Blogs and Boxes: Two New Options

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

Register for Updates

Blogs and Boxes: Two New Options

Blogs & Boxes: New Ways
to Generate a Community Vision

ASPEN,COLO. (November 13, 2008) - Two new methods of listening to the public regarding the update of the Aspen Area Community Plan were unveiled this week.

At www.aspencommunityvision.com,the public can now find a blog that invites people to comment on a wide number of topics that will be in the updated Aspen Area Community Plan.Bloggers are invited to riff on the following question, among others:"Imagine it is 2018. You have been the Housing Czar for 10 years. What have you accomplished? What is different about the program today?"

The other method for getting public feedback is the "Meeting-In-A-Box,"which the city used during the public process on the Entrance to Aspen in 2006. This method consists of a small cardboard box with carrying handles that contains instructions on "How to Build Your Vision" of the new Aspen Area Community Plan. People can hold their own meetings -without staff or facilitators - at their home, on the bus or even at a bar. There are easy to follow instructions on "How to Build Your Vision," and all you'll need is a pen and some spare time. Microwave popcorn is included.

Anyone is welcome to pick up a"Meeting-In-A-Box" at the City Community Development Department on the3rd floor at City Hall, 130 S. Galena Street, though supplies are limited.

In both cases, the public is invited to review background information on all topics by looking at the relevant chapters of the "State of the Aspen Area: 2000-2008," which is available at www.aspencommunityvision.com.

All of the information received from the blog, "Meeting-In-A-Box," and the recently held small group meetings will form the basis of the updated community plan. Thus far, nearly 200 people already have voiced their opinion on the Aspen Area Community Plan Update.