Executive Summary

Destiny is not a matter of chance, but a matter of choice.  It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.”  - - William Jennings Bryan

Summit County is a place that has been bestowed with many gifts.  Its remarkable high mountain setting makes it one of the truly spectacular environments in Colorado and the country as a whole.  Its recreational opportunities in winter and summer are unsurpassed.  Whether one’s recreational passion is skiing down a mountainside, hiking to the top of a 14,000 foot peak, flyfishing a clear stream, biking through an aspen-lined meadow, or sailing a high mountain lake, Summit County provides the opportunity. 

These types of attractions have made the County an extremely popular destination for tourists each year.  One example of this popularity is the following statistic: the County’s four ski areas draw more annual skiers than the entire state of Utah.  Tourism has resulted in a strong economy, providing jobs for thousands of people who are fortunate enough to call Summit County “home”.  The County’s popularity has not been without its downsides: traffic jams during some peak tourist times; the visual spread of development across our open spaces; and escalating housing prices that make it difficult for locals to afford to live here.  As these problems become more evident, County residents are increasingly expressing their concern about the effects of new development.  The million dollar question we are faced with is how do we keep the County a vibrant place to live and work without loving to death the resources that attracted us all here in the first place? 

The reality is that our location along a major interstate highway only an hour from a major metropolitan area ensures that we will continue to be a popular attraction, with even more visitors as the Denver area grows.  We cannot put up gates on I-70 and pretend that we can get by without the outside world.  What we can do is plan for the future in a way that strives to protect the area’s character.  This Countywide Comprehensive Plan is intended to provide the vision for how we will grow and respond to a future that is likely to be more lively and populous than our past.

In 1994 Summit County adopted its first Countywide Comprehensive Plan.  That document, along with basin master plans, served as the County’s policy guidance during the 1990s, directing decisions that affected the physical and socio-economic development of the County.  In 2002 the Countywide Planning Commission was charged with initiating a major update to the Plan.  The Countywide Planning Commission, a body of appointed Summit County citizens, worked for a year and a half with the Summit County Planning Department staff and the public to develop the new Countywide Plan. 

In the years subsequent to 1994 new basin plans had been developed and these plans included policies that were much more comprehensive than the policies of the effective but succinct 1994 Countywide Comprehensive Plan.  Many of these policies addressed countywide (rather than basin-specific) issues that had not been addressed in the 1994 Countywide Plan.  A major goal of the 2002-2003 update to the Countywide Comprehensive Plan was to consolidate the policies from various basin master plans into the Countywide Plan.  Other goals of the effort included taking a more comprehensive approach towards subject matter (e.g., providing more background information and analysis), including performance measures to gauge the Plan’s success, and further defining and focusing on the implementation that would be necessary to carry forth the Plan’s vision.

A key theme that became evident as work on the Plan progressed was “sustainability”.  The County has matured to a point where growth (from a land use or economic perspective) is not so much the emphasis compared to a need to sustain the attributes we have.  Sustainability relates to our economy, environment, land use, housing opportunities, provision of public services and facilities, and essentially all the different issues that are addressed in the Plan.     

The Plan Vision and Plan Elements

The Plan contains ten elements, each addressing a separate subject area, but collectively addressing our community’s overall needs and desires.  These elements include Land Use, Environment, Transportation, Housing, Community and Public Facilities, Design and Visual Resources, Historic and Cultural Resources, Open Space, Recreation and Trails, and Economic Sustainability.  Each of the elements makes a special contribution to the overall plan, just as different instruments in an orchestra add their sounds to the music, resulting in a sound greater than the sum of its parts.  Despite the individual emphasis of each element, the elements are intended to work together to achieve the Plan’s overall vision, which is:

Preserve and enhance our vibrant, attractive, and prosperous mountain community where people choose to live, work, recreate, and visit.

Each plan element contains its own vision statement, along with goals, policies, and actions that are intended to carry forth the vision.  Other important sections of each element include background information, sustainability measures (benchmarks to measure progress of the element) and implementation strategies (work tasks that must be undertaken to further the suggested policies and actions of the Plan).  The following discussion highlights key provisions in the plan elements.

The heart of the Plan is the Land Use Element.  The Land Use Element directs the general location of where new growth will occur in the County and how that growth will occur.  The element makes suggestions on amendments to the Summit County Land Use and Development Code that would further countywide land use goals.  Some of the key policies in the Land Use Element include:

·         Focus new development within existing urban areas and maintain the character of rural areas.

·        Maintain the current level of density in the County (i.e., no more density beyond that allowed today), with some minor exceptions as called out in the Plan.

·         Require new subdivisions and rezoning proposals be sensitively designed to avoid important environmental and visual resources.

·         Encourage the use of Transfer of Development Rights (TDRs) and allow for TDRs to be used between basins.

·         Coordinate land use issues with the towns and other agencies to further Plan goals on issues such as urban growth boundaries, land supply, and a generally consistent land use pattern between uses within respective town, national forest, and County jurisdictions.

