Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Acquisition topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
County approves Parish 3 fee purchase and Parish 4 conservation easement to expand Rabbit Mountain corridor
Summary
Boulder County approved purchase of Parish 3 (fee) and a conservation easement on Parish 4 (Larimer County fee) to add about 140 acres of protected land and six Colorado-Big-Thompson water units; neighbors asked for protections on private road access and pipeline maintenance.
The Board of County Commissioners approved two related acquisitions Dec. 9 that together conserve lands adjacent to Rabbit Mountain and improve regional connectivity.
Aaron Clark, land officer with Parks and Open Space, described a two-part deal: Parish 3 (three parcels, ~60 acres, wholly in Boulder County) would be acquired in fee by Boulder County; Parish 4 (~80 acres in Larimer County) would be acquired by Larimer County with Boulder County taking a conservation easement interest. Parish 3 includes about a half-mile of the Little Thompson River and comes with six Colorado-Big-Thompson (CBT) water units. Clark provided price details: Parish 3 total ~$2,420,000 (including $2,062,000 for land plus $20,000 for a 50% undivided interest in a supply ditch and $53,000 per CBT unit for six units); Parish 4 total ~$650,000 with Larimer contributing $250,000. The combined cost to Boulder County was presented as $2,820,000.
Virtual neighbors and nearby landowners raised concerns about use of a private road (Parish Road) that currently provides access, the condition and maintenance of a unique 6-inch irrigation pipeline and risks from increased public access. Will McDonough and Ovidio Bermudez asked the board to include guardrails to prevent high-traffic public access across private driveways and to secure a maintenance agreement for the water pipeline that serves their properties. Clark said the county plans to keep Parish 3 closed pending a management review and is negotiating maintenance arrangements for the pipeline; he told the board the county will step into the existing maintenance role and intends to finalize a maintenance agreement by closing.
Commissioners moved and approved the acquisitions after discussion; staff said closing is targeted for spring and that water-pipeline maintenance agreements and private-access measures would be put in place as part of closing and management planning.
Next steps: staff to finalize water and access agreements prior to closing and to conduct site inventories and environmental inspections (phase 1) for long-term management planning.
