Hello, Planner and Planning Commission: I Would

From: Suzanne Webel To: #LandUsePlanner Subject: Eldora Parking Docket SU-19-0006 BATCO Response Date: Tuesday, December 17, 2019 12:16:27 PM Attachments: EMR Parking Access Recommendation.doc

Hello, Planner and Planning Commission:

I would like the attached material and recommendation from BATCO to be sent to the Planning Commission with regard to the proposed expansion of the parking area at Eldorado Mountain Resort, prior to their Dec. 18 meeting. We have been trying to get trail access and trailhead parking utilizing existing trails and their parking lot for 40 years (!). Now is the time to get it done, and we would appreciate YOUR support.

As indicated at the end of the letter, I will be unable to attend the meeting because I am getting my life in order for some major surgery this week. Please let me know that you have received this document and will include it for the Planning Commission's consideration for tomorrow's meeting, and if you need any additional information. I would also appreciate being included in further communications regarding this project, and would be happy to talk further by phone now and to meet in person in early January.

Thanks

Suzanne Webel President, Boulder Area Trails Coalition (BATCO) 303-485-2162

Eldora Mountain Resort Summer Parking Request Docket SU-19-0006 December 18, 2019

Boulder County Planning Commission Arapaho Roosevelt National Forest Boulder Ranger District Boulder County Parks & Open Space Boulder County Commissioners

These could be exciting times for public land managers to execute a spectacular vision for non-motorized trails in Boulder County west of Nederland; indeed, now is the ONLY time you will be able to do so.

It is within your grasp to create the true crown jewel of a trail system in the Eldora-Tolland area. You can do it with just a few bold strokes! Please don’t let this once-in-many-lifetimes opportunity slip away.

You can get this process started now by approving the Eldorado Mountain Resort’s request for expanded winter parking ONLY if they agree to allow summer parking for non-motorized recreationists at their enormous parking lot.

We urge you to step back and look at the big picture – not just at the Eldora Mountain Resort in isolation. The map attached offers you that opportunity. Look, please, really look, at how all the key elements are already there. The Ski Resort and the Toll Ranch offer unprecedented opportunities for new regional trails. It is literally a matter of connecting the dots.

But recreationists have long been stymied by a lack of public access and parking. If we could get both by working with EMR, the Forest Service, and Boulder County we’d be able to accomplish the dream.

 BATCO ♦ P.O. Box 19726 ♦ Boulder, CO 80308-2726  www.bouldertrails.org

Regional Context. The map attached, on the USGS topographic base, shows Forest Service lands and the key parcels that are in play as of this date, as well as existing and proposed trails, trailheads and other amenities.

1) Peterson Lake to Lost Lake / Hessie Bypass. The Hessie Townsite has always been a popular starting point for people wanting to access the Indian Peaks Wilderness. However, limited parking has made this a frustrating experience for almost everyone and an impossibility for equestrians. Residents of the Town of Eldora have become annoyed by the traffic through their neighborhood. Eldora Mountain Resort wants to expand its ski runs and lifts, but has been blocking summer trail access for years. Establishing a summer trailhead in the current very large winter ski area parking lot (“P), as well as a building a new few trails (mostly along ski runs, old roads, and a gas pipeline) to connect that area with the Lost Lake area, would bypass Eldora and Hessie entirely, could be implemented at very low cost and low environmental impact, and would solve all the above problems with one new stroke.

2) West Magnolia to Tolland, Eldora, and Rollins Pass. The West Magnolia trail system has just been restructured into a series of tightly-stacked loop trails that don’t really go anywhere. Just next door, however, is the vast Toll Ranch, which consists of more than 4,000 acres of forests, meadows, mines, and roads. The recent acquisition of the Toll Ranch contains an approved east-west trail that will allow people to get seamlessly from West Magnolia all the way to the Indian Peaks, and from West Magnolia to the Jenny Creek Trail, the Rollins Pass Road, and the James Peak Wilderness. Assuming the Zarlengo Property is also in play, a second stage of trail access along an old road there would create an outstanding long-distance loop for a full-day experience from EMR, East Portal, or West Magnolia.

Recommendations. Nonmotorized recreationists desperately need summer parking and access to the trails in this area. The EMR request to expand their already-huge parking facility offers an excellent opportunity to accomplish this objective.

 BATCO ♦ P.O. Box 19726 ♦ Boulder, CO 80308-2726  www.bouldertrails.org

Now is the time to do this right. Please approve their request for more winter parking, but link it with our request to use part of it for summer parking and trail access.

The Boulder Area Trails Coalition (BATCO) promotes non-motorized, multi-use, environmentally-responsible trail systems in Boulder County. We were founded in 1996 and are a 501©3 non-profit corporation. Our Trails & Recreation Map of Boulder County is a major fundraiser for trails, and we may provide some funding in 2020 for trail construction on the nearby Toll property. We often make trail funding grants and provide volunteers for trailbuilding, trail maintenance, and trail advocacy on public lands around the county.

Please consider BATCO as a resource for multi-use trail and public land management issues.

Suzanne Webel President, Boulder Area Trails Coalition (BATCO)

PS I apologize for the hand-drawn map and for the fact that I will be unable to attend the Dec. 18 hearing but I am about to undergo major surgery and just can’t do more right now. I would be very happy to explore this topic with you all early in the new year!

 BATCO ♦ P.O. Box 19726 ♦ Boulder, CO 80308-2726  www.bouldertrails.org