About PLAN Jeffco!!!

As with many issues and causes, PLAN Jeffco started in a livingroom. In this case the livingroom was in the Lakewood home of Carol Karlin, an active member of the League of Women Voters. The LWV has just completed a study that showed that Jefferson County communities had major deficiencies in parklands and that there was no mechanism to effectively increase the amount of park land.

Those in the livingroom made steps to incorporate an activist group to develop a plan and in early 1972 held a conference on open space, with invited 100 guests including county and city planners and environmentalists. The featured speaker was Maurice Arnold, Regional Director for the United States Bureau of Outdoor Recreation. Arnold=s main point was that planners and developers were not considering open space as functional land in itself and there needed to be a balance between development and non-development.

A presentation by PLAN Boulder members described their success in using a 0.4% sales tax to fund purchase of open space land. The general public at the conference elected the first members of PLAN Jeffco=s Bard of Directors and voted in favor of creating a ballot resolution to acquire open space lands using a sales tax.

During the next few months the Board and other members met with the Jefferson County Commissioners and received enthusiastic support for the idea. The Commissioners offered to place a resolution on the ballot, avoiding the need for petitions, and provided the assistance of the County Attorney in drafting the resolution language. Members also met with city councils, city managers, and park district boards and managers. These meetings exposed us to all of the needs and opportunities, and also showed where there was a lack of support.

A campaign calendar and budget were developed. The campaign included development of a slide show to present at civic groups, fact sheets to distribute and meetings, bumper stickers, posters, newspaper advertisements, and a brochure to use in doorbelling the 140,000 registered voters in Jefferson County. Our budget was $3,750. The donations of 148 individuals and 26 businesses and organizations raised $5,069 which allowed for the advertising, fact sheets, bumper stickers, and posters.

Getting to 140,000 voters in an area covering 725 square miles was a formidable task. More than 400 volunteered. Sixty percent of the volunteers were high school students. The doorbelling was organized by high school catchment areas. Each catchment area contained about 20 precincts. In some cases high school students covered 90% of the precincts.

On November 7, 1972 the Jefferson County voters approved taxing themselves 0.5% to fund the purchase of open space and properties with historical value.

PLAN Jeffco=s work was not over. PLAN Jeffco continues to monitor meetings of the Open Space Advisory Committee and provide suggestions or assistance when appropriate. Major activities by PLAN Jeffco during the past 29 years include:

• Going to court in 1978 to have a ballot proposal dropped that would use part of the open space tax to fund a new county jail.
• Fighting three ballot issues in 1980. One to partially fund a new jail, one to increase the share of funds directly allocated to the cities, and one to allow expenditure of funds for capital improvements. Only the last issue passed.
• Our concern with capital improvements was justified as the program began to look at capital intensive recreational projects. With the support of the County Commissioners, an AdHoc Committee was formed to develop a philosophy for the program. PLAN Jeffco members served on the AdHoc Committee, which determined that the county should not get into the recreation business but should assist the capital needs of the cities and park districts through a grant program.
• In the mid-1980's PLAN Jeffco worked with the county to carefully define the amount of open space funds that could be used for road improvements accessing or adjacent to open space lands.
• In the 1989 PLAN Jeffco urged the program to begin a proactive acquisition program that would look at ecosystem preservation, large contiguous scenic areas, trail corridors, and lands suitable for active recreation. Such a program was adopted in 1990.
• In 1998 it was obvious that there were not sufficient funds to make some of the very large proactive acquisitions. PLAN Jeffco went to the Advisory Committee and suggested looking at a ballot resolution to allow bonding. The Committee=s reception was favorable as was the later reception by the County Commissioners. With the aid of the County Attorney, a ballot question was drafted to allow up to $160 million in bonding capability. PLAN Jeffco organized a campaign group, Save Open Space. Save Open Space raised $128,000 for the campaign and the bonds received 71% approval by the voters.

In addition to having observers at all Advisory Committee meetings, the PLAN Jeffco Board of Directors meet monthly (usually 3^rd Wednesday at the Morrison Natural History Museum), hold an annual public meeting and workshop, and a public dinner with the County Commissioners, the Advisory Committee, and Open Space staff.

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