A Silverthorne-based metropolitan district which has been the loudest voice of opposition to a land purchase says some of its apprehensions have been pacified thanks to a recent agreement put forth by the town. 

After numerous stalls — some of which can be attributed to the metro district — officials authorized Silverthorne to purchase the Lowe property at a Wednesday, Nov. 13 meeting. 

Silverthorne will close on the $2 million purchase, splitting it with Summit County who committed to the purchase at a Nov. 12 meeting, on Nov. 18 with future plans to make it open space. 

The 11-acre parcel borders county-owned open space near the Willowbrook Trailhead and the Willow Creek Trail System and could serve as a connector to a trail system Silverthorne is working on. 

The proposed trail connector ignited concerns from residents of the nearby Ruby Ranch neighborhood, also known as the Willow Brook Metro District, who came up with an alternative trail plan in an effort to halt the town’s. The metro district worried about the impacts a public trail would have on the surrounding area’s environment and wildlife, particularly those to a local elk herd whose numbers they say have dwindled drastically thanks to humans. The group brought on attorneys, a strategic planning and government relations group, a wildlife biologist and Frisco-based Norris Design to help formulate its proposal to the town and even offered to shoulder some of the cost of purchasing the land.

On Oct. 10, Silverthorne officials sent the district a letter notifying them the town is unable to accept the offer as presented, but hopes to continue discussions of alternative paths of partnerships. 

The signing of Silverthorne and the Willow Brook Metro District’s memorandum of understanding was solidified Nov. 13.  

“We really would have preferred to have been partners with the county and the town, but I think we got to a point where we can have true, open and honest, transparent communication, and establish a process to try and come up with the best solution for the entire community,” president of the metro district EJ Olbright said. 

The agreement essentially establishes an open line of communication between the two parties and other surrounding neighbors and clarifies everyone is on the same page about preserving the property as open space. Olbright said the metro district had fears the county and town would one day allow the land to be developed and this clarification helped put those to rest.

Yet, the agreement still keeps the door open for creating the trail the metro district has been campaigning against. 

According to a joint statement provided by town manager Ryan Hyland and Olbright, the agreement acknowledges “the different positions (both parties) have regarding the desirability and feasibility of any public trails.”

The agreement states both parties agree a key access easement which could serve as a link to a trail is  “a non-exclusive easement for ingress and egress to the Lowe Property but does not expressly provide an easement for a public trail.”

According to Silverthorne officials, this does not forbid the town and county from potentially using the easement for a public trail in the future. If the easement were used in a trail system, it would help the town complete what is known as the Silverthorne Loop, which surrounds the perimeter of town and connects to various trailheads and amenities. 

Numerous nearby neighbors have made public comments at Silverthorne Town Council meetings and via email expressing concern about the trail’s impacts to surrounding wildlife.

Mayor Ann-Marie Sandquist assured the room at the Nov. 13 meeting officials were just authorizing the purchase and not solidifying any plans for a trail. 

“We won’t just go in and put in a trail there, there’s a lot of study (beforehand) about how it affects elk habitat and things like that,” she said. 

Sandquist added the town plans to do adequate public input regarding a trail.

History of the land purchase

The Lowe property is named after the family that bought it in the 1940s and was subdivided when the area that is now Ruby Ranch was sold to a developer.

The county and town will buy it from its current owner, Jerald Capp, who acquired legal counsel in 2023 because he claimed Silverthorne established lots for the Smith Ranch neighborhood that went over the easement for his property, according to legal documents.

He sought $500,000 in monetary damages, according to legal documents, but Silverthorne officials said Capp ultimately didn’t pursue this claim. 

Silverthorne representatives said the town responded to the claim and planned to create an easement that provided the access which was identified in the claim brought against the town. 

This was an item that ended up being taken off the agenda for the July 10 Silverthorne Town Council meeting. A staff memo for that meeting outlined the town would “re-dedicate a private access easement that was previously removed by mistake.” 

Kristina Nayden, spokesperson for Silverthorne, said while the town was finalizing the easement, an opportunity to purchase the Lowe Ranch was identified and this postponed finalizing the easement because it would be unnecessary since the town would own the property.