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Citizens press board on home rule and Open Space camping pilot; county notes next steps
Summary
Residents addressed the Board of County Commissioners during general public comment on May 13, pressing opposing views on a Home Rule charter effort and a proposed minimalist camping pilot at Sandstone Open Space.
Several residents used the county’s general public-comment period to urge opposing positions on two recurring issues: a proposed county Home Rule effort and a planned pilot for “primitive” or minimalist camping on county open space at Sandstone.
Opponents of the camping pilot warned of fire, sanitation and conservation-easement risks if minimalist camping were permitted on conserved land. Kim Greer (Larkspur) urged the board to honor conservation easement requirements, reallocate funds that had been proposed for a Sandstone pilot and instead invest in maintenance and expanded non-camping access such as interpretive signage and astronomy programming. Gary Wood (Perry Park) said a county survey used to gauge interest in camping “was not a legitimate survey” and warned of safety and amenity impacts; he raised concerns about chemical toilets and unspecified amenities that had been discussed in Open Space Commission materials.
On Home Rule, public comment was sharply divided. Several speakers, including Juan Puenteel (Castle Rock) and Amity Wicks (Highlands Ranch), said they support moving to Home Rule to preserve local control over issues such as safety, schools and taxation and to protect the county from state-level mandates. Other speakers, including Aiko Browning and Dave DeCarlo, described the Home Rule effort as a “power grab” or expressed concerns that charter changes would consolidate power and not increase local representation. Aiko Browning called for recusal by county elected officials from a Home Rule commission, saying they should not write their own job descriptions.
County response and status: staff confirmed the Sandstone camping pilot is on hold pending results of a county-wide survey (the meeting record notes the survey closed May 2). Commissioners did not take action on either Home Rule or the Sandstone pilot during the meeting; they invited further public input and reminded residents that comments may also be submitted by email to the board.
What’s next: the board signaled additional outreach and review; no formal schedule or board action was announced at this meeting.
