I congratulate the Chaffee County Commissioners, the Planning Commission, and CTA Consulting on the great amount of work and public outreach that has gone into the rewrite of the Chaffee County Comprehensive Plan over the last ten months. The many public meetings, neighborhood listening sessions, individual interviews, public surveys, and outreach on the Together Chaffee website have collected a huge amount of input, representing the views of a significant portion of the residents of Chaffee County. The plan, although it is still in draft form and receiving comment from interested parties, promises to move the county in a direction that reflects the desires of residents for the future of Chaffee County.
CentervilleRanch looking toward Browns canyon. Photo courtesy of Central Colorado Conservancy.
In addition, I would like to thank the County Commissioners for engaging in the Envision Chaffee County process, which preceded the Comprehensive Plan rewrite. Envision Chaffee County has led to so much engagement and good work for the benefit of Chaffee County, and has helped illuminate the public desire to preserve what we love about living in Chaffee County. Included in the list of what we love is open agricultural land, protected viewsheds, quality recreational opportunities, healthy wildlife, high water quality, healthy forests, and small-town community feel.
The 147-page draft of the Comprehensive Plan contains maps, number and location of lots available for development, zoning information, and it identifies themes for development and planning that are based on public input. The input suggests that limiting development sprawl in rural areas and increasing development density around existing communities is the best way to preserve what we love about living here.
Thanks to Cushing Terrell Consulting for amassing all the input and for leading the many interested citizens through this exhaustive process. I urge the County Commissioners and the Planning Commission to complete the Comprehensive Plan process in a timely manner, and to not be derailed at this late date by the dissenting voices of a few developers who did not participate in the process or read the draft plan.
The Chaffee County Comprehensive Plan should reflect the current demographics in our county, the large amount of input from the interested residents who participated in the planning process, and the good work of the consultants who have put so much into its rewrite. Please Commissioners, honor the process you have put into motion and its results for the sake of all Chaffee county residents.
Susan Greiner
Buena Vista
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