Thanks to those who signed Lower Verzuh petition

Editor:

The folks who organized the petition opposing the Lower Verzuh subdivision of 433 homes, which was signed by over 700 residents and second homeowners, want to sincerely thank those who signed it and attended the one public hearing allowed for the project during the sketch plan process.

One of the specific points made in the petition was that the proposal would create substantial cumulative impacts in violation of the Land Use Resolution. For example, the 3,435 trips per day its residents would add to Highway 135 could push traffic to 193%-239% of the highway’s practical use capacity. This unacceptable outcome, created in part by the new Whetstone Village and the approximately 1,500 undeveloped lots already approved north of Round Mountain, may create the need to widen Highway 135 to three or four lanes. Who wants this and who would pay for it?

We also thank Laura Puckett Daniels for her recognition of the overwhelming sentiment against the subdivision and her well-informed and reasoned arguments against approving it for sketch plan. The people of Gunnison County spoke and she heard them.

To the hundreds of informed opponents of the project, please look for the public disclosure of the Preliminary Plan, become informed of its content, and continue to speak up. The yet-to-be-disclosed conditions of the Sketch Plan approval are likely to be weak, so it will be necessary for all of us to dig into the “facts” presented by the developer’s “experts” to demonstrate that this proposal is an unneeded, auto-dependent, leapfrog subdivision which would change the character of the Upper East River Valley forever.

Jim Starr

John Hess

Tim Szurgot

Andrew Arell

Sue Navy

Steve Moore