The Environment Element focuses on one of the County’s primary attributes—its natural environment.  The element emphasizes protection of environmentally sensitive lands and preservation of our air and water resources.  Policies include:

·         Requiring that new development avoid environmentally sensitive areas such as wetlands, wildlife habitat areas, and floodplains to the maximum extent feasible, and where avoidance cannot be attained that any impacts are limited and appropriately mitigated.

·         Recommendations on amendments to the Development Code to further protect wetland areas.

·         Strategies to protect and enhance air and water quality.

·         Promotion of energy and resource conservation.

The Transportation Element provides policy direction on enhancing the County’s transportation system.  The element places special emphasis on the need to coordinate different transportation components (e.g., roads, trails, transit, pedestrian paths) in the County and focuses on the need to promote alternatives to automobile use.  Key policies include:

·         The need for a comprehensive transportation plan to address transportation needs on a countywide basis.

·         The promotion of mass transit programs and facilitation of development that more readily accommodates pedestrian and bike use.

The Housing Element focuses primarily on means to encourage the provision of affordable housing for all County employees and residents.  Policies include:

·         Development of incentive programs to promote the provision of affordable housing.  Examples include excluding deed-restricted housing from density requirements and revising the requirements for accessory apartments to increase their supply throughout the County.

·         Emphasis on the need to continue to subsidize affordable housing projects and to seek out ongoing funding mechanisms that support the provision of affordable housing.

In order to ensure that adequate infrastructure and public services are provided as growth occurs, the Community and Public Facilities Element was created.  Policies in the element include:

·         Focus on coordinated planning for provision of governmental services and infrastructure in a cost-efficient manner.

·         Promotion of recycling programs to extend the life of the County landfill and to emphasize environmentally-friendly solutions to waste management.

As a means to maintain an attractive appearance in the County, the Design and Visual Resources Element is included.  The element sets broad goals aimed at preserving the visual appearance of our existing landscapes.  Policies include:

·         Identification and prioritization of visually important lands in the County and the use of techniques to protect those areas.

·         Requirements for new development to be designed in a visually sensitive manner that complements rather than impacts the environment and landscapes.

·         Promotion of building design techniques that are environmentally-friendly.

Recognizing that our cultural heritage is part of the fabric that constitutes Summit County, the Plan includes a Historic and Cultural Resources Element.  The element emphasizes recognition and protection of important historic resources in the County, such as old mining buildings, community buildings, and prehistoric sites.  Policies emphasize:

·         The need to inventory important historic and cultural resources in the County and strategies to protect those resources.

The Open Space Element highlights one of the County’s primary resources—its open lands.  Preservation of important open space areas is emphasized.  Policies include:

·         An emphasis on protecting open space, particularly around existing urban areas to maintain each community’s individual identity.

·         A focus on techniques to acquire or otherwise protect open space lands in a cost-effective manner.

The Recreation and Trails Element focuses on the need to preserve and enhance recreational opportunities in Summit County.  Policies emphasize:

·         A need for the County to better define its role in providing developed recreational facilities.

·         Guidelines for trails that address trail design, trail character, securing of public access, and an emphasis on providing an interconnected network of trails.

·         Guidelines for the future bikepath network and winter trail use.

As a means of sustaining the County’s relatively strong economy, the Economic Sustainability Element exists.  The element promotes exploring opportunities that will help the County’s economy diversify and prosper.  Policies include:

·         Continued promotion of the tourism and recreation industry.

·         The need to develop an overall countywide Economic Strategy\Plan that identifies the types of economic opportunities the County needs to target and pursue in the future.

Many of the policies in the ten plan elements are meant to be used directly as part of the review process for development proposals submitted to Summit County.  However, the elements also contain numerous actions that identify some type of future work that must be undertaken to implement the plan’s goals.  Each plan element contains an implementation strategies section that outlines these actions, expands on how they will be accomplished, identifies appropriate agencies responsible for the actions, and prioritizes the strategies.  The prioritization of implementation strategies is important, because the list of highest priority projects are those that will be contemplated for action first by the County.  The priorities were established after extensive discussions by the Countywide Planning Commission, with public input, on those actions that appeared to be most important in carrying out the Plan’s goals and furthering the community’s vision. 

Informational Tools

Summit County government provides a wide array of services that can be accessed by residents and visitors.  These services include typical County departments (e.g., Building, Planning, Human Services) and other facilities such as a series of County libraries.  A wealth of information on a variety of topic areas can also be accessed on the County’s web site (co.summit.co.us).  The web site provides further information on many of the planning issues which are addressed in this Plan, as well as listed contacts for obtaining additional information.

The Plan, then, attempts to set the stage for the County’s future.   It is not the answer to every problem or issue that may arise.  However, it is a guide that will assist in the decision-making processes as we encounter issues that accompany growth.  Summit County faces an exciting and challenging future.  The Plan is one tool that we can use to embrace that future, while still remembering our past and respecting the attributes that make this County the magnificent place that it is.