The hot and dry conditions in June and July had made for worried homeowners and tired fire crews.  

During June, wildfires broke out near New Castle, Rulison, and Parachute.  The New Castle fire was the biggest (burning 1,200 acres) and forced the mandatory evacuation of 90 Canyon Creek Estates homes.

The National Weather Service reports that Glenwood Springs and Rifle have been running about five to 10 degrees above normal since mid-June.

Although monsoon rains have recently helped, the conditions, the driest since 2002, have fire officials in the area cautioning people to be extra careful.

Read John Gardner's full article

Gov. Bill Ritter and U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar flew by helicopter over the Roan plateau and Moffat County's Vermillion Basin, got a bird's-eye view of northwest Colorado's dramatic landscapes, and said there's no hurry to drill in special places such as the Roan Plateau.

In a press conference afterward at the Garfield County Regional Airport, Salazar said that with 4,000 to 5,000 natural gas wells already have been drilled in northwest Colorado, and a total of 60,000 eventually may be drilled in the region, it shouldn't be a problem for the federal government to honor Ritter's request for 120 days to review the Bureau of Land Management's plans for drilling on the Roan.

Ritter also said he wouldn't rule out consideration of a proposal by state Rep. Al White, R-Winter Park, and Josh Penry, R-Fruita, to use as much as $1 billion or more from drilling on the Roan to create trust funds to help meet higher education needs and pay for local impacts of energy development.

Read Dennis Webb's full article . . .

A group of seven high school students and five adults this spring created the first map devoted to showcasing environmentally oriented businesses and community services in the Roaring Fork Valley.

One side features layouts of Carbondale and Basalt/El Jebel with Businesses and services that qualified as "green" businesses and services assigned numbers on the map.  Users can then go to an index and find out more about that business.

The flip side of the map uses boxes of information to discuss cornerstones of sustainability - like water use, energy consumption and wildlife habitat.

The Green Map vision is to provide an aid for making the valley sustainable - allowing the valley to meet its needs locally and living within the carrying capacity of its ecosystem.

The current maps are available for free at the chambers of commerce in both Carbondale and Basalt, and Carbondale Town Hall.

The map can be viewed online at www.rainydaydesigns.org/greenmap_map.pdf.

Read Scott Condon's full article . . .

Only 29 percent of Avon's workforce lives in town.

Avon officials are looking to change that, especially after a housing study released in December that says Avon isn't affordable for either first-time home-buyers or seasonal employees.

While plans are still in the draft stage, Avon is developing a housing policy that will likely involve requiring developers to provide a certain amount of affordable housing based on how many new employees they'll generate.

Meanwhile, a countywide housing action committee that has been charged with studying local worker housing is recommending the creation of a permanent, "countywide housing council " to work on affordable housing issues.

The housing council would provide tools that would help in a number of areas including:
 

• Studying the need for worker housing in the county;
• Talking to developers about incorporating affordable housing into their buildings.
• Finding land for affordable-housing projects.
• Giving information to potential buyers of affordable housing.
• Educating the public about the need for worker housing.
• Talking to towns about strategies like linkage and inclusionary zoning.

The recommendation didn't call for the creation of a county housing authority, which could ask voters for dedicated revenue through taxes and impact fees.

The proposed housing council would be funded by towns and the county - and maybe private businesses. Each government would have to commit to funding and approve a joint resolution to form the council. The estimated cost for the effort is $400,000-$500,000 by 2009.

Carbondale Trustees issued a 4-3 "straw poll" vote in favor of having developer Rich Schierburg pursue the flex zone development option, over an alternative option that would include a Home Depot store for the 24-acre Crystal River Market Place property.

Conceptual plans for both the flex and Home Depot options would include a 60,000-square-foot grocery store on the north end of the site, about 38,000 square feet of auxiliary commercial space bordering Highway 133, and residential or mixed-use development on the south side along West Main Street.

In the flex option, the middle seven acres or so could be developed in several different ways, with an undetermined mix of commercial and residential. The Home Depot option would substitute the flexible zoning area with one big-box retailer on slightly more acreage.

Read John Stroud's full article . . .

Pitkin County commissioners recently enacted an emergency 90-day building moratorium on Smuggler Mountain, Aspen Mountain and areas near Castle Creek.

The moratorium comes in response to errors in the 2005 rezoning process of the three rural areas near Aspen. In effect, a building applicant could challenge the 2005 zoning and build a home following 1994 rules, which allow the construction of buildings in excess of 15,000 square feet. The 2005 code limits buildings to 15,000 square feet.

