QUESTIONS:
Master plan creation
for large & controversial projects generally have a citizens steering committee.
How will that be organized here? ASKED
AT THE SESSION & recorded on half-sheets Please provide
the legal citations that Dr. Hill was referencing? What is the exact
role of a marine biologist in the El Paso County Parks system? What criteria
will be used to determine that this is or is not an appropriate site for the dirt
bike park? Who is making
the decision on the "value" of the fossils? Who is making
the decision on the "value" of the "culture"? How can we get
a copy of the "reports" that will be generated by each of the "studies"? Will these "studies"
be making recommendations? If so, what is there directive -- make this a
park or discover whether it should be an OHV park?
BUSINESS PLAN/ MONEY
Do you have a business plan for this OHV park?If
so, when may we see, review, and make comments?If not, which subcommittee
will oversee preparation of it?
How many visitors do you expect each year?
How much will you charge per visitor?
What part of that fee goes to the county? What is the
projected break even user count? What would the estimated
attendance at special events if there are any planned?
How you expect this OHV park will be profitable when similar OHV parks around
the country are costing their counties money?
What will you do when there's no profit or if there are large expenses to the
county?
How do you know it will attract dirt bikers from around the country? What
surveys have you done?
What percentage of the OHV users in El Paso County
are dirt bikers vs ATV users?
What would this OHV park have to offer that isn't already offered elsewhere in
the Pikes Peak region?
Where will money come from for dirt replacement and other trail maintenance?
How can the county afford to have staff on site to oversee operations when the
county is so broke that the sheriff's department is understaffed and so much county
equipment is in disrepair?
Isn't there a better use for this money, like 4-H, master gardener, or the many
other community programs that have been cut?
LIABILITY
Are you sure the county won't have any liability when dirt bikers are injured
or killed?
Are you aware of the attorneys who specialize in dirt bike injuries and the large
settlement amounts they receive?
If a user of the OHV park trespasses onto neighboring property and has a sever
injury, will the county pay for this?
ZONING, EASEMENTS, ILLEGAL ACCESS
What will you do if Waste Management or Katram decide to not give the county an
easement to the Case Property?
If Waste Management and Katram decide to not renew their leases, how will you
gain legal access to the Case property?
How is it appropriate for the county to associate itself with a business that
is not in conformance with the zoning code? How will
you prevent any sort of biker from entering the park for free through the land
to the north, off Davis Rd.
as they are already doing now?
AZTEC
Parks and Leisure Services has the responsibility
of operating and maintaining regional parks, trails and open space.
We assume Parks and one of the subcommittees will define that appropriate
operation and maintenance of this County land.Which subcommittee will
work on this?How will the contract with Aztec be written so that Parks
can act on this responsibility if Aztec does not?Like, how will you
get access to that land?What is the enforcement mechanism? Who
will determine if Aztec is doing a proper job? Who can file a complaint? How long do you believe
that Aztec, (a small, family-owned business), will be around to manage this park?
If Aztec goes out of business, what will the county do?
HIGHWAY 94
Since no taxpayer funds are projected to be used, how will the needed
improvements (accel, decel, turn lanes) to Highway 94 be funded?
APPROPRIATE USE, ALTERNATE SITES
Is this the most appropriate use for this land?
How many residences and landowners are located within ear shot of the proposed
park? Is there / will there be a study on dust and
exhaust issues in addition to noise?
LIMIT ON USES
You've said you want to start small and then add. What will be the limit
on the type of uses?
What will be the limit on the amount of trails?
Who will be held accountable for sticking to those limits?
Specifically what types of competitive events do you plan to have?Which
will be on the Case property?Motocross? Drag?MX?ATV?4x4?
How many times per year would there be competitions at this OHV park?
How many people do you expect to attend each competitive event?
Where would they park their vehicles and trailers?
What hours will they be open?
Will there be additional loudspeakers used?
Will you have to create separate trails for dirt bikes, separate trails for mountain
bikes, separate trails for ATVs, separate trails for hikers and separate trails
for horseback riders?
How much undisturbed land will be left after all these trails are created?
How will you reconcile the different needs of mountain bikers, dirt bikers, ATV
users, hikers, horseback riders and picnickers?Where will non-motorized
users park and get access to their trails?Will there be a fee for them?
How will you reconcile conflicts between mountain bikers, dirt bikers, ATV users,
hikers, horseback riders and picnickers?
What will be the limit on number of users allowed in the "park"?
Will there be parking area lights or other lighting added?
Who will pick up trash in the county owned/leased area?
