The Summit County Open Space and Trails Departments’ rules and regulations prohibit commercial use on county lands and trails. It has no process to allow exceptions, meaning if nonprofits or educational groups want to use trails for something they charge for, like a summer camp, they cannot get approval.

Katherine King, the Open Space and Trails director, said the department has gotten requests from these sorts of groups to use county trails and land over the years.

“Those requests come from both locally as well as Front Range, and sometimes even out of state,” King said. “We know that these uses are currently occurring on open space and trails, but we’re not regulating them right now.”

Regulating these uses, King said, would let the county manage the level of use, help protect the land and give the county more information on where, when and how the groups are using trails.

The department looked into how other governments in Colorado regulate this type of land use and found various strategies, but generally, they allowed environmental-based nonprofits to use their lands, but they all categorize any use that charges a fee as commercial use. Larimer and Boulder County do not allow any commercial use, even if it is environmental education or a summer camp.

The department also looked closely at town of Breckenridge and U.S. Forest Service policies, as those are two of the department’s closest partners, to make sure its proposed policy would not conflict with theirs.

The proposed plan would only allow groups based in Summit County to apply for a special-use permit and charge them no fees. It would create a special category of use that is technically commercial, as the groups would be charging people to participate in their programs, while commercial use of trails and open spaces would remain prohibited.

“These permits will not be issued for any commercial uses, including commercial guiding and outfitting, as defined by our open space and trails regulations,” resource specialist Allison Morton said.

Morton described more specifics of the plan, like how organizations would apply, what the department would consider in approving or denying applications and that the permits would be valid for one year.

Commissioner Nina Waters asked if Open Space and Trails has gotten requests from nonprofits outside Summit County to use county lands for things like summer camps, and King said they have.

King said the Summit County Open Space Advisory Council gave feedback on the plan, asking if opportunities for permits could be open to organizations outside Summit County if not all permits were claimed for a given year. 

The commissioners supported the idea, and directed the Open Space and Trails Department to have a tiered system, where local groups have first access to the permits, and if they are not all taken, organizations outside the county can apply for them — for a fee.

“We’ll just try to make it consistent with fees we’re seeing from other open space programs,” King said.

The department will only issue 10 permits per year, although that could be adjusted in the future, Morton said. Group size will be limited to two groups of 15 people per day per permit holder, and organizations will initially be allowed 200 user days.

“We are defining the user day as one person equals one day,” Morton said. “So essentially, if you have a group of 10 people, that’s 10 user days.”

If groups need more than 200 user days in a year, then the department will allow them to apply for more.

Permit activities will be limited to Monday through Friday and not be allowed on holidays, and groups will be limited to using two parking spots on their trips. Those restrictions, Morton said, are intended to minimize conflict with other trail users.

To receive a permit, groups will have to agree to its conditions, like complying with open space and trails regulations and following Leave No Trace guidelines. Waters suggested the group give applicants materials that outline the details of those regulations and guidelines they must follow.

King said the department will incorporate the board’s feedback into the plan as they go forward and come back to the commissioners later for final adoption, with the goal of starting to issue the permits this year.