Dear Friend,

As part of our effort to use the "Golden Run" project to challenge all of us and raise the standards for development in Erie and throughout Colorado and the nation, Golden Run has funded this special effort to put its entire application to the Town of Erie on the World Wide Web along with a substantial amount of additional information. This means that all citizens with Internet access will be able to review the application, make comments, and be involved in the decision process right from the start to as great an extent as they wish. To accomplish this prodigious communication objective, we need your help today.

Our goal is to provide maximum access for citizens to this information - rather than trying to hide it or "fly under the radar." We are not developers and we want to show everyone -- including builders and developers -- that this is the right thing to do. We also know there are developers who agree with us in principle and who will be watching closely to see how this "Great Experiment" in openness and public access truly works.

While this may be an unprecedented event, we have confidence in our fellow citizens and believe they will become convinced of the logic, necessity, and desirability of this project only after they have access to all the information about it and have a chance to have their questions answered in full. By being on the Web, we also eliminate the cost citizens might otherwise incur when obtaining information from a public entity such as the Town. For example, there are no photocopying or other costs citizens would incur by accessing our site. Or someone may be away from the Erie area or may be traveling and want to check something. That's easy to do because this site is available to anyone anywhere in the world who has Internet access. And we help reduce pollution by reducing some of the vehicle travel people might otherwise incur.

Similarly, as the size and number of projects grows in Erie, the burden on the Town staff becomes greater. Sometimes Town staff members find they are spending all their time responding to requests and their other work suffers, including that which may be equally important. By having our documents on the Web, one of our goals is to lessen the burden on staff. If they wish, they can direct citizens to the Web site and, hopefully, end up providing them with more information than ever without having incurred any cost.

We have received some comments, testimonials, and endorsements from people who favor our efforts. We would like you to provide us with a statement (it can be one sentence or as long as you'd like to make it) telling us why you are enthusiastic about Golden Run, our commitment to Public Access and openness, and how we are proceeding. We will try to include most of the endorsements and testimonials in the Web site. If you do provide us with something and we edit it substantially, we will get your permission first.

Your quote may be as short or as long as you'd like. We would prefer something which is one to five sentences in length. We are getting them from people with a wide variety of opinion about all the issues we are raising and want you to be candid.

We also would like to include your picture along with your quote if you have a photo available which we could use. Either mail your comments and photo to us at Post Office Box 666, Erie, CO 80516-0666 or call Carl Oldham at (303) 497-0610. Carl also can arrange to have your statement and photo picked up. If you do not have a photo we can have or borrow (we can return a picture, if necessary), we often can make arrangements to have one taken. Please make certain you include your name, address, and telephone number so we can contact you to verify the quote. If you want to send your comments only via e-mail, that's OK, too. You can send them to Carl Oldham at Carl@GoldenRun.com or use the submission form at the top of this page. Again, be certain to always include your name, address, and telephone number so we can contact you to verify your quote. Any submission, of course, presumes we have your permission to use your quote or any part thereof as well as any photos.

We greatly appreciate your support in this effort. If you know of anyone else who would give us a comment or quote, please have him or her contact us right away. Please circulate this request to anyone you believe would like to give us a quote we could use.

Please also feel free to call if you would like to discuss this further. Again, thanks very much for your time, your consideration, and your support. It is deeply appreciated.

The Golden Run Team


 

Testimonials

Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation Endorsement Letter ➲

Open Endorsements ➲

Submit Your Own Endorsement ➲

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Submit Your Own Endorsement


Golden Run is asking those who have reviewed the project or are familiar with it from meetings, discussions or other knowledge, to tell others about our effort. To this end, we are asking people to comment on the project and, if they wish, have their comments included in this section as well as throughout the Web site. If you are interested in making a comment which you would like to appear on the Web site, please let us know that, and do one of the following. Otherwise, any comments you send us will be considered confidential.

Send Carl an e-mail to his address: Carl@GoldenRun.com.


Everyone is welcome to send us their thoughts and comments. If we do use any comment you send, they may be edited for spelling, grammar, clarity, and/or space. We always verify anything we include on the Web site before we incorporate it, so please include your name, address, telephone numbers, and e-mail address so we can contact you and verify what you sent.


Now that you have all the logistics down, what should you say? We want to hear comments about how we approached this challenge, about how it could set new standards for Erie and the Front Range, about the conceptual design itself, about the people involved, and about any topic or issue you want to raise or on which you would like to comment. Our goal is to foster discussion and debate. We think that contributes to a healthy decision process. Don't be shy -- let us hear what you think.

Open Endorsements from Citizens, Neighbors, and Others


 "What impresses us most about the "Golden Run" development proposal is the up-front approach its proponents are taking in presenting it to the public. Although the proposal is several years away from becoming a reality, neighbors, such as ourselves, or any one else with an interest have an opportunity to make their concerns known, long before ground breaking begins. This is unprecedented in the fast paced land development cycle that is taking place along the front range of Colorado today."

