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WINTER PARK - Two years ago, during the worst drought in several centuries, there were some doubts whether toilets at the Winter Park ski area would have enough water for flushing.
That proved not to be the case, but Winter Park continues to be in a water pickle. Denver and other Front Range municipalities, which already take 65 percent of the water in the Fraser River Valley, want to take 83 percent. Meanwhile, the second-home boom is just starting to hit. Will there be enough for all?
Probably not, which is why the Winter Park Town Council is now looking at whether it needs to prioritize the development it allows. One of the decisions, Mayor Nick Teverbaugh told the Winter Park Manifest, is to either let everyone who wants to develop come in on a first-come, first-served basis, or to "set value judgments that are in the best public interests."
While one council member says the town may need to learn to say no, another approach is that developers will want to buy water taps as soon as they get development authorized.
Durango squabbling about growth
DURANGO - Proponents of a growth-control initiative claim that officials in Durango, where the population is now 15,000, have a goal of hitting 40,000.
City officials say there is no such goal, but they concede the city has drawn up a plan that assumes the city's water, sewer and other infrastructure will someday serve 40,000 people. But they say that will not happen for a long time.
The dispute is part of a broader argument about how growth should be managed in Durango. While it inched along at 1 percent a year during the 1990s, population growth has been running at 4 percent in the last several years.
Furthermore, plans for new developments are unfolding at a brisk pace.
Proponents say this new accelerated pace illustrates why a growth-control measure is needed. The measure would force updates of development codes and plans, including review of cumulative traffic impacts. But the bottom-line intent of proponents is to just-say-no more often.
Opponents say the existing review process, which takes six to nine months, does its job adequately. Furthermore, they do not see limiting population growth as a good way to define quality of life.
Vail Colorado
That proved not to be the case, but Winter Park continues to be in a water pickle. Denver and other Front Range municipalities, which already take 65 percent of the water in the Fraser River Valley, want to take 83 percent. Meanwhile, the second-home boom is just starting to hit. Will there be enough for all?
Probably not, which is why the Winter Park Town Council is now looking at whether it needs to prioritize the development it allows. One of the decisions, Mayor Nick Teverbaugh told the Winter Park Manifest, is to either let everyone who wants to develop come in on a first-come, first-served basis, or to "set value judgments that are in the best public interests."
While one council member says the town may need to learn to say no, another approach is that developers will want to buy water taps as soon as they get development authorized.
Durango squabbling about growth
DURANGO - Proponents of a growth-control initiative claim that officials in Durango, where the population is now 15,000, have a goal of hitting 40,000.
City officials say there is no such goal, but they concede the city has drawn up a plan that assumes the city's water, sewer and other infrastructure will someday serve 40,000 people. But they say that will not happen for a long time.
The dispute is part of a broader argument about how growth should be managed in Durango. While it inched along at 1 percent a year during the 1990s, population growth has been running at 4 percent in the last several years.
Furthermore, plans for new developments are unfolding at a brisk pace.
Proponents say this new accelerated pace illustrates why a growth-control measure is needed. The measure would force updates of development codes and plans, including review of cumulative traffic impacts. But the bottom-line intent of proponents is to just-say-no more often.
Opponents say the existing review process, which takes six to nine months, does its job adequately. Furthermore, they do not see limiting population growth as a good way to define quality of life.
Vail Colorado
