A handful of neighbors and a mob of Front Range hikers are rallying to save a beloved 14er launching point at the Bakerville exit on Interstate 70 from a major gas station, truck stop and convenience store, moving fast and at high volume to block a rezoning.
A developer working with a large gas station chain wants Clear Creek County to rezone 4.37 acres on the south side of I-70 from mountain residential to commercial tourism and recreation, making way for 24 car and truck pumps and nearly 6,000 visits a day. The developers see service to travelers, an improved recreation parking lot on a jammed road, tax revenue for the county — not to mention bathrooms.
A legion of opponents sees yet another mega gas-ertainment takeover of a pristine and popular Colorado spot, like the controversial Buc-ee’s at Palmer Lake and the QuikTrip planned to replace a nostalgic watering hole at El Rancho. The woods around Exit 221 are home to a few hearty, view-loving residents, but also a natural hub for thousands of visitors to the twinned 14,000-foot peaks Grays and Torreys, the Kelso Ridge, and the trailhead of a bike path to Loveland ski area a few miles to the west.
“When people from all over the world come to Denver, come to the Rocky Mountains, one of the first things they do is climb Grays and Torreys,” said Gary Woodward, who lives about a mile from the proposed rezoning. “This is also one of the first mountains, the first fourteeners that all of our kids climb. I’ve taken my nieces and nephews up there for the first time. And this is the front door to so much. It would be like putting one of these damn things at the entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park or Yellowstone. This is an unmitigated disaster. It’s a heartbreaker.”
The developers, who are proposing a Golden Gate gas and convenience complex similar to branded stations in Nevada, California and Palisade, Colo., did not respond Tuesday to requests for comment.
The opposition, anchored in part at a website they created called Bakervilleneighborhood.com, has already won some small victories. An initial hearing for the rezoning was planned for Wednesday evening with the Clear Creek County planning commission, and organizers planned to pack the Zoom feed. On Tuesday, county planning manager Garrett McAllister said staff decided to continue the hearing to January to give residents more time to voice opinions, and to handle the big volume of comments they’ve already seen.
“To date, staff has received over 200 public comments, indicating a strong desire from the community to participate in and understand the proposal and review process,” the planning commission’s continuance notice said. “The volume and substance of public comments received to date necessitate additional time for staff and the applicant to ensure that all comments are adequately reviewed and addressed.” The public comment period also will be extended.
‘A bone to the peasants’
The fierce defense of status quo at Bakerville, which has no services and little pavement, has also attracted the attention of potential allies in protecting the land from a large development. The Trust for Public Land, which works with donors and sources of public money to protect important open spaces, is keeping a close eye on the rezoning clash.
“Bakerville today has great value as a recreation and visitor gateway along one of the nation’s busiest interstate corridors and contributes to the special character of Clear Creek County,” said Jim Petterson, Colorado and Southwest director for the organization. “The area serves as an important jumping-off point for the Bakerville-Loveland Trail, the Continental Divide Trail and the rugged road to the trailhead that accesses Grays and Torreys Peaks, two of the state’s most-climbed 14ers. Future use of this area should reflect the priorities of local residents and protect and enhance public access to the amazing natural amenities that surround it.”
Not all the public comments will be coming from Team Pristine, however. A Facebook page for 14er fans included some responses from people who could see cheaper gas, a warehouse of snacks and shelter in a blizzard as positive developments for the high-altitude corridor just east of the Eisenhower Tunnel.
“I’d much rather have a truck stop that trucks can park at during storms rather than have them close the highway,” one Facebook commenter said. “That area is already ugly because of the interstate, a truck stop is not going to ruin it.”
“At least a few of us don’t mind. I for one welcome it. Perfect location!” said another.
There’s no doubt it’s already busy. CDOT counts 39,000 vehicles a day on I-70 at a nearby Silver Plume meter, said spokesperson Stacia Sellers on Tuesday.
Even recreation defenders say something will need to be done by Clear Creek County at the Bakerville exit over the next few years. The hiking and biking trails get more popular every year, and parked cars back up from trailheads along the access roads, often illegally. Many other popular 14ers and trailheads, from Quandary Peak to Hanging Lake to Maroon Bells, have had to institute some form of timed ticketing, parking and shuttle system to control traffic and preserve some of the outdoor experiences crowds were seeking in the first place.
The developers’ application said the property should never have been zoned “mountain residential,” since there is no community of homes there. The character of the land is defined by the interstate and busy recreational staging, the application says.
“The conditions of this area have changed dramatically since the original zoning was put in place. Recreational and tourist traffic has increased substantially, creating a clear demand for traveler services at this interchange,” according to the rezoning filed by an entity called Bakerville LLC.
The developers, countered Woodward, are trying to obscure just how sprawling their concrete pour will be by adding 55 new recreational parking spaces nearby.
“Throwing a bone to the peasants,” Woodward said.
Clear Creek County’s planning commission will take up the rezoning proposal at its Jan. 21 regular meeting.
When the land was offered for sale in the past, Woodward said, the few neighbors considered chipping in to buy it and then divvy it up among existing residentially zoned lots to protect it. The land was later pulled off the market. Now that there’s a development plan, a broader array of fans of Bakerville and open space should pool resources, he said.
“This is bigger than me. It’s bigger than our neighborhood,” Woodward said. “This is a statewide issue.”