John Scarffe, Boulder County. The Boulder County Commission approved a Limited Impact Special Use review for the Town of Nederland’s Big Springs Emergency Egress Trail with many conditions during a Public Hearing at 9 a.m. on June 25, 2019, in the Commission’s meeting room. The project will create a roughly 3,900-foot long emergency egress trail for residents in the Big Springs Subdivision, involving about 5,103 cubic yards of earthwork.

The Special Use review was submitted by Boulder County Parks and Open Space and the Town of Nederland, according to the meeting agenda and packet. The proposed project is in the Forestry Zoning District southeast of the Big Springs Subdivision in Nederland, roughly 1.25 miles east of the Magnolia Drive and Highway 119 intersection. Boulder County Parks and Open Space owns the property, according to the County Land Use staff report.

The applicant, the Town of Nederland, proposes constructing an emergency egress trail for use by the residents of the Big Springs subdivision. “Staff finds that this project can, with the recommended conditions of approval, meet the applicable criteria in Article 4-601 of the Boulder County Land Use Code and recommends conditional approval,” according to the report.

The project area is located just south of the Big Springs Subdivision, which borders the southern shore of Barker Reservoir. The subdivision is within the Town of Nederland, but the trail is proposed across Boulder County Parks and Open Space land and U.S. Forest Service land located in unincorporated Boulder County. 

The project area is bordered by the subdivision on the north and is surrounded by County and Forest Service open space that includes a primitive trail network through forested, moderately sloping terrain. Although the County does not regulate activities on federal property, the Forest Service land is being included in the discussion to allow for a holistic evaluation of potential project impacts, according to the report. 

Access from the east end of the Big Springs Subdivision to Highway 119 is limited. In recent years, the Town has coordinated with the Nederland Fire Protection District, Boulder County and the Forest Service to improve public safety for area residents by creating an emergency evacuation route that would provide safe egress from the east side of the subdivision to the surrounding road system during a wildfire event. 

“The roughly 3,900-foot-long proposed egress route connects Doe Trail, a road in the Big Springs Subdivision, and Magnolia Drive to the south. The proposed route utilizes an existing primitive trail and a small section of an old utility corridor,” according to the report. 

“The existing trail runs along the eastern side of a small valley and slopes upward from Doe Trail to Magnolia Drive.” A small perennial spring about halfway up the trail on Boulder County land drains north toward Doe Trail and a wetland area lies just south of Doe Trail. 

Another egress route, the Wildewood egress, will connect the subdivision and Magnolia Drive across Forest Service lands to the west, according to the report. The two egress trails could be used in tandem for single-direction travel during a wildfire. 

“The trail closer to the event would be used by emergency personnel to access the fire while the other trail is used by residents of the subdivision to evacuate to Magnolia Drive,” according to the report. At a public hearing on August 9, 2016, the Board of County Commission approved the disposal of an easement from the County to the Town within the Reynolds Ranch Open Space for the establishment of the Doe Trail egress, subject to design criteria and measures outlined in a staff memo dated August 2.

Nederland made a similar request for an easement over Forest Service lands. The following conditions stated in the 2016 memo were intended to minimize impacts to open space resources within the easement area and in the immediate vicinity.

The easement will give the Town the right to construct the one-lane, natural surface egress route consistent with the County’s Multimodal Transportation Standards for Driveway Access for Emergency Vehicles. The Town must prepare and submit a construction plan to Boulder County for approval prior to construction, and with that right comes the obligation to regularly maintain the facility, according to the memo. 

The route will continue to function as a designated, non-motorized trail within the Reynolds Ranch Open Space trail network. The county may plan for and construct or deconstruct trails that connect to the egress in cooperation with the Town and to the extent that any changes would not significantly impact the purpose of the egress, according to the memo. The Town also must develop a plan to manage storm water, sediment and other erosion related concerns. 

The design must nclude specific measures to avoid negative impacts to riparian forest areas, wetland areas and old-growth timber from sedimentation and other pollutants. A proposed maintenance plan must be a component of this plan, and Boulder County Parks and Open Space staff must approve the plan prior to construction. 

Boulder County Staff Member Summer Frederick introduced the request to the Board. She said the project will have an impact on the natural habitat, but the scope of project is small and the impact is limited with a 12-feet-wide egress and emergency pullouts every 500 feet.

