Parks & Recreation

State of the
Aspen Area

Speaker
Series

Aspen Economy
White Paper

Random
Survey

Small Group
Meetings

Survey
Results

Large Group
Meetings

Planning &
Zoning Review

City Council &
BOCC Review

State of the Aspen Area: 2000-2008
September 17

This report contains up to date information on a range of issues that have traditionally been important to the Aspen community, ranging from transportation to housing and growth. Did you know that the City has issued 9,886 building permits with a value of $2.4 billion since 2000? This is just one piece of information contained in this comprehensive report. Included are reader-friendly summaries
of each topic.

Speaker Series
September 17 - October

Staff visited various groups and organizations in the Aspen area to offer a PowerPoint presentation on the highlights of the State of the Aspen Area report, and the public process for generating a Community Vision for the Aspen Area.

'White Paper' on the
Aspen Economy
October 20

This is a rare opportunity to gain a new understanding of the unique and powerful resort economy that drives many important issues in the Aspen area. The City of Aspen hired an international resort consulting firm (Economics Research Associates) to draft this 'White Paper.' The report is reader-friendly and accessible to the general public.

Random Survey
November

A survey has been mailed to random households in the Aspen area, asking a wide range of questions about your vision for the future. This approach has been tested in mountain communities before, and will be a statistically accurate reflection of community values, likes and dislikes. Results will be available in January 2009.

Small Group Meetings
Oct 27 - Nov 14

More than 150 people recently participated in 11 small group meetings in October and November, offering their visions and goals for the future. These meetings were not intended to produce a consensus of any kind, but to express a range of goals and visions. A summary of notes from these meetings are available on the "Small Group Meetings" page.

Survey Results
2nd week January

The results of the random survey that was mailed to Aspen area residents in November will be available on the website. This is a values-based survey that can help form the Community Vision for the Aspen area.

Large Community Vision Meetings
January 27, January 31

Our goal is to have at least 350 people attend each of three public meetings, so more than 1,000 people can take part in drafting a Community Vision for the Aspen Area. We'll use a number of methods, including wireless voting keypads to explore the community's values. For more information and to RSVP and reserve your clicker, please see the homepage.

Planning and Zoning
Commission Review
March

This will be a more traditional and formalized process where the Planning and Zoning Commissions of both the City and the County will review a draft of the Community Vision for the Aspen Area. This will include legally noticed public hearings that anyone can attend to offer their comments.

City Council and Board of County Commissioners Review
April

This will be a more traditional and formalized process where the Aspen City Council and the Pitkin County Board of Commissioners will review a draft of the Community Vision for the Aspen Area, while also considering the input of both planning and zoning commissions. This will include legally noticed public hearings that anyone can attend to offer their comments.

Printable Version

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Parks & Recreation

The City of Aspen's dedication and focus on its Parks Department and all the amenities it supports has been ongoing for decades, and continues to grow. A few relevant facts:

The 83,000 sq. foot Aspen Recreation Center (ARC) was completed in 2004, including the Lewis Ice Arena. More than 225,000 people a year visit the ARC.
The Aspen Ice Garden was renovated in 2001.
Since 2001, the City of Aspen Golf Course off Highway 82 has featured anew clubhouse, new tennis courts, new natural water features, the planting of native grasses and wildflowers and the implementation of wildlife corridors.
There are 34 acres of neighborhood parks and 42 acres of athletic fields;
There are five Athletic areas with facilities for playing basketball, soccer, football, baseball/softball, and tennis;
Special Events that take place in City parks include 5,000 people-a-day at the Food & Wine Festival; 3,500 people-a-day Jazz Aspen; 500 people a day at Ruggerfest; 350 people-a-day at the Motherlode Volleyball Tournament; 500 people-a day at the Arts & Crafts Festival; and the New Year's Eve celebration.
Other facilities include the 10,000 square foot Red Brick Recreation Center on east Hallam St.

Linkage to other issues

There are precious few issues in the Aspen area that exist in a vacuum.
Here are a few topics that are directly related to the topic of parks.

The Economy. The Parks Department is a key player in the operation of special events, which are an important player in the tourist economy.

Environmental Quality. Irrigation at the golf course has been switched from raw river water to treated effluent water, and the Parks Department is a key player with the Engineering Department in the installation of stormwater treatment facilities in Rio Grande Park and Jenny Adair.

Transportation. City of Aspen bus service brings both visitors and year-round residents to various outlying facilities such as the ARC and the Golf Course.