IS PLANNING FOR CORRAL BLUFFS ADEQUATE?
James Lockhart, Conservation Chair, Pikes Peak Sierra Club Group
[Note: El Paso County proposes to construct a 700-acre motorcycles-only recreational facility at Corral Bluffs east of Colorado Springs. Both the proposal to make the area a facility for motorcycles only, rather than opening it to a broader spectrum of off-road vehicles, and their proposal to have the area managed under a “public-private partnership” arrangement by Aztec Family Raceway, owners of a motocross racetrack on adjoining land, , raise questions regarding the scope and sufficiency of County plans which County officials have so far failed to address publicly.]
At its website entitled “So You Want to Build an OHV Facility” http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/brc/OHVfinal.PDF, the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources describes a recommended planning process for an OHV facility. It includes the following checklist of items:
CHECKLIST
KNOW YOUR MARKET
Potential users
Demographic characteristics
Market area
INVENTORY AND EVALUATE EXISTING SITES
Location
Type of facility
Size
Special characteristics
Demand
Operations
Problems
Rating
ASSESS POTENTIAL SITES
Size
Access
Land use
Adjacent properties
Environmental Concerns
Sound
Property Disposition
PREPARE A BUSINESS PLAN
Financial strategy
Marketing
Management and operation
Maintenance
THE BOTTOM LINE COST
Sufficient funds and cash flow
GAIN LOCAL COOPERATION AND SUPPORT
Preparation and being pro-active
Promoting value added aspects
Know the opposition
LOCAL APPROVALS
Consult with attorney
Follow prescribed permitting
procedures
Get all necessary approvals
In discussing the first step, “Know Your Market”, the DCNR document states:
While “build it and they will come” succeeded in Field of Dreams, this approach often leaves too much to chance even with the best of ideas. One of the fundamental questions that you must answer is “Who will use this facility?”
The answers to these and other related questions need thorough examination and assessment. Not only will they be crucial to determine whether there is profit potential but they will also be useful in deciding the type and size of the facility.
Compared to this, the El Paso County Parks’ proposed master planning process seems woefully inadequate.
MASTER PLANNING PROCESS
1. We will initially create a single track trail system (18" to 24") designed only for motorcycle use. If we determine the facility can accommodate wider trails at a later date, we may elect to install trails to allow other types of OHV use.
2. We will only construct 20 miles of trails even though the overall site could accommodate significantly more miles of trails. Additional trails may be considered at a later date if it is determined that trail expansion can be accomplished without significant environmental/neighborhood impacts.
3. All OHVs will be required to pass a stringent sound test before admittance to the park is allowed. A liability waiver will also be required from all OHV participants which will also bind the participant to certain environmental ethics.
4. During the master planning process, we will complete an extensive site analysis to determine sensitive, natural resource areas and those areas will be excluded from OHV trail use. The analysis will include habitat research, soils and erosion studies, ecological research, archeological review, and other pertinent studies.
5. We will employ an all-inclusive master plan design process for this facility that will include representatives from the open space and OHV communities, staff from local park organizations, environmental and natural resource experts, neighbors, and interested citizens.*
6. We will employ a national consultant with a proven track record of OHV trail design while preserving sensitive natural resources and preventing negative impacts to the property.
[*Note: El Paso County currently plans to hold three 1-1/2 hour public meetings on April 1, April 15, and April 29 to give a public presentation and allow discussion of ecological, archeological, and sound abatement issues; prepare an initial trail layout plan; and then hold unspecified additional public meetings in May to review the trail layout and design.]
This proposed planning process seems to predetermine what kind of facility will be developed on an already-selected site, then proposes to do the site analysis. It proposes to hire a “national consultant” only to design trails. Perhaps most significantly, it leaves out public involvement until all of the major decisions have been made. The proposal seems driven not by what will work or what is best for the community, but what kind of facility would get buy-in from Aztec Family Raceway, the adjoining motorcycle facility which would manage the Corral Bluffs facility under the County proposal.