Forest fires or from the last two years of wildfires in California.

Findings in the NIST Waldo Canyon Study NIST.TN.1910. [NIST website/ link not available due to government shutdown]
"Current concepts of defensible space do not account for hazards of burning primary structures, hazards presented by embers and the hazards outside of the home ignition zone."

In the NIST fire study, only 48 of the destroyed homes were ignited directly from the wildfire. Structure-to-structure spread from these early ignitions resulted in the cascading ignition of the other 296 destroyed homes.

Examples from California:
Retired CALFIRE chief Royal Burnett after investigating the CARR fire in Redding:
"Under current standards house are build six to an acre; 10 feet to the property line, and only 20 feet between houses. Once one house ignited, radiant heat could easily torch the next one."

www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-cof...-20171011-story.html
On why Coffee Park [a suburb of Santa Rosa outside the mapped high fire risk zone] burned to the ground in the Tubbs fire.
"Most likely, the fire was touched off by embers blown from a distance. Firebrands capable of igniting a house can travel more than a mile ... Fire experts surmise that most of the damage was caused by fire spreading from house to house, leaving some parkway trees and things like trash cans oddly unscathed."

The International Wildland Urban Interface Codes [IWUI] represent the best available codes for building in and around Conifer. Those codes would not allow the development as proposed or the less fire resistant construction presently permitted by JEFFCO. Here are the IWUI structure separation standards: codes.iccsafe.org/content/IWUIC2015/chap...truction-regulations . There are also more stringent construction standards. JEFFCO has not adopted the IWUI codes.

Development in the fire prone WUI using a California model has been demonstrated to fail. The latest example was Paradise, CA. The entire community burned to the ground in the Camp fire and the fire killed 85 people. Inadequate development practices and inadequate evacuation roads compromised survivability.

Has anyone in JEFFCO done sufficient traffic studies to ascertain whether or not our local roads can support mass evacuations if a large wildfire encroaches on our area? I doubt our local roads are up to the task. Even 285 goes bumper to bumper on high traffic days. Add fire, smoke, and a couple of accidents and our roads including 285 might not support mass evacuations.

I ask JEFFCO to stop approving developments and increasing density that will put additional lives and property at risk until we can all sort out and adequately address our vulnerability to wildfire. We have a significant wildfire susceptibility and vulnerability problem in our area today that cannot be addressed by a quick tweak here and there to planning and zoning procedures. Lets not make our community wildfire risk incrementally worse and attempt to build a Paradise, CA in Conifer. Waldo Canyon, other Colorado front range fires, and California have shown us what doesn't work. Lets do better in Conifer and in JEFFCO.

weather.com/news/weather/video/satellite...lifornia-destruction

Just received from Nick Nelson, Jeffco Planning & Zoning:

All,

The community meeting that was canceled for tonight has been rescheduled for Monday, January 28th. Still at the Conifer High School Cafeteria at 6 pm.

You can review the applicant’s documents here:
permitsearch.jeffco.us/amandaItoI/Public...%20ParkLight%20Lane/

Reminder that this meeting is coming up Monday at 6pm at Conifer High School.

One of the main concerns is the availability of water. The Conifer Area Council held a Water Educational Seminar in November to bring in experts to help inform us all about that issue. You can find the video of the meeting here.

I attended a Public Hearing/Community Meeting last evening for the above referenced case (meeting case # 18-132130 CMT) - both of these case numbers will provide you with the JEFFCO case documents that are public. This development is in Conifer behind Safeway, between Pleasant Park, and Light Lane. At this juncture, the only definite entrance will be on Light Lane as there were logistical issues with another entrance to Pleasant Park. This community meeting is a required step proor to a formal application with JEFFCO in order to gather community input. Here is a summary I posted to Nextdoor, offering up for information. There will be those "for" the development, and those not in favor of it. It was obvious at the Public Hearing, the folks attending were NOT in favor, and raised a number of concerns. Please research, and form your own conclusions - make your voice heard - my meeting notes:

Hello Mountain Town people:
I attended the Community Meeting for the new development proposed - 350 homes on a parcel behind Safeway, located between Light Lane and Pleasant Park. If you search JEFFCO permits, you can use either 18-122978 PA (Preliminary Application), or 18-132130 CMT (Community Meeting).

The meeting was standing room only - I'm sure there were 100 folks at the meeting - a really good turn-out, and significant issues raised. While the presenters said they had talked to a lot of people who were staunch supporters of the development, I would conclude they had not talked to anyone in the room.

A gentleman was handing out something he had authored with questions he had regarding the development - I am going to copy the pages, and create a PDF for anyone who was not at the meeting, or who did not get a copy from him at the meeting - please email me, but at this email address, if you want a copy - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. - I've created a separate email to consolidate information on two significant development cases that are active in Conifer. (The other one is case 18-107113 RZ - a rezoning case to create a 114 dwellings on 25 acres at the corner of Hwy 73 and Barkley Rd)

One of the first things of note - the original pre-application documentation outlined 350 muli-family, townhomes, and/or single family dwellings on two parcels totaling about 70 acres. 23 of the 70 acres are already approved for 75 dwellings, and this developer was not able to get the 23 acre parcel for his project. So, the pre-application is for 275 multi-family, townhomes, and/or single family units on 47 acres.