The egress will be surfaced with native grasses, and Nederland will be responsible for maintenance, Frederick said. The fire department recommends the gates remain unlocked at all times.

The details of the easement are to be finalized by Parks and Open Space staff. The egress utilizes an existing utility trail, and retaining walls are proposed. The proposal was referred out to agencies and divisions, which proposed a number of conditions. A biological survey will be required by the Forest Service.

Staff is recommending the Commission approve with conditions. Commissioner Deb Gardner asked about alternative alignments. In previous discussions, alternate routes were explored. One to the west and one in the middle.

Boulder County Parks and Open Space Staff Member Justin Atherton-Wood told the Board that they did look at a number of alternatives, and those were presented at the 2016 hearing. Commission Chair Elise Jones asked if they looked at alternatives within the easement alignment. 

Atherton-Wood said that’s what Parks and Open Space would prefer to do. They can look at a route along the trail, and the design could be altered to achieve less impact. New Project Manager Sharon Procopio, JVA, said they have determined that the Doe Trail alignment was the best location. They are able to refine the design and have already made some adjustments.

For rock walls, at the head of Doe Trail they plan to have four locations and might have a couple more to help establish the grade. Commissioner Matt Jones said that public safety is a critical factor and everyone wants to minimize impact. Atherton-Wood said that with one of the alternatives staff preferred the neighbors weren’t open to it.

Matt Jones said he had issues with the egress adjacent to the wetlands. Why does this trail alternative have the most impact? It’s in a riparian area with rare birds like the owl. 

Nederland Fire Chief Rick Dirr said he has been with the fire department since the early 1990s and chief since 2000. “If we do this without sensitivity, I’m the guy that takes the heat.”

“We know that a mid-slope alignment isn’t safe to use,” Derr said. “We looked at a number of alternatives.” Across the dam and a more northern route, but the neighbors didn’t support it, so we landed with the existing alignment. 

Derr said he thinks they are putting this away from the wetlands. “We worked really hard at those alternatives, and I’m concerned this project is going to get lost in looking at other alternatives. 

“We looked at alignment to the east of wetlands and it crosses private property, and the town didn’t see condemning the property as a solution. There’s a lot of history in this,” Dirr said.

During Nederland’s presentation, Town Administrator Karen Gerrity and Sharon Procopio said that 200 households, and 400 residents don’t have a safe evacuation route, and this solves that problem. The Forest Service has already granted a permit. 

The Town also needs the Wildwood route to have two ways, but they haven’t fully evaluated that route. They still need to do the final design on the Doe Trail route, and it is a five-year project. 

This is a critical community and humanitarian need, and they already have a trail there, so they are trying to minimize the impact. It’s just a trail and forest path.

The Board discussed ideas for alternatives, the impact to the stream, wetlands and natural habitat. During public comment, three Nederland residents, including Derr, spoke in favor of the egress, and chair of the Nederland Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Advisory Board spoke against it. Jessica Ansari, also a Big Springs resident, said she doesn’t have a good feeling about the scenario of loading her toddler and dog in her car and heading down the long Doe Trail road. She is concerned she would encounter fire half way up.

After further discussion by the Board, Gardner made a motion to approve the request with conditions as outlined by staff and to work with parks and transportation departments for the best alignment of the road. Matt Jones said he doesn’t have enough information, and he doesn’t know how many trees will be cut. 

“I think it’s premature to make a decision on this.” He recommended tabling this and have staff work on land use and open space concerns.

Elise Jones said: “I don’t like this. I agree this is not a great place for a subdivision, and we’re going to have more catastrophic wild fires. We have to fix this problem, and, yes, we need to facilitate this.” 

She proposed two additional conditions: the Town must make a plan to minimize removal of large trees and must receive approval from Parks and Open Space because staff is better suited to sign off on this. Two, exploring additional opportunities to minimize impact to the stream, wetlands and trees and have staff sign off as well as looking to the west for alternatives as Matt Jones suggested.  

The motion to approve a Limited Impact Special Use review for the Town of Nederland’s Big Springs Emergency Egress Trail with many conditions was seconded and approved.

(Originally published in the July 4, 2019, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)