Write A Letter To the Jeffco Planning Commission

Below, we have provided a sample email which you can cut and paste into the form below to send to the Jeffco Planning Commission if you are running short on time. If you would like to make your letter more personal, which we encourage, we have provided many talking points below that you can cut and paste into your letter as you see fit and then add your own personal points or personal stories. Please remember there are only five criteria the Planning Commission can look at to deny the proposal so please tie all of your points to these five reasons - you can see examples of this in our sample email.

There are only five criteria the Planning Commission can consider for approving, conditionally approving or denying the application:

1)  The compatibility with the existing and allowable land uses in the surrounding area.

2)  The degree of conformance with applicable land use plans. You can view the Conifer/285 Corridor Area Plan here.

3)  The ability to mitigate negative impacts upon the surrounding area.

4)  The availability of infrastructure and service.

5)  The effect upon the health, safety, and welfare of the residents and landowners in the surrounding area.

Sample emails

You can copy and paste the sample email text into the "your email" box below if you are short on time. If you have the time a personal email is better, you can use the talking points below and add your own thoughts are personal stories.
Sample Email

I am a neighbor to the proposed site for Full Send Bike Ranch and am writing to you today in opposition to the project and urge you to deny their location and extent request.

The proposal is not compatible with existing and allowable land uses in the surrounding area or with the Conifer/285 Corridor Area Plan. The property is located in an area of stability and is surrounded by agricultural and residential zoned properties. The closest commercial property is two miles away off Highway 73 and Barley Road. Shadow Mountain Drive, which is the only entry point for the Bike Ranch, is a narrow, windy, two-lane road with no turn lanes or shoulders. Adding hundreds of more cars to this road daily, they are projecting 300 cars or 600 trips in and out of the Bike Ranch, will cause significant health and safety concerns and these concerns cannot be mitigated as the area plan calls for only two-lane roads and that “improvements should not be made when the terrain would require extensive engineering that would be exceedingly costly and would degrade the physical environment.” Any changes to Shadow Mountain Drive that is bordered by the mountain on one side and North Turkey Creek on the other would be very costly and degrading.

Additionally, the property is located in an “Extreme” fire danger area which is the highest wildfire-risk rating. Adding 700+ riders and staff will only elevate this risk as the Department of Colorado Natural Resources has stated that 80% of forest fires are human caused. Should a fire occur, the proposed Bike Ranch only has one egress point onto Shadow Mountain Drive which is also the egress point for all of the residents living along Shadow Mountain. The Bike Ranch has not done an evacuation study or plan and the risk to human life – not to mention to animals and property – is too high.

A wildfire or any emergency response would be staffed by the mostly voluntary and already underfunded Elk Creek Fire Protection District. The District is funded by property taxes which the Bike Ranch wouldn’t be paying (the property is exempt) yet would be exponentially increasing the work load. A medical study at Whistler concluded that they recorded 75 ambulance transports in one season. The time it would take for EMS to respond to an accident at the Bike Ranch, transport the person to the nearest trauma one hospital and return to service would take several hours – during these hours the residents who pay property taxes would not be able to quickly obtain the medical care they may need.

The existing infrastructure is also inadequate to support the development of the Bike Ranch. The proposed location has an active 15 gpm water well on the property, but that water won’t be sufficient for their operations and there hasn’t been a plan created for where they will get their water and how they will recharge the aquifer which is required.

As you can see, the Bike Ranch would not be able to mitigate the impacts on our area or on our health, safety & welfare and the existing infrastructure is not sufficient to support this development.


I am opposed ....

