28 Firme
La petizione è indirizzata a: Chaffee County Planning Commission, Board of County Commissioners
We respectfully request that the Chaffee County Planning Commission and Board of County Commissioners deny the rezoning of two Smeltertown parcels (Parcels #368131216001 & #368131221001) from Industrial (IN) to Mixed‑Use Rural (MUR). Instead, consistent with our 2020 Comprehensive Plan and new Land Use Code, we propose that any future ice rink or high‑footprint recreation project be developed on the 30‑acre Poncha Springs park site, officially approved by the Poncha Springs Board of Trustees on June 24, 2025.
🛑 Do not rezone Smeltertown parcels from Industrial to Mixed-Use Rural.
✅ Support development of a covered ice rink at the Poncha Springs location—a safe, community‑approved, services-ready site.
🏭 Keep Smeltertown zoned industrial to protect jobs and future economic investment.
Motivazioni:
Chaffee County residents want smart, safe development that works for everyone.
Smart Land Policy: Smeltertown has long been developed and is designated for industrial uses in the 2000 and 2020 Comprehensive Plans, and the Land Use Code requires rezonings to match our plan (LUC §5.2.9.1(D)(1)). Mixing industrial with large-scale recreation, commercial or residential MUR uses in a rural area goes against smart, fair planning principles.
Public Safety First: The proposed Smeltertown site neighbors a former Superfund area with capped industrial waste. An ice rink there would risk stirring up those legacy toxins, potentially endangering public health.
Traffic Safety & Road Access: All rink traffic would funnel off busy Highway 291 through CR 150 or CR 151, then down dead‑end CR 152, all rural roads with no shoulders or sidewalks. Mixing high-volume recreational traffic with the heavy trucks that already serve nearby industrial yards significantly increases risk of accidents. CR 152’s single‑exit layout leaves no alternate route for fire, EMS, or evacuees if the road is blocked. It is a low‑volume rural road not built for the high traffic a regional sports venue or other MUR use would generate.
Wildlife & River Corridor Protection: These parcels sit right next to the Arkansas River’s riparian corridor—prime habitat and a migration route for deer, raptors, and Gold‑Medal trout. Paving the area for a high‑footprint rink or other MUR uses would add lights, noise, and runoff that fragment habitat and pollute the river, directly contradicting the Comprehensive Plan’s call to safeguard critical wildlife and riparian zones.
Built‑In, Community‑Backed Alternative: Poncha Springs has already designated a 30-acre park site, planned with input from over 500 residents, which includes a covered rink option in the master plan (public process completed, approved 6/24/25). This site offers infrastructure, road access, and broad public support.
Doing It Right for the Future: Rejecting the Smeltertown rezoning doesn’t block the rink—it redirects it to a better spot. Just as importantly, it protects valuable industrial land and ensures our county continues to grow thoughtfully, responsibly, and with public input.
We support a healthy, vibrant Chaffee County, where innovation and recreation go hand-in-hand with smart land use. Denying the rezoning and redirecting the rink project to Poncha Springs is simply the right move — for safety, for planning, for community.
Dati della petizione
Avviata la petizione:
08/07/2025
La raccolta termina:
07/08/2025
Regione:
Contea di Chaffee
Categorie:
Edilizia
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Perché le persone firmano
This is bad location for an ice rink. Access to the location through Smeltertown would cause in increase in traffic in an area already impacted by industrial traffic.
I am a strong supporter of providing recreational opportunities for our community, and as someone who helped raise funds through our “Salida Soup” program for an ice rink project initially intended for the aquatic center, I know firsthand how much people here love ice skating, especially with the challenges of global warming impacting our natural lakes.
I signed this petition because I have some big worries about how this rezoning could really hurt our environment, the local animals, and everyone's health and safety. Digging up the old Superfund site just feels risky, especially with those old toxins and how we'd handle the water. I'm also concerned about whether water from an ice rink, which might have chemicals in it, could accidentally end up in the Arkansas River.
Then there's the traffic. More cars on Highway 291 and those small country roads (CR 150/151 and CR 152), especially at that tricky turn right after a blind hill, just sounds dangerous. The amount of cars they're talking about per hour will definitely make things unsafe for people driving, for folks who live nearby, and it's also really bad for the natural homes and migration paths of animals in the area right along the river.
I hope another spot for the ice rink that addresses all these important environmental and safety worries, no matter where it ends up being built. I know so many people will be thrilled to have it, and I truly believe we can make it happen in a safe and responsible way.
(Modificato )
This is not a good location for a change in zoning that defeats the purpose of zoning altogether. The ice rink in particular is better suited as part of a community project like it was originally planned for in Poncha Springs. There are no sidewalks on CR 150, which has a lot of blind curves and is the primary route to Smeltertown, so it poses a danger to the kids who would be walking or biking to the hockey rink. There are a number of issues that this MUR zoning could open the neighborhood to, conflicting with the industrial/residential nature of the area. Furthermore, the MUR zoning changes nearby may have been in error, so it doesn’t make sense to push this application through without first addressing the glitch in the Smeltertown zoning, particularly on the lots nearest to G and R on CR 152.
I am concerned about traffic issues on our small rural roads and threats to our river and ground water.
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No one that lives here in smeltertown wants this! There's many other places for this ice rink better suited for children (salida or poncha)!