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Backdrop Study Advocates for Grant Fund to Protect Front Range Lands
Commissioners agreed to endorse a study for submission to Congress that suggests the creation of a grant fund to help acquire open space land acquisitions in Jefferson, Boulder and Gilpin counties.
 The Colorado Northern Front Range Mountain Backdrop Study is a result of the federal Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, which seeks to define important open space lands within and between jurisdictions. U.S. Sen. Mark Udall, then a Colorado congressman, and U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, then a Colorado senator, worked to push legislation regarding the study through both the House and the Senate.
The study area covers southern Boulder and northern Jefferson and Gilpin counties, located west of Highway 93, southeast of Highway 119 and north of Highway 46. It excludes land within the cities of Arvada, Boulder and Golden.
The purpose of the study is to identify options to retain land that may be at risk of development and maintain open space that is scenic and valuable to wildlife habitat and recreation. The U.S. Forest Service is responsible for the study. Partners include all three counties, the Division of Wildlife, Great Outdoors Colorado, Colorado State Forest Service and Colorado State Parks. The U.S. Forest Service collected existing information and data from each partner, including the Jeffco Open Space Master Plan, to complete the study.
Findings included:
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The need for jurisdictions to cooperatively plan and manage to prepare for growth and its impact on the area's resources, such as water and wildlife habitat
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The immediate need for attention to impacts from the mountain pine beetle and invasive species such as spotted knapweed
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The increased demand for recreation in the study area and the need for user groups and land managers to work together to create a sustainable recreation system
The study report commits all three counties and the other partners to "implement conservation strategies that will preserve the undeveloped character of the Backdrop Study Area." The partners also agreed to pursue other options including:
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Establishing a Front Range Mountain Backdrop Grant Fund through federal, state, local and private sources that could fund acquisition, management, research and partnership opportunities
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Expanding incentives for landowners to set aside property for open space or improve their land management through existing programs
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Identifying and conducting other studies with jurisdictional approval into topics such as sustainable recreational use, scenic quality and wildlife habitat
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Promoting intergovernmental cooperation and partnerships to protect areas identified in the study
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County to Update Natural Heritage Inventory
Jefferson County Open Space will contract with the Colorado Natural Heritage Program of Colorado State University to update the county's 17-year-old inventory of land with rare, significant or imperiled species.
 Commissioners gave preliminary approval to spend about $127,900 on a new Natural Heritage Inventory at their staff briefing. The study will focus on areas within unincorporated Jefferson County and outside Pike National Forest.
Amy Ito, acting director of Jeffco Open Space, said the updated inventory would help Open Space prioritize acquisitions to include areas where conservation has high value and where property owners are interested in working with Open Space. She also anticipates that some land identified in the 1993 Natural Heritage Inventory could be removed because some species are no longer considered rare or imperiled.
The Colorado Natural Heritage Program will use existing information, such as Colorado Division of Wildlife databases and Colorado Natural Areas Program records, and conduct field surveys to identify critical biological resources, ecosystems, wildlife habitats and movement corridors. From that research, the program will develop a list of conservation areas within Jefferson County.
Commissioners will consider the final resolution for contract approval at a future hearing. The program is expected to deliver an interim report to the county by the end of April, an update on the project in December and a final report by the end of 2011. |
| Community Development Submits Five-Year
Strategic Plan
Commissioners gave preliminary approval to the Community Development Division's strategic plan, which includes helping first-time homebuyers with down payments, improving area rental housing, and training people on how to weatherize their homes.
In 2010, the Community Development Division will receive nearly $1.7 million in Community Development Block Grant (CDGB) and HOME Investment Partnership funds. Those funds are distributed to area nonprofits and agencies that serve urban areas in the county, including Edgewater, Golden, Wheat Ridge, Lakeside, Mountain View and unincorporated Jeffco. As a requirement to receive the funds, Community Development must submit a five-year strategic plan to the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development.
Community Development hired an outside consultant and worked with partner agencies and organizations to identify the goals and objectives in the plan. Those goals and objectives include:
- Provide housing for the homeless population, including emergency, transitional and permanent supportive housing.
- Provide affordable rental housing for large families and very low-income individuals through acquisition and construction.
- Provide homeownership opportunities and assistance, including down-payment and closing-cost assistance, homeowner counseling, and the construction and rehabilitation of homes.
- Improve existing and construct new public facilities.
- Provide economic development opportunities, including assistance for small businesses, rehabilitation of commercial areas and job creation.
In 2010, Community Development is granting CDGB and HOME dollars to the Jefferson Center for Mental Health, Habitat Community Housing Development, Inc., the cities of Golden and Wheat Ridge, Jewish Family Service of Colorado and others. The division expects to help:
- About 90 people with first-time homebuyer or default loan counseling.
- As many as 45 people who are homeless with short-term emergency housing, rental and utility assistance and eviction-prevention counseling.
- About 150 homeowners with home weatherization.
- As many as 90 first-time homebuyers with down-payment and closing-cost assistance.
The Community Development Advisory Board recommended the plan to Commissioners, who will consider formally approving it at a future BCC hearing. | |
Other BCC Actions
BCC Approves Contract for New IT Data Storage Unit Commissioners approved a $735,150 contract with EMC Corporation, of Hopkinton, Mass., for the software, hardware, support and implementation of a new information technology storage area network. The county's existing data storage unit, which houses database systems and other data for critical county-wide applications, is full and can no longer accommodate the county's needs. The new hardware and software will increase efficiency and capacity. The county's IT Division expects implementation to be complete by the end of July. Fleet Services to Buy Four New Trucks
The BCC approved two requests from the Fleet Services Division to buy two cabs and chassis and two asphalt patch trucks. The total cost for all four is about $358,200. Fleet Services will buy the two 2011 International Cabs and Chassis from McCandless Truck Center, of Aurora, and the two asphalt patch truck bodies from the MacDonald Equipment Company, of Willoughby, Ohio. All four trucks fall under the county's Fleet Replacement Schedule. |
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