Talking Points

The Full Send Bike Ranch proposal is not compatible with existing and allowable land uses in the surrounding area or with the applicable land use plans

Not Compatible
  • The proposed development is located within the Conifer/285 Corridor Area Plan and does not meet the Area Plan’s requirements.
  • Building a commercial enterprise on land zoned for agriculture and surrounded entirely by residential properties is not a compatible use per the zoning code or the Conifer area plan.
  • The property including and surrounding the proposed Full Send Bike Ranch location are all zoned agricultural (A-2) or residential (SR-2, MR-1, MR-3 & P-D).
  • The closest commercial property is 2 miles away on the corner of Highway 73 and Barkley Road before you ever arrive at Shadow Mountain Drive.
  • Mountain Residential Zone Districts, which the proposed property is part of, are intended to provide for low to medium density residential development including both single-family and two-family dwellings, as well as some agricultural uses where compatible - not commercial enterprises.
  • The property is in a defined “area of stability” which requires any new development or redevelopment in these areas to be consistent with the character, scale, uses and typical lot sizes of the properties in the general vicinity of the proposed development.
  • An “area of stability” also requires commercially zoned properties, the proposed property is only zoned for agriculture not commercial, to generally either maintain what exists or convert to a community or residential use.

Full Send Bike Ranch will not be able to mitigate the impacts on the area or on residents' health, safety & welfare and the existing infrastructure is not sufficient to support this development.

