To: Board of County Commissioners
Through: Gini Pingenot, Director, Open Spaces
Prepared By:
prepared
Gini Pingenot, Director, Open Spaces; Greg Howe, Program and Project Administrator, Open Spaces
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Subject:
title
Open Spaces Fees for Property Agreements
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Purpose and Request:
recommended action
Staff will seek the Board of County Commissioners' approval of the Department's proposed fees for agreements permitting new uses of Open Spaces' properties. Staff presented its recommendation in study session on January 21, 2025.
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Background and Discussion: On June 13, 2024, Arapahoe County became the owner of 45 miles of the High Line Canal (HLC). As a regional trail that traverses densely populated metro areas, the HLC generates frequent requests from both private and public entities seeking to bisect or use the property. Additionally, Open Spaces owns and manages more than 5,000 acres of parks and open space throughout the County.
Since assuming ownership of the HLC, the County's Open Spaces Department has issued two licenses (one to Xcel Energy and one to Comcast) and two letters of authorization (one to SavATree and one to Cherry Hills Village Sanitation) to use the property. To date, one request for an easement on the HLC is in the works with an expected finalization to occur in January 2025.
For the past several months, the Department has worked to develop workflow processes and agreement templates to help ensure the careful coordination of Denver Water, the High Line Canal Conservancy and Arapahoe County when we receive requests for use of the HLC. Each of these entities reviews requests from a different lens. Denver Water considers a proposed project through the lens of its reserved water works purposes. The High Line Canal Conservancy reviews projects through the lens of compliance with the values of the High Line Canal conservation easement. Arapahoe County reviews projects from both a public health and safety lens, as well as p...
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