A land purchase by Summit County Government and Silverthorne that is intended to boost the town’s trail system and create more open space is continuing to evoke strong reactions from the surrounding community. Silverthorne residents have voiced both opposition and support since the planned purchase was made public.

Silverthorne and Summit County plan to split the $2 million purchase down the middle, designate it as open space and use it to link together a trail system, known as the Silverthorne Loop, which would surround the town’s perimeter. The 11-acre parcel, known as the Lowe property, is adjacent to county-owned open space and could create soft trail connections to that and other nature areas in town. The purchase was unanimously approved on first reading at an Oct. 9 Silverthorne Town Council meeting.

Over 20 people made public comments, most expressing opposition, about the purchase at the Oct. 9 meeting which occurred in a jam-packed town hall. Nearly all attendees lived near the parcel slated to be purchased, including residents from neighborhoods such as Ruby Ranch, Willowbrook and Smith Ranch. 

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The Ruby Ranch neighborhood has offered to be a part of the land purchase and presented the town with an alternative option to its plans. The group brought on attorneys, a strategic planning and government relations group, a wildlife biologist and Frisco-based Norris Design to help formulate its proposal to the town. 

Residents opposed shared concern about impacts to the wildlife and the surrounding environment of the parcel and said they felt the town didn’t make this process transparent enough. Those in favor of the purchase highlighted how it could improve the walkability of the community, relieve parking congestion at some of Silverthorne’s popular trailheads and increase accessibility to the town’s natural areas.  

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Town staff members and elected officials say a pillar of their plan is to ensure the area can remain public open space and be protected from becoming a development in the future.

“The county has funding set aside for open space, I will say that there hasn’t been a ton of that done in our end of the county,” Mayor Anne-Marie Sandquist said, noting the opportunity is a unique one.

She said the town acted swiftly in its efforts to secure the parcel because it’s not every day an 11-acre parcel is being sold for just $2 million. She reassured the room the town would be doing ample studies to evaluate the potential impacts a trail through the parcel could bring from a wildlife and environmental standpoint. 

History of the parcel

The Lowe property, which is owned by Jerald Capp, is in unincorporated Summit County and has a “non-exclusive” easement for ingress and egress from Colorado Highway 9 that’s been in place since 1915, legal documents show. 

In 2023, Capp acquired legal counsel because he claimed Silverthorne established lots for the Smith Ranch neighborhood that went over the easement for his property, according to legal documents.

Capp sought $500,000 in monetary damages, according to legal documents, but the Town of Silverthorne said Capp ultimately didn’t pursue this claim. 

Silverthorne representatives said the town responded to the claim and planned to create an easement that provided the access which was identified in the claim brought against the town. 

This was an item that ended up being taken off the agenda for the July 10 Silverthorne Town Council meeting. A staff memo for that meeting outlined the town would “re-dedicate a private access easement that was previously removed by mistake.” 

“During the process of finalizing the easement, the potential opportunity to purchase the Lowe Ranch was realized,” Kristina Nayden, spokesperson for Silverthorne said via email. “Therefore, the final easement paperwork was postponed because it would be unnecessary if the Town purchases Lowe Ranch.”

The easement is one of two connected to the property; the other is off a road near the Willowbrook neighborhood. 

Town attorney Karl Hanlon also spoke at the meeting to provide clarifying details about the planned purchase and noted the Capp family were “really interested in public open space.”

A nearby neighborhood’s proposal and concerns

The Willow Brook Metropolitan District, which comprises the Ruby Ranch neighborhood, showed up in full force at the Oct. 9 meeting to present its plans and voice concerns. 

President of the district, EJ Olbright, described his community as “blindsided” by the news of the planned purchase when they first learned of it this summer. He said one of the things that first tipped them off was residents of the neighborhood witnessing a group of what he said was a dozen people “climbing over the (Ruby Ranch neighborhood’s) fence.” 

Silverthorne representatives said the group seen by neighbors included officials from the town, Summit County Open Space and a representative of the Lowe property who were touring the Lowe property. Representatives said the group “went through a gate using the property owner’s legal access easement to access the south side of Lowe Ranch.”

Olbright said the metro district does not want a trail going through the area and they are willing to come on as a partner in the purchase and cover one-third of the price. He said the district has successfully partnered on community matters before, pointing to a fire break project it helped fund in conjunction with local fire jurisdictions, the U.S. Forest Service, municipalities and other organizations. 

“Is our opposition to the new trial really about the elk?,” Olbright said. “You bet it is.” He said a trail through that area would impact areas crucial to an elk habitat that has already drastically dwindled due to human impact in the area. He said in the 35 years he has lived in the area he has seen the population shrink from around 200 to around 40. 

In response to the wildlife concerns brought up by Olbright and others, Hanlon said “certainly developments like Ruby Ranch, Willowbrook neighborhood, Smith Ranch, all of those have impacts on wildlife.” He emphasized nearly all human development impacts wildlife in one way or another. 

The Willow Brook Metro District’s trail proposal looks to connect areas like the Willow Brook Trailhead, Trent Park, North Pond Park, Angler Trailhead and the core of town. The trail would go across the Willow Creek area, up to North Pond Park and down the east side of Colorado Highway 9 to Fourth St. Crossing. 

He said the proposal would help encourage people to utilize the parking structures downtown and would help activate the town core by increasing connectivity in the area. He added the metro district was all for utilizing the Lowe property as public open space and that aspect is included in the proposal as well. 

Olbright said at the time of the meeting he had not heard back from town officials regarding the proposal. 

Hanlon said one of the two easements connected to the Lowe property, known as “tract k,” is not public open space. 

“The acquisition of the Lowe parcel by (the Willow Brook Metropolitan District) would not be public open space,” he said. “It would, in fact, be more than likely, private open space.”

The Willow Brook Metropolitan District said after the meeting they would want the parcel to be public open space. 

On Oct. 10, Silverthorne sent the district a letter notifying them the town is unable to accept the offer as presented, but hopes to continue discussion of alternative avenues for partnership.

“This has been a very back-room effort by the town and county from day one, with little to no effort to engage the public,” spokesperson for Willow Brook Metropolitan District Kristin Kenney Williams said via email. “No reason has been given to reject our offers to partner on solutions that work for the entire community.”

 She added the district will continue its fight to protect the wildlife in the area.