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Boulder County Commissioners engage with Allenspark

Omayra Acevedo
Posted 6/17/23

On Thursday, June 8, 2023, from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., the Boulder County Commissioners and the Boulder County Senior Planner for Forest Health, Meg Halford, met with over 50 residents of Allenspark

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Boulder County Commissioners engage with Allenspark

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On Thursday, June 8, 2023, from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., the Boulder County Commissioners and the Boulder County Senior Planner for Forest Health, Meg Halford, met with over 50 residents of Allenspark and surrounding communities in the Allenspark Fire Protection District at the Allenspark Town Hall.

The meeting topics included Boulder County Commissioners’ Wildfire Protection Plan updates and other concerns the residents of Allenspark wanted to address. Guests signed in and were asked to sign a separate list if they wished to speak.

Public Affairs Specialist Jennifer Churchill began the meeting with a brief introduction, followed by Commissioner Claire Levy, sharing the announcement made by the Boulder County Sheriff and District Attorney that morning concerning the Marshall Fire: “The fire originated at two unrelated locations, and no criminal charges were warranted.”

Halford presented a 25-slide Powerpoint program explaining the County’s Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP). The CWPP will “act as an ‘umbrella’ to help create a living document for planning and implementation.

“The County CWPP hopes to motivate and empower communities and local FPDs to organize, plan and take action: Developing or updating local CWPPs, embracing the concept of ‘Living with Wildfire,’ fuels reduction, becoming ‘situationally aware,’ identifying strategies to reduce the risks to lives, homes, and critical infrastructure, and helping to meet the criteria of state, federal, and local grant programs.”

The goals set forth in the CWPP are for all of Boulder County. Goals include prioritizing identifying “current risks and hazards, listing out current actions and programs that are going on and in place, identify[ing] needs and gaps that need to be filled, both technical and equitable considerations, community input and engagement meetings, and project identification and prioritization.”

The development process of CWPP incorporates a “flexible and adaptive management process that accommodates a wide variety of county/ community needs, forested wildland-urban interface (WUI), grassland WUI, collaborative process with key partners and community members, targeting a cross-jurisdictional, and regional approach to best leverage resources.”

The County recommends that landowners and homeowners “attend the CWPP Community Engagement Event in their area, provide input about concerns on wildfire hazards, problems, and needs.

“Become ‘spark plugs,’neighborhood ambassadors to generate interest in coming together for a community-wide mitigation project, work closely with the Colorado State Forest Service, local fire protection districts, the Watershed Center, USFS, and the County, and be committed and willing to do fuels reduction, defensible space measures and home hardening actions.”

Halford’s wildfire presentation was followed by concerns from Boulder County mountain residents from Allenspark to Raymond. The Boulder County Commissioners will be looking into grants for Allenspark residents to improve grasslands and to address the limited hours and days at sort yards and their uses.

Residents also voiced opinions over the lack of follow-up from the County concerning land use, Allenspark Townsite, and zoning. The Allenspark community inquired about composting and why it was “suddenly” taken from them.

One resident expressed, “There’s signage on what to recycle, what to trash, but there is nothing being done to educate residents on composting,” which is possibly where the composting program went wrong.

The County is working toward starting composting again, possibly at different locations, working to figure out a solution with a company that has had composting success in other states.

The effects of the county-wide open space sales and use tax on small fire departments can add between $5,000 and $10,000 of fees for a fire department, a large amount for a mountain fire district to take on, causing another concern for the small mountain community of Allenspark.

Residents of Raymond raised issues about shooting in the forest. In 2022, a resolution addressing that issue was passed that was due to take effect on January 1, 2023, but residents never saw it enforced. Residents want to know what’s being done for establishing a shooting range and getting “NO SHOOTING” signs posted.

The process, even for signs, can be a lengthy one. The County has to work with the Forest Service to approve signs and hire the manpower to put these up once they are approved.

The need for senior services in Allenspark was also on the list of topics for residents. Many homecare workers with regional companies find their work limited by location, making Allenspark a location problem for seniors needing care. A senior advisory council meets in Allenspark once per month to discuss these issues.

Allenspark business owners expressed gratitude toward the commissioners but respectfully demanded that the length of time it takes a small mountain business to receive applications or permits can be eight months or longer.

Businesses are also being asked to repair or upgrade long after those businesses have been purchased, leaving owners in some instances nearly having to shut their doors. The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) – federal payments given to local governments to help offset losses in property taxes due to the existence of nontaxable federal lands within their boundaries – were also questioned.

The Boulder County Commissioners openly received feedback from the Allenspark community and stated they are working to address all concerns. A Planning Commission Regular Meeting is planned for Wednesday, June 21, 2023, at 2:30 p.m., at the Boulder County Courthouse, third floor, 1325 Pearl Street in Boulder. The meeting will be in a hybrid format with a virtual option.