Project Phases
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
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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.
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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.
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'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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.


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State of the Aspen Area Report Released


Pitkin County and City of Aspen Release
"State of Aspen Area" Report

September 16, 2008

ASPEN, Colo. -- "The State of the Aspen Area: 2000 - 2008" was officially released at a joint meeting of the Aspen City Council and Pitkin County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday, September 16 at Aspen City Hall.

This comprehensive report is intended to build public awareness on a range of important community issues from housing to growth to transportation - to name a few. A brief executive summary is available as well as the entire 255-page report. The release of this report is the first step in the update of the 2000 Aspen Area Community Plan.

Because of the length of the report - featuring color photos and graphs - the public is encouraged to view it on-line at a new website; www.aspencommunityvision.com. For those without on-line access, this service is available at the Pitkin County Library on N. Mill Street.

"For many readers, this report contains more information than you'll ever need to understand the major issues facing the Aspen area today," said Jessica Garrow, long range planner for the City of Aspen. "The executive summary will give readers a good foundation to understand the various issues detailed in the report. For others who are more deeply engaged in public policy matters, we hope this document answers most of your questions."

The State of the Aspen Area report is just the first phase of a six-month public process to update the 2000 Aspen Area Community Plan. Every eight years or so, the City of Aspen and Pitkin County collaborate on a character-based community plan for the Aspen area that helps guide decision-making by the Aspen City Council and Pitkin County Commissioners.

The first Aspen Area Community Plan was adopted in 1993. Seven years later, the 2000 Aspen Area Community Plan was adopted. In 2007, Council and Commissioners approved funding for an update of the 2000 AACP.

Both the City Council and County Commissioners have signed off on a new approach to this update of the 2000 AACP. For example, there is no standing committee to guide this process. We have used this method in the past, and have found that too much work and too much time is required for the vast majority of people to become directly involved. Instead, this new process seeks to literally draft a document that comes from the community-at-large.

"We recognize that free time is rare, so this public process is designed for people who can spend a lot of time on it - as well as those who have just a few minutes to spare," said Garrow. "Throughout the process, we are providing opportunities for people to participate for short periods of time -and providing methods that are a bit more time-intensive."

For example, an abbreviated and easily digestible version of the State of the Aspen Area report is available, as well as the entire report, complete with an appendix of additional information.

After starting with a focus on public awareness of the issues, much of the public process will focus on exploring and recognizing the values of the community in order to generate a 10-year community vision for the future.

The finished product will be a foundational document for the Aspen City Council and Pitkin County Board of Commissioners - providing guidance for future decisions on issues ranging from Housing to Managing Growth to Transportation.

To find out how the public process will work and how you can get involved, please go to www.aspencommunityvision.com.