HomeMy WebLinkAboutSusy Ellison_22-FEB-26Subject: Harvest Roaring Fork
Name: Susy Ellison
Email: susyellison@gmail.com
Phone number: 19703559140
Message: While all land use decisions have consequences, Harvest Roaring Fork’s
development proposal is one that will have a multitude of irreversible long-term impacts on
our landscape. The County Commissioners and County Community Development Office
must say no to this submission.
According to their website, “Harvest is a thoughtfully designed master-planned community
that addresses the Roaring Fork Valley’s housing crisis while prioritizing environmental
stewardship and community well-being”. In actuality, this proposal offers none of those
benefits to our valley. Instead, it creates a new town where no infrastructure currently
exists. The housing and landscaping plan is out of compatibility with the land. The multi-
story 120-room hotel offers residents no benefits. The 55,000 square feet of commercial
space that is proposed will provide few shopping opportunities that don’t already exist in
our towns. The additional traffic it will generate will impact an already difficult (and
sometimes dangerous) commute.
Harvest Roaring Fork will build a town and reap financial rewards while altering the
landscape irreparably as houses replace critical wildlife habitat. Our elk herds are already
stressed from development and traffic. As well, Harvest’s proposal will eliminate wildlife
access to grazing land and omits creative solutions such as wildlife overpasses to mitigate
that impact. As topsoil and vegetation is stripped for roads, houses, and shopping
opportunities we will lose valuable wildlife habitat for animals large and small.
As Shakespeare’s Lady Macbeth said, “What’s done cannot be undone”. This is a land use
decision that, if approved, will not only change our valley forever but set a precedent for
future decision.
[As a measure of the gravity of this decision, you should know I am writing and sending this
email while floating across the Drake Passage to Antarcxtica. I am working as a guide on an
Anatarctic cruise.]
Susy Ellison
Marty Schlein
4474 County Road 100
Carbondale, CO. 81623