Wildfire
  • The proposed location has already been given the highest National Fire Danger rating of “Extreme” by the Elk Creek Fire Protection District due to its fuels, weather, topography, and risks. The bike park would introduce additional wildfire fuels and risks to the area.
  • National Fire Danger Rating = Extreme: The proposed location has been given the highest wildfire-risk rating which means fires of all types start quickly, burn intensely, and spread easily – becoming very dangerous, hard to fight, and often lasting for several days. The bike park would further escalate the area’s wildfire risks.
  • No plan has been presented by Full Send Bike Ranch to mitigate the increased wildfire risks their proposed development would bring.
  • The Department of Colorado Natural Resources has said forest fires are 80% human caused. The bike park would increase wildfire risks by adding daily up to 700 additional riders plus staff to an area that already has the highest National Fire Danger Rating.
  • In the case of a wildfire at the proposed location, there is only one main egress point for the bike park’s daily estimated 300 additional vehicles plus staff and all residents living in neighborhoods along Shadow Mountain Drive.
  • To date, the County has not required nor have the Full Send Bike Ranch developers done an evacuation study to ensure human lives aren’t lost in the case of a forest fire with an estimated 300 additional cars factored into Shadow Mountain Drive’s daily traffic.
Emergency Response
  • Full Send Bike Ranch would further stretch the area’s understaffed and underfunded emergency response resources – daily increasing people in the area by up to 700 riders plus staff, amplifying bike-related injuries, and hindering traffic flow on a narrow road with only one main egress point.
  • A medical study* of a similar bike park recorded 75 ambulance transports in one season. Full Send Bike Ranch would increase ambulance calls by over 40% during the biking season. *Whistler Study
  • With over 20% of ambulance calls in the proposed area already overlapping, the bike park’s additional transports would require more staff and emergency vehicles to properly serve everyone’s needs.
  • In the Rural Elk Creek Fire Protection District, 70% of the calls are for Emergency Medical Services (EMS). With the proposed bike park increasing EMS call volume, it would reduce area residents’ ability to quickly obtain medical care.
  • The property is owned by the State Land Board which pays $0 in property taxes. Property taxes are how Elk Creek’s district is funded. The Bike Ranch would add burden to Elk Creek but wouldn’t add additional funding.
Roads
  • Shadow Mountain Drive is a windy two lane road that doesn’t have turn lanes or shoulders and these lack of safety features cannot be mitigated.Adding 300+ cars a day for 600+ vehicle trips on an already dangerous road is a recipe for disaster.
  • There are seven school bus stops on Shadow Mountain Rd and many more on Black Mountain Rd & Brook Forest Rd. It would be tragic to have a child involved accident because someone didn’t notice the bus or child crossing the road around the curve.
  • The 2015 Jefferson County Safety Improvement Program Report concluded in the crash analysis that: "Shadow Mountain Drive experienced a relatively high number of accidents given its length". The 2015 report outlined 26 accidents. There have been three fatalities between 2011 and 2020 on Shadow Mountain Drive including one that occurred along the proposed location.
  • The county is in the process of updating the Safety Improvement Program Report.. We expect the update to show increases in number and severity of crashes along Shadow Mountain Drive.
  • Liquor sales at the proposed site will undoubtedly contribute to accident totals in future as you are combining compromised judgment and narrow, windy roads.
Water
  • Water access in the Conifer community is a very fragile system. The Community accesses their water from the fractured aquifer residing below our homes. There is a fine balance of water being removed by evaporation, vegetation, and wells, and water being returned into the aquifer system by rainfall or snow melt.
  • According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), on average a person uses about 80-100 gallons of water per day, for indoor home uses. If the 700-1400 daily bike guests (not including employees) use only 10 gallons of water per visit for drinking and toilet/clean up usage, the amount of guest water usage is at least 7,000 -14,000 gallons per day.
  • The proposed bar/café on the premises will require an unknown amount of water. A café’s total use of water can be between 600-1000 gallons per day.
  • In addition to the daily guest and café water usage, the structures at the bike ranch are also required to be protected by a fire sprinkler system, with a large enough dedicated reservoir, with enough water pressure, to meet code requirements.
  • Currently, there appears to be an active well on the proposed location, licensed for domestic/household and lawn irrigation use, with a maximum pumping rate of 15 gpm. This well is not sufficient to support the water required by the proposed bike ranch.
  • There is not enough water currently available on the proposed site for the bike ranch to operate. The water used by the guests and the business operation will exceed what is available for the Conifer community, and what is needed to recharge water back into the delicate fractured aquifer.
Wildlife
  • The Area Plan recognizes the importance of mountain meadows for area wildlife and recommends protection for the visual and ecological significance.
  • The Area Plan notes that the presence of wildlife is a treasured community resource and reflects the health of the ecosystem and fosters a sense of community for residents.
  • The expanding footprint of development in the community puts additional pressure on diminishing wildlife resources and their habitats.
  • Habitat loss from development threatens all species of flora and fauna in the area by decreasing the availability of food, water, shelter, and space, which will diminish some animal populations.
  • Full Send Bike Ranch’s proposal will irreparably harm existing habitat, thus displacing wildlife living in and migrating through the proposed development area.
  • Habitat destruction will serve to reduce the overall biodiversity of the area.
Air Quality
  • Based on the current air quality reports produced by Jefferson County for this zip code, adding additional cars, buildings, and other emissions will be detrimental to the air quality.
  • An additional 300 vehicles in and out of the proposed development daily will create significant air pollution not to mention the other emissions that come along with buildings and development. Even though this will be an outdoor space, there will be emissions from the chair lift, the lodge, and other facilities. As there are no other commercial properties in the area, this will affect the air quality greatly as there will be an unbalanced change in environment.
Noise Pollution

Environmental Noise Definition: Unwanted or excessive sound that can have deleterious effects on human health, wildlife, and environmental quality commonly generated from industrial facilities, but can also be from highway, railway, airplane and construction activities. The propagation of noise with ranging impacts on the activity of human or animal life Any unwanted or disturbing sound that affects the health and wellbeing of humans or other organisms.

  • Noise is more than just a nuisance, and can lead to such things as hearing loss, increased blood pressure and pulse rate, irritability, anxiety and mental fatigue, and interference with sleep.
  • Children living near busy streets that produce highway noise can develop issues with memory impairment, attention level, and reading skill.
  • Automobiles produce tire noise. Additionally, Shadow Mountain Drive is narrow and winding, causing vehicles to strike the rumble strips in the road which generates additional noise.
  • Noise can pose an existential threat to various wildlife species as it can interfere with an animal’s ability to attract a mate, communicate, navigate, locate food, and avoid predators.

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