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This
valley contains an historical network of miles of quiet, unpaved back
roads; well-known and currently enjoyed by many bicyclists and
equestrians. There is no need to expend limited recreational
dollars to build a trail in this valley when a de-facto county
recreational asset, being a low cost, efficient and a highly valued
community link, already exits.
According
to road-alignment
landowners we are in contact with, these roads are maintained by the
county by privilege of an easement on the private property over which
they run. So even a trail on current road footprints would entail
use of private property.
Our
members report that
planners don't intend
to build
a
trail on current road footprints unless "absolutely necessary”. Instead the trail would cut as deeply into private property as is
allowed by road easements. If road easements do allow for
the building of a recreational amenity across private property, and this
has yet to be proven, consider how an eight foot wide trail with a
roadside edge that starts
several yards beyond the edge of the road would impact a property.
It appears from county assessor's maps
that road easements are not always evenly centered across the road.
In some segments land on one side of the road
may contain little easement width. If the trail would be too
narrow in that area, agreement from property owners for additional
access would have to be obtained, or eminent domain would have to be
used.
Many of
these road segments are lined with stretches of mature trees or bushes
that absorb sound, provide privacy, shelter wildlife and add to the
beauty of these roads.
County planners have said trees would be pruned high enough for
equestrians to pass. Landowners worry this would cause irreparable
damage or that trees or bushes could be destroyed for the sake of a
non-essential and duplicative recreational amenity,
since a trail would route inside private property along backcountry dirt roads
which are already highly serviceable for
recreational use.
One landowner expressed concern that the hosting of a +40,000
person trail may
affect permitted uses of that landowner's property. He suggests
the possibility that
"any request for a building permit or use change
would be viewed in light of its impact on the users of the trail and
their experience as intended by the Comprehensive Plan".
There is no doubt that Boulder County will face significant
resistance from private landowners, both along the canal and next to
roads.
These sections of private land lay far apart and on many separate
segments of all three trail alignments. The inevitable legal
proceedings could delay completion of this trail for years and eat up
more county funds. In addition,
this trail can't be
built in a near-term time frame with transportation sales tax dollars
alone, and
several of the biggest funding sources for regional trails have
policies against the use of eminent domain.
Abuse of private land
in this valley, no matter what form it may take, would arise from the
fact that very little land in this valley and certainly along trail
alignments is County owned, so very little of Boulder County's own land
would be used for Boulder County's trail.
NOTE:
Find out about your road easements. Log onto
http://www.bouldercounty.org/Transportation/rightofway.htm
to download (very bottom) a Right of Way information request form and
receive a copy of your "road page".
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