Neighbors of proposed Wolcott development create new Change.org petition to oppose the plan
A bald eagle nest on the property could be harmed, neighbors claim
Rick Spitzer/Courtesy photo
Opponents of a proposed new neighborhood at Wolcott have taken to the internet looking for support.
Bellyache Ridge resident Jan Strauch has started a petition at . The petition cites the danger the proposal could pose to nesting eagles on the property on the north side of Interstate 70.
The proposal for that part of the property includes about 10 homes, as well as a fire station.
- Location: Wolcott, on a parcel east of the Interstate 70 spur road.
- Size: 72 acres.
- Units: A maximum of 360, 53% of which will be deed-restricted.
- Approvals granted: The first, “sketch plan,” was granted in August.
- What’s needed: Two more approvals, “preliminary plan” and “final plat.”
During an August hearing on the project, Jeff Townsend of Resort Concepts, the project developer, told the Eagle County Board of Commissioners that his firm has done everything it’s been asked to do by Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
“For a valley called Eagle Valley, we should take better care of them,” Mary Pierce, Bellyache resident
In a telephone interview, Strauch said that isn’t enough. Strauch said he’s looked into 1970-era federal rules protecting eagles. That research has led to conversations with one of the people who wrote those regulations.
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“His take was that these eagles are well within the protective boundary suggested by the government,” Strauch said.
Bellyache residents are “concerned, and rightfully so” about the potential impact on the birds.
Bellyache resident Mary Pierce is also concerned about the development’s possible impacts.
“I think we owe it to our community to prevent building on lower Bellyache,” Pierce said. “I don’t want to see the eagles disturbed 鈥� they’re a treasure.”
Pierce noted that she often takes guests to observe the nest, particularly when the nesting pair produces two or three eaglets nearly every year.
“We get to watch (the eaglets) stretching their wings,” Pierce said. “For a valley called Eagle Valley, we should take better care of them.”
There are about 70 members of the Bellyache Ridge Homeowners Association, but Strauch said the petition has already had about 200 signatures.
But Eagle County Commissioner Matt Scherr said petitions on land use proposals carry little weight.
Scherr and other commissioners aren’t able to speak about land use proposals still in the approval process. Those applications are “quasi-judicial” proceedings, with the commissioners acting as judges. As such, they aren’t allowed to talk about those proposals so they can’t be accused of bias one way or another.
Scherr said land use proposals are approved or not based on whether or not they comply with the county’s land use regulations.
“There have been land use files I did not like,” but still voted to approve, Scherr said, because those proposals met the county’s regulations.
That’s the way the process has to work, Scherr added. Local government rules help potential buyers and sellers determine the value of a parcel, Scherr said.
If decision-makers use their discretion outside those rules, it becomes far more difficult to determine the value of a given parcel.
“That said, it’s such an arcane process, it can feel like it’s intentionally set against the public,” Scherr said.
But, he added, he still encourages residents to look at the county’s rules. There may be areas where the commissioners may have some discretion, and residents can help point decision-makers to those areas.
In addition to the eagles, Strauch said he’d like to see changes to the current proposal.
“I hope (the developers) come up with a great plan,” he said, citing the need for workforce housing. “I’ve said I’m all for this, but do it right.”
