Monday, October 4, 2010

Request for Comments: West-TSA Neighborhoods

CCG Reaches Initial Agreement


The Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP) Community Collaborative Group (CCG) has finally negotiated a draft agreement regarding the management of the of the West TSA. This agreement will be explained and public input will be sought at an Open House on Monday, December 6, 2010, 6pm to 9pm, at the East Boulder Recreation Center. More information on the agreement and Open House will be posted on the OSMP CCG website:

http://www.bouldercolorado.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9879&Itemid=2591 




CCG Approaches the Final Negotiation Phase


Note the following from Dean Paschall. This is where things stand at the moment. Hopefully, more information will be available soon. -- Guy


Dear West TSA follower:

After meeting twice a month for the last year, learning, studying and visiting the West TSA, the CCG has developed its packages of ideas.  The CCG Proposals and Agreements page can be accessed on the West TSA website.  The CCG will next meet on Tuesday October 26th at OSMP Cherryvale offices to start the final negotiation process for the set of CCG recommendations that will be presented to Open Space Board of Trustees in December.

Dean Paschall
Communication and Public Process Manager


Mountain Bike Meeting Report and CCG South Boulder Trail System Changes Request for Comments


September 13 Mountain Bike Meeting



Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks
Western Trail Study Area Plan (West-TSA) Development
Community Collaborative Group (CCG)
Neighborhood Representatives

Request for Comments

The Community Collaborative Group (CCG) is now actively considering a broad range of suggestions for improving the way in which Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP) manages the so-called "Western Trail Study Area" (West-TSA) --- OSMP properties in the area north of Colorado 170 (Eldorado Springs), south of Linden, and west of Broadway / Colorado 93. Under consideration are suggestions for expanding and/or restricting various types of recreational access with the goals of reducing adverse impacts from visitors on Open Space neighbors, reducing "user conflicts," and increasing the level of environmental protection. Among the many issues being addressed include the rules under which dogs are allowed access to Open Space properties, the accessibility of the area to mountain bikes, and policies for handling "social trails."

QUICK Summary: Comments can be entered by following the links in the lower section of links in the right hand menu column. Comments are being solicited on neighborhood protection, mountain bike access, dog management, environmental protection, and trail system changes. Before making comments please read this introductory page and the overview page for the comment area that you are concerned about.

CCG History
Recognizing the controversial nature of many of OSMP management issues, the CCG was empaneled in the fall of 2009 and asked to collaboratively find the best way of balancing the Boulder community's often competing interests. The CCG's goal is to reach consensus wherever possible with the understanding that, when this is impossible, there would be a non-consensus process for resolving the remaining questions through more conventional political channels. CCG Members and the constituencies that they represent can being found by following the link in the right hand link column.

From the beginning, it was understood that the CCG was something of an experiment in which there was a fair amount of uncertainty about how best to proceed and how best to connect CCG representatives with their constituents. It was, therefore, expected that a number of "mid-course corrections" would have to be made as the process proceeded. This comment-gathering blog represents an effort to improve the ability of the CCG's neighborhood caucus to gather public comment on the many tentative proposals being considered by the CCG.

Clarification of Guy Burgess' May 3 remarks to the CCG

More information about June 9 changes in the CCG Neighborhood representatives .

More information about the decision making criteria that we will be using.

Caucus Website
The core of the new approach for gathering comments is this improved caucus website which provides a one-stop place where everyone can find out: 1) what issues are being addressed, 2) what ideas are being suggested for dealing with those issues, 3) points of concern and opposition that have been raised, and 4) possible compromises that people think may yield as many of the benefits associated with each suggestion as possible, while simultaneously minimizing (and, hopefully, avoiding) adverse impacts.

Some sections of the website (issue overviews, supporting and opposing comments, and compromise ideas) are being used to gather comments on tentative, preliminary ideas, that will then be used by the CCG neighborhood representatives and other CCG members to develop and help refine specific final proposals. Later other sections of the website will allow the public to offer their opinion on whether or not more specific proposals should actually be adopted.