Will alcohol be allowed?
WILDLIFE, BIRDS, PLANTS, ARCHEOLOGY, EROSION
What if someone shoots a deer or kills other wildlife in this "park"?
Who will stop dirt bikers from chasing deer or other wildlife as they've done?
What sort of fence will have to be built to keep bikers off of environmentally
sensitive areas?
How will the archaeological resources at Corral Bluffs be protected?
How will the already identified rare plants at Corral Bluffs be protected? When
will the Colo Dept of Wildlife start assisting on the Wildlife Mitigation Plan?This
will need to be an extensive document. We note that
wildlife agencies including the County have already identified many sensitive,
protected, watchlist, threatened, or endangered species as present or likely present
in the area.
Is the ‘grading
plan and erosion and sediment control plan’ part of the environmental
subcommittee plan? Corral Bluffs is part of the headwaters
of Jimmy Camp Creek and Fountain Creek which already are in legal disputes.
Will this be addressed in the plan? Also, on
erosion & grading, a 1st phase only or partial development plan
for a multi-phase project is not acceptable by law. So
the trail design consultant will provide not only the 1st phase trail
design, but also will provide the projected long term trail build out design. Will all that be available in May?
GOING OFF TRAIL
Will trespassers and those who go off trail be fined or their vehicles confiscated?Is
there county code already in place to address this?
The Colorado Coalition for Responsible OHV Riding study says education and awareness
don't work to control this problem. How will it be
addressed here?
Will there be someone on the trails at
all times to oversee users?
How are calls to the sheriff's department about violators going to affect a department
that's already overburdened?
Why do you think national forest trails are being closed?
Are you aware that OHV riding is one of the four threats to the health of our
national forests?
NOISE, DUST, FIRE
If Senate bill 63 doesn't pass, will the noise limit then be 84 dBA at 50 feet?
Is the noise measured at an idle or at 60% throttle, as it is in Delaware?
What limit will there on the cumulative noise of hundreds of dirt bikes and ATVs?
How will the fact that Corral Bluffs is built like an amphitheatre and amplifies
noise figure into your noise abatement rules?
Are you planning on building berms or walls?
Berms might somewhat stop noise from going sideways, but they aren't going to
help with noise going up to the homes above. What are you going to do to
prevent the noise from going up?
Very strong winds can blow up and across the Bluffs. How do you plan to
control the dust?
How do you plan to remedy the fact that Corral Bluffs is not currently in a fire
protection district?
Are effective are spark arrestors? Hot exhaust pipes and engines
could start a fire just by touching dry grass, correct?
Will cigarette smoking be banned from the park?
If this dry grassland surrounded by houses catches on fire, what responsibility
will the county take? In the National Forest, a fire danger
scale is monitored and which affects forest use. Here,
since you plan great care in preserving the native and seasonally, very combustible
vegetation, under what conditions will motor use be curtailed or banned?Who
will make that determination? Which subcommittee will
be creating/reviewing the Wildland Fire and Hazard Mitigation Plan?
PROPERTY DEPRECIATION
Will you compensate homeowners for property
value depreciation and loss of the peaceful enjoyment of their property?
Will the county buy up homes near the dirt bike facility, as was done near Pikes
Peak International Raceway?
If homeowners can't find a buyer for their homes, will the county buy them at
fair market value?
MASTER PLANNING PROCESS
How can you justify streamlining the master planning process for the first county
dirt bike facility in Colorado?
Don't you think adding motorcycles and ATVs justifies creating a new and different
planning process?
Why are you not giving this at least the same public process as Homestead Ranch
Park, the Palmer Lake
master plan or Red
Rock Canyon?
Is one month enough time for all these studies? With all these studies/surveys being
done, Mr. Case
and Waste Management (and Aztec?) must have granted access to planners, consultants,
and expert study staff. Therefore I assume that groups
doing impartial studies for second opinion interests can also have access.
Correct?Do we simply proceed with notification to Mr.
Case?Who is the contact for Waste
Management for this access?
How can you possibly complete plant studies in April,
when some plants don't even appear until late summer?
Can you really do thorough and fair studies using only county employees?
Is $40,000 enough for studies, when other OHV parks have spent in the hundreds
of thousands of dollars?
ETHICS, PROPER PROCEDURES
How do you know there's enough developer fee money for this project when there's
has been no accounting of the funds for 4 years?
LONGEVITY
What do you believe the longevity of this park will be?
If it doesn't work out, what's the reclamation plan and where will the money come
from for it?