The issues raised were the same issues voiced for the other case noted above:

---WATER - quantity, quality, waste handling, water rights, impact on people who have wells down the hill from this new development
---FIRE
- how were they going to ensure adequate protection for these dwellings, and other dwellings in the area
-what about evacuation in the case of a wildfire?
-home owners' insurance? most of us know how costly it is in this area, and even hard to get
- fire protection -Elk Creek FPD has 9 permanent employees (mostly EMS) and 45 volunteer firefighters, and 4 engines, a brush truck, and 4 tenders [tankers]. These are distributed among 4 stations. Station 1 is manned for response 24x7. The others operate on call. Additionally, there are ambulances and utility vehicles. The main issue is manpower.
-the density of this new development wil be a great conduit for fueling a wildfire in an already defined wildfire hazard area
---SCHOOLS
-who was going to fund monies for more schools, more teachers, smaller class sizes, school supplies, etc.?
---TRAFFIC
-Hwy 285 as these people commute to work down the hill
-Traffic on roads which, up until now, are providing service for many fewer residences
-Traffic in the case of an evacuation (think about Paradise, CA - 88 people dead, a town totally destroyed - density of structures was a significant factor in the destruction and loss of lives)
---LIGHT POLLUTION
---NATIVE WILDLIFE

These were the main issue raised - there are others.

I do not claim to be an expert on water issues - there are a lot of folks who have lived here much longer than I.

With the help of another Conifer resident who works closely with the Elk Creek FPD, we've spent the last two weeks assembling a presentation which provides details around the fire issues. Since some of the information shared at the meeting has changed since we completed the presentation, I will need to revise the slides; however, once I've completed the changes, I will share it with whomever wants to see it. I will put it on a Google Drive - and make it available to anyone who contacts me at the "This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it." email address. I should have the changes done by next weekend.

If you are of the opinion this is not what you think makes sense for our mountain town, if we are to be successful in stopping this development, there will need to be a concerted effort to do that. If you were at the meeting last night, I hope you wrote your email address on the sheets provided. The JEFFCO planner is Nick Nelson, and his email is This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. - if you did not supply your email at the meeting, send him your email address, and asked to be included on the mailing list for this case.

for the other case noted, we organized our own community meeting and talked through how to make sure of our impact. If any of you are interested, please include that in an email to me (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) - I am willing to organize a meeting regarding this new case.

My husband and I moved here because we wanted to live in a mountain community, not in a subdivision. This type of development is not what I want here, and there may be others feel the same way.

One other thing of note - our elected County Commissioners are not allowed to discuss this case with us until it goes before them for approval. Hmmm..guess I thought they worked for us....they do have access to the public documents on JEFFCO web site, but maybe they are not allowed to read them. And since we can't discuss the case with them, doesn't sound like we'll know if they read them...

On that note, have a great day, and respond to me privately at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with any thoughts you have, if you want a link to the Google Drive for the PPT, if you want a copy of the document provided by a concerned resident, and/or if you want to get involved.

Thanks.

Sharon Woods

Proposal for 275 homes met with opposition

More than 100 Conifer residents packed Conifer High School on Monday night to protest a rezoning proposal that could bring 275 homes to 47 acres on Light Lane behind Safeway.

Residents voiced concern about several issues, including water, fire and traffic. Not one of the speakers favored the development.

When Nick Nelson, the Jeffco planner assigned to the case, explained that the meeting’s purpose was to gather feedback on the idea, he was met with laughs and boos from the crowd. At one point, a resident told project team members that their idea was unwanted and recommended they leave everyone alone.

Initially, developers planned for 350 dwelling units because they hoped to connect with an adjacent 22-acre parcel on Pleasant Park Road, but those plans have been scratched for now.

At this point, plans are very preliminary, and it appears to be intentionally so.

Read more here: www.canyoncourier.com/content/proposal-2...position#comment-208
By Deborah Swearingen
Tuesday, January 29, 2019

From Nick Nelson, Jeffco Planning & Zoning:

Last January you attended a Community Meeting for a proposed Rezoning application for property located adjacent to Light Lane behind the Safeway. The property owner did not submit their application within one year as required by the Zoning Resolution. They are now hosting another Community Meeting prior to potentially submitting to Rezone the property.

You can find the applicants submittal information here:
permitsearch.jeffco.us/amandaItoI/Public...20Conifer%20Commons/

The meeting will be held March 17 at Conifer High School starting at 7 pm.

Please hold your questions and comments for the Community Meeting.

All,

Due to COVID-19 concerns, the Conifer Commons community meeting previously scheduled for March 17th has been canceled. We will notify you again when new information is available. Thank you for understanding.

Nick Nelson
Jefferson County Planning and Zoning
Planner
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.