Red Feather Lakes Planning Advisory Committee Meeting 4/25/24

For more information (including members in attendance) see the full notes document here.*

View the meeting agenda.

Videos are not posted.

From the Larimer County Boards & Commissions website: “The Red Feather Lakes Planning Advisory Committee (RFLPAC) is a committee of citizens who live, work/volunteer or own property within the Red Feather Lakes Plan Area, appointed by the Larimer County Board of Commissioners. Its purpose is to provide an organized forum to facilitate communication with the County and within the community on issues that impact Red Feather Lakes (RFL).”

Larimer County Assessor Overbeck helped the Planning Advisory Committee understand property taxes and why RFL property taxes increased so dramatically in 2023. According to Overbeck, assessed property values are determined every 2 years based on comparable sales over the past 2 years. For example, 2023 assessed property values are based on actual sales between 07/01/2020 through 6/30/2022. Overbeck said during this time, the pandemic and work-from-home options created an increase in sales prices. Working people decided they could live in work-and-play communities such as RFL and left the cities for more rural residences. The Larimer County Assessor’s website has an interactive map showing property values and increases across the state of Colorado. Overbeck pointed out that the property tax increase in RFL is in line with the rest of Colorado with some communities experiencing even higher increases than RFL. 

Overbeck reminded the committee that the State was aware of the additional financial burden to homeowners and offered relief by giving everyone a $55,000 decrease in assessed value and lowering the mill levy rate. Overbeck also said there is currently a new bill introduced by state lawmakers that would reduce future assessed values by 10% of property value up to $75,000, and the mill levy rate would remain at 6.36 for everyone in the state. 

The RFL Planning Advisory Committee has been reviewing the 2005 Comprehensive Plan for potential updates. Committee Chair Weixelman asked where the committees’ suggestions are going. “Will the plan be updated with our suggestions?” she asked, “And what about the RFL boundaries? Will other surrounding areas be included?” Planning Engineer Lafferty, who is leading this project with the RFL committee, said updating the plan will cost upwards of $200,000. Consultant Engineers and Designers would have to be hired to study the area and propose a redesign of boundaries. So, he asked the group if they think the plan is basically the same, or is it way off and must be redone? 

Lafferty explained that surrounding areas such as Crystal Lakes and Glacier View stand on their own. They have their own special districts and road services. Lafferty suggested the committee could consider a change to the committee structure, as opposed to changing the town boundaries. He said the committee could bring people in from Crystal Lakes and Glacier View when the town wants input for major projects. These outside communities wouldn’t have voting power over the town of RFL, but they may have valuable input on how projects can be structured to accommodate everyone in the area. 

Committee member Cates asked where the borders would need to be so that RFL could incorporate them. Cates thinks that rural areas close to the Wyoming border shouldn’t have influence over the town’s decisions, but they are currently a part of RFL boundaries. Lafferty said this supports a recommendation to the County Commissioners that the committee formation be changed to include input from these outside areas.  

Planning Engineer Lafferty suggested a small survey be sent to the RFL community to find out what they’re really thinking. Do they want improvements and growth, and are they willing to pay the cost? Vice Chair Hughes thinks a survey is wasteful. She said most residents she’s heard from already said if it costs, they won’t support. Lafferty wants to go ahead anyway, and have a committee work session to brainstorm and write down a list of recommendations for improving the town. Once the committee knows the direction they want to go and has agreement on which projects they think can be done, they can decide what kind of survey questions to send to the public. The committee agreed the June meeting would be dedicated to this work session.  

The meeting was adjourned at 3:30 p.m.

Next meeting – May 23, 2024, 1:30 p.m. in-person at the Firehouse meeting room, 44 Firehouse Lane, Red Feather Lakes, CO., or online via Zoom. 

Questions To Consider

Will Crystal Lakes and Glacier View welcome a plan to coordinate potential community amenities with Red Feather Lakes? If so, what are the improvements to consider?

*Citizen Observers further the commitment of the League of Women Voters to its principle of Citizens Right to Know, however, we are not acting as journalists. Omissions and errors are possible. It is assumed that users of this information are responsible for their own fact-checking. This could include contacting a government clerk, conversing with an elected official or staff, and/or asking us to speak to the Observer who attended.