A $2 million property purchase meant to increase trail connectivity in Silverthorne is receiving both praise and opposition from surrounding property owners.

Silverthorne Town Council’s scheduled review of the purchase, which was supposed to occur on Sept. 25, was stalled at the request of a neighborhood adjacent to the property.

The 11-acre parcel, known as the Lowe property, is in between the Willowbrook, Willow Creek Highlands and Ruby Ranch neighborhoods. Officials say the purchase is an important puzzle piece in the town’s longtime goal to create a loop trail that is meant to better connect various natural areas and amenities in and near town. Silverthorne plans to have the trail follow much of the perimeter of the town and offer connections to residential areas. 

Town Manager Ryan Hyland said the $2 million purchase would create a few different opportunities to create trails to connect the loop. Due to the property’s proximity to nearby Summit County-owned open space, the county government will shoulder half of the price tag.

During a meeting on Sept. 25, Mayor Ann-Marie Sandquist tabled a scheduled discussion about the Lowe property due to feedback she had received. 

“We got a call from Ruby Ranch. They wanted to chat with us and the county about some opportunities and asked us to hold off,” she said. 

Hyland said the town didn’t have details on the neighborhood’s proposal. A discussion is supposed to happen sometime in early October. 

The Lowe property involves an access easement that extends to around Colorado Highway 9 to the east and runs along Willow Creek. Hyland said this easement could help connect another leg of the trail loop. But part of this easement technically runs through land that is a part of the Willow Brook Metropolitan District, which includes the Ruby Ranch neighborhood.

While the Willow Brook Metropolitan District requested the delay, the town received three letters expressing concern and opposition from six property owners on West Coyote Drive. West Coyote Drive is on the southern side of the Willowbrook nearborhood and near the Lowe property access easement.  

Potential impacts to wildlife in the area were among the top concerns. Property owner Chad Bringle detailed in his letter the impacts he has already seen on a local elk herd that passes above the Lowe property and into the Ruby Ranch area. Bringle said he estimates the herd has dwindled from 60 to 20 in the past decade because of development and more humans passing through. He shared concerns that more human traffic could further shrink the herd.

Property owners David Naylor, Coleen McDonald, Gayle Stingley and Diane Naylor wrote a letter of “strong opposition” also expressing worry over impacts to wildlife and natural habitats.

“We believe that this project would have a detrimental impact on our community and would devalue our properties as well as put us at risk for theft and damage from the influx of people that visit the area,” they wrote in their letter. 

Neighbors farther to the west had a different sentiment.

To the west of the property is where Summit County’s role in the purchase comes in. It was prompted by a proposal to connect the county’s open space near the Willowbrook Trailhead and the Willow Creek Trail System to the loop because the Lowe property borders the open space. Hyland said in the future, the two will work on creating a trail to merge the two areas, which will take a decent amount of planning given the hilly and steep nature of the open space. 

Ernest and Lorna Frey, property owners near the Willow Creek Highlands, said in a letter of support they thought a connecting trail would improve the safety of the area near the busy Willowbrook Trailhead, which in certain parts lacks sidewalks. They added they believed it would relieve parking at the trailhead, which at times can be overflowing.

Hyland said that the trails being proposed to connect to the Lowe property will be soft trails. It is unknown at this time what type of recreation outside of walking will be allowed there. He said something that has to be considered in the planning process is whether or not bikes will be safe to allow on the steep parts of the Summit County open space.