Means: Value open spaces

As a long-time resident of this community, I greatly value and appreciate our open spaces and the intrinsic value they have for myself, the community, and visitors alike. The increasing pressures of development on Aspen’s small-town charm and quality of life over the last 40 years are notable, and open spaces have disappeared as a result. Luckily, it’s our remaining open spaces that have helped keep Aspen a place where people want to come to recreate, de-stress, and socialize.
My husband and I have raised our family here, and one of the great open space treasures is the Marolt Open Space. It is a place where kids play, dogs can run, and we walk safely and with a wonderful connection to the many others on the property at any given time.
Once this open space is divvied up for the alternative route into town, there is no getting it back. As grandparents, it is our wish that this new generation has the same, or greater, access to these special places and the desire to preserve them even further into their future for others.
The notion that Aspen’s open spaces are just pieces of raw property available for exploitation or can somehow be given monetary value is objectionable and wrong. Aspen’s Open Spaces are not for sale. This is why I urge voters to support Referendum # 1 and oppose Referendum # 2, which would give CDOT, not the residents of Aspen, the power to decide the alignment of Highway 82.
Respectfully,
Elizabeth Means
Aspen
Aspen restaurant Boat Tow granted approval for airlock
The 3-1 vote came despite the project conflicting with Aspen’s guidelines for temporary enclosures, which prohibits such temporary structures.