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Pitkin County accepts Kino Gulch conservation easement and related easements after debate over commercial‑use language
Summary
The BOCC approved four ordinances to accept conservation, trail and access easements and restrictive covenants for the Cloud 10 Aspen LLC Kino Gulch property. Commissioners debated provisions that allow leasing hunting rights and broader commercial uses; staff agreed to pursue grantee‑approval language and to discuss removing leasing of hunting rights with the landowner before second reading.
Pitkin County commissioners on Dec. 3 approved a package of four ordinances accepting a conservation easement, trail easement, access easement for Park Tunnel Road and restrictive covenants for the Cloud 10 Aspen LLC Kino Gulch property, actions staff said finalize an exchange agreement negotiated last year.
Paul Holsinger, Open Space and Trails agricultural and conservation easement manager, walked the board through maps and negotiated terms. The conservation easement covers most of the 55‑acre parcel while preserving a roughly 5‑acre building envelope for the landowner and formalizing a trail connection to Summer Road.
Several commissioners asked about standard conservation easement language that allows some commercial activities and the leasing of hunting rights. Commissioner Greg said he opposed allowing any commercial use on the protected parcel and urged removing commercial‑use language. "I don't think there should be any commercial use of anything on this conservation easement," he said, adding that he worried about precedent and habitat loss tied to private development.
County counsel and conservation staff said the easement language is standard practice: many conservation easements include a limited set of uses that do not diminish stated conservation values and that grantee approval or monitoring would be used to prevent activities that impair conservation values. Counsel noted some clauses allow leases of certain property rights but that any use must not impair conservation values and could require grantee approval. Holsinger said staff would talk with the landowner about removing the allowance for leasing hunting rights and consider an explicit grantee‑approval process prior to second reading.
The ordinances were approved on first reading with recorded nay votes from one commissioner on some items; board and staff said more precise language would be brought back at second reading.