As part of the larger CCG process, we also expect that there will be at least one major public meeting to gather comments on final CCG proposals. This meeting will probably occur relatively late in the proposal development process. This means that the public is likely to find this new website to be the most useful way of influencing the process at its earlier stages.


The Way It Works

To use the online system, simply go to this new, neighborhood caucus website which is accessible at the at the address/URL listed below:

It can also be reached from the original website

On the opening page you will find this continually-updated memo describing our comment-gathering process. There will also be links to other CCG-related materials including information on the agenda for the next meeting. Still, the core of the page will be links to each of the broad issue areas around which suggestions for improving the Western TSA either are or are likely to be considered. Here we will be including suggestions offered by all CCG members.

Clicking on issue area will take you to a short summary page explaining, in very brief terms, the issues that are being addressed. We will also try to include links to any additional information that might be available on other CCG-related sites. Keep in mind that there may only be a limited amount of written information available online on many preliminary suggestions. (Many ideas are initially only presented in oral form durring the CCG meetings. And, we do not have the resources to write up everything up.)

The right hand link column also includes links to subsidiary comment entry pages. Simply click on the page that it seems most appropriate for the kind of comment that you would like to make. There are four basic choices:
  • Supportive Statements -- supporting and/or offering refinements and more detailed information about each broad suggestion.
  • Concerns and Statements of Opposition -- opposing statements and explanations of why the suggested changes are not desirable.
  • Potential Compromises -- ideas for modifying the suggestions in ways which overcome concerns while still retaining as many of the benefits associated with each suggestion as possible.
  • Assessment of Specific Proposals -- Once tentative suggestions are finalized into more formal proposals to CCG, we will be asking members of the caucus to give us their assessment of the desirability of each proposal. These pages will be added to the site as needed.
At the end of the listing of comments on each comment page you will find a place for you to enter your own comments along with rules for doing so.

Comment Posting Hints and Practice Page
Posting comments is easy. You can type them in directly or you can copy and paste them from a word processor or e-mail. Things work best if you stick with simple paragraphs. If you want to include graphics or something that really requires more sophisticated formatting, send Guy the materials in an e-mail and he'll find a way to post them (guy.westtsa@gmail.com).

We have included a practice page where you can make sure that you understand how the comment entry system works before entering comments that you really care about.

If you want, Blogger also includes a feature that allows you to be automatically notified whenever others make comments. We encourage a dialog in which members of the caucus respond constructively to comments offered by others.

Relationship Between the Neighborhood Caucus and the Larger Boulder Community
Under the rules of the CCG, we represent only those in the neighborhoods adjacent to Open Space. (OSMP defines this as the area west of Broadway.) Other members of the CCG are responsible for representing the views of those who live east of Broadway. These representatives are organized by recreational and environment interests rather than geographic area. You can find their names, responsibilities, and contact information at the top of the right hand link column. In developing this comment gathering site, we have included (as a service to the larger CCG) an opportunity for people outside of our "west of Broadway" neighborhood to make comments which we will then make available to the CCG as a whole. We will not be representing those views.

Timing
The schedule for considering topics is continually changing. The official schedule is available on the CCG website.

Ground Rules
There are a few simple rules I ask you to follow and entering your comments.
  • Please be civil.
  • YOU MUST INCLUDE (AT THE TOP OF YOUR COMMENT) YOUR NAME, ADDRESS, AND THE AREA IN WHICH YOU LIVE (SEE LIST BELOW.) Otherwise your comment may be deleted. Group submissions are fine. Just include everyone's name and addresses included.
    • North Neighborhood -- north of Canyon, West of Broadway
    • Central Neighborhood -- between Table Mesa and Canyon West of Broadway
    • South Neighborhood -- south of Table Mesa and west of Broadway
    • East Boulder -- east of Broadway Remember, as West of Broadway Neighborhood Representatives, we do not represent East Boulder interests. We will, however, make your comments available to other CCG representatives, whom you may want to contact directly).
Topics on Which Comments Are Being Sought
While, as CCG deliberations proceed, we may add additional issues we are starting with the following. Just click on each item to go to the appropriate comment gathering page.
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