The moratorium will not affect anyone hoping to build in accordance with 2005 zoning rules and will not stop anyone with a valid permit from building, county officials said.

Casting the dissenting vote, Commissioner Michael Owsley said the procedural errors in the 2005 rezoning process had to do with improper notification of the public process from September 2004 to March 2005 and could be rectified without a moratorium.

Read Charles Agar's full article . . .

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As the lack of affordable housing in the Roaring Fork Valley has begun to reach a new dimension, some Aspen entities trying to put some land in the affordable housing bank.

Aspen City officials in the past two months have spent more than $13 million on three Aspen properties to build affordable housing.

Money used for all three properties was taken from the Aspen-Pitkin County Housing Authority fund, which is funded by a 1 percent real estate transfer tax.  The city also collects a 0.45 percent sales tax for support of the housing program. The funds generated more than $12 million in 2006.

Meanwhile, the Aspen Skiing Company has been busy purchasing properties in Basalt and Carbondale to meet their employee housing needs.

The upward pressure on housing prices from second homes and gas development has spurred a new series of regional discussions.  Congregations and Schools Empowered (CASE), a citizen group has hosted a few meetings with elected officials and businesses in the Parachute to Aspen area to explore how to best address the affordable housing challenge throughout the region.

Gov. Bill Ritter named Garfield County Commissioner Tresi Houpt as one of five new members to the Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Committee (COGCC). The five additional commission members are part of a reform outlined in House Bill 1341. It's meant to provide a greater diversity of expertise and broadens the panel's mission.

The COGCC must now consider impacts to the environment, public health and wildlife when making decisions about oil and gas development.

The other appointees are Michael Dowling of Denver, Richard Alward of Grand Junction, Joshua Epel of Greenwood Village, and Thomas Compton of Hesperus.

The appointments must still be confirmed by the state Senate when the legislature reconvenes next year but they will be able to serve on the commission until then. If approved, they will serve for four years.

Read Pete Fowler's full article . . .

Members of Severance Tax Interim Committee and Working Group held a two-day visit to Garfield and Rio Blanco Counties and for a tour of local oil and gas sites and an all-day hearing at the Garfield School District Re-2 offices in Rifle.

The purpose of the visit by the 11-member committee of lawmakers was to study the impacts of oil and gas development on communities and how best to distribute energy industry tax revenues, including severance tax, among state and local governmental entities.

Municipal officials from Rifle and Parachute as well as county officials, representatives from the oil and gas industry, nonprofit organizations and citizen watchdog groups of the oil and gas industry made presentations during the hearing on issues from public health to housing and education to the economic future of Colorado. 

Although the focus of the committee's working is on the distribution of existing severance revenues, several speakers and committee members spoke to the need to revisit the severance tax amount and whether any increased revenues should be but in a trust fund for when the oil and gas resources are gone. 

The committee will make any recommendations on changes before the start of the 2008 legislative session.

The residential real estate market from Aspen to Parachute jumped 18% from the first half of 2007.

The dollar volume of residential sales was $1.16 billion from January through June this year and $980 during the same time last year, but while the price of housing increased the total number of houses sold was flat or dropped in a number of communities.  The Basalt region was the real estate "hot spot".

A regional breakdown looks as follows:

Aspen - residential sales volume jumped slightly from $462.63 million to $475.08 million, while year compared to transactions fell from 189 to 164.

Snowmass Village - sales volume increased from $166.74 million to $236.75 million, while transactions fell 109 to 103 sales.

Basalt - sales volume jumped 55% from $56.23 million to $87.5 million this year. The number of transactions increased from 84 to 121. The average sales price in the Basalt zone jumped from $669,404 last year to $723,140 this year.

Carbondale - sales volume increased 22% from $62.49 million to $76.63 million, but the number of transactions fells from 129 last year to 112.

Glenwood Springs -  The sales volume increased 22% from $53.29 million to $65.06 million. The number of transactions in  was flat, from 143 last year to 151 this year.

Rifle - sales volume soared 35% from $30.97 million to $41.81 million. Transactions were flat at 139.

The entire region is bucking the national trends in the housing market.

Read Scott Condon's full article . . .
 

Roaring Fork Leadership hosts "Hickenlooper Unplugged" in Aspen on August 24 at the Aspen Institute.  This luncheon event will be moderated by National Civic League Executive Director Chris Gates.  Find out what the popular Denver Mayor thinks on such topics as leadership, the best and worst things about being mayor, and, of course, beer.

Seating is limited so reserve your seat early.  Find out more by calling 922-6035 or sending an email to info@rfleadership.org.