—Herm and Debbie Ball, Neighbors to the West

 

 

I am very excited that someone is finally going to build a community of wheelchair accessible homes. That means that homeowners would not only recognize the benefit if they became disabled (even temporarily), but they could also have their disabled friends or relatives over for a visit. Because of the unnecessary inaccessibility of most homes today, many wheelchair users are prisoners in their own homes. Frequently, our parents have to give up their homes and move into a nursing home simply because they require the use of a wheelchair. Most of the time they are forced into a state of poverty before they can even qualify for a nursing home.

—Joe Beaver


 

"As a former Old Urbanism resident (Hempstead, New York), with shopping (and even a hospital) within walking distance of my home (like a block or two), I welcome Golden Run's New Urbanism to the Town of Erie. Living like this makes the daily grind so much easier to deal with, and when plugged into Colorado's open spaces, its a perfect milieu!"

—Lynn J. Ellins Esq., Erie Resident

 


'I am convinced that the New Urbanism approach to development is the face of the future. The Golden Run project is a great example of how I would like to see Erie grow. Growth does not have to equal sprawl, and open space is not just what's left over after everything else is built up. People are looking for Erie to do something different, not just follow in the footsteps of Westminster, Broomfield, and Superior. I look forward to helping build something we can all be proud of."

—Reed Schrichte, Erie Resident

 

 

"The question to my mind is, do we find the developments we're building today inspirational or alienating? Since we may very well be the last generation in the West to make the choice on what our land will look like for future generations, the time-frame we need to be thinking in is FOREVER. Albert Einstein said that this world will not evolve past it's current state of crises using the same thinking that created the situation. For the past five years Erie, along with much of the front range has seen a dramatic increase in what has been referred to as "sprawl"- when the consumed land area grows at a much faster rate than the population that inhabits it. The economic effects are becoming more well documented and easier to track: although rooftops bring one time impact fees creating a temporary boom in the city's coffers, the inevitable downturn follows when development is done, and the commercial that may or may not follow is usually not viable enough to offset ongoing service costs. The further out from the town center the development is, the more costly, both in terms of visible hard costs and ecological and societal damage. While our miles of roads and sewer lines may double or triple, our our police, fire and maintenance crews cannot keep up. Once the money ius spent on services they have to be maintained and redone every twenty years, long after the initial impact fees are gone. A few months ago an Erie developer put it clearly stating that "Erie needs (the Northfield) development to pay for the services it has already committed to". And once the value of Northfield is extracted then we will need a Southfield and Eastfield and so on. Some communities choose to maintain a modest debt rather than to buy into this form of economic heroin. Others choose the role of dealers for the pusher developers and compromise their future to the whims of an uncertain economy. Intoxicated by growth, they strive for ever greater increases in revenue, even though they have become outweighed by ever growing costs. The bottomline is that the present patterns of suburban development seriously impair our quality of life and that of the environment, much of it irreversible for future generations. people are realizing that the location and kind of growth determine the nature of a community and its quality of life. Golden Run has the makings of a development that can serve to strengthen the economy, environment and social integrity of community. In a society focused almost religiiously on consumption it is not only refreshing to see but imperative to implement the philosophy of community oriented and austainable designed planning put forth but this group. At the core of this proposal is the attempt to reestablish a "sense of place" and a respect for environment and diversity that is being rapidly eroded by sprawl. Perhaps by shifting our energies from how to simply accommodate more growth to how to become a better place to live we can enable our town to achieve new heights for livability, environmental quality, public services and amenities, participatory democracy, and a sense of community that will continue for generations to come."

—Stephen Nicholoff, Erie Resident

 


"Proverbs 16:8 - "Better to have little with righteousness, than vast revenues without justice." There are many other verses out of the bible that fit what we're all experiencing -- I believe it's truly a battle of good vs. evil!"
—Kate Robertson, Erie Resident



"Aaron Harber's project known as 'Golden Run' is the type of development that brings a positive connotation to the word "Growth." All people are involved and can participate in the planning. The basic style of New Urbanism promotes community and supports the ongoing efforts to reduce adverse effects on the environment."

—Bill Hopkins, Rural Weld County Resident and Community Activist


 

"As a mortgage banker/attorney and as an owner of a "new urbanism" home in the Prospect community located in Longmont, I can unequivacably state that the premises of new urbanism actually work in reality as opposed to theory."

—Colt Hough, Longmont Resident



"I fully support this plan for open access and public comment on your proposal for Golden Run. The Web is a great way to reach many more people than could otherwise be involved, and at a very low cost. Hopefully this will result in such access becoming a formal requirement for all projects in Erie someday."

—Vonalda Utterback, Erie Resident



"Our goal is to help set new standards for growth in Erie and across the Front Range. We want to do this differently. Rather than simply allowing developers to put up homogeneous housing as quickly as possible, we want to demonstrate that communities can ask for more."

—Carl Oldham, General Manager



"Our design shows that it is possible to create and preserve green spaces, maintain view corridors, and minimize traffic while providing a rich social experience and architectural variety in a plan which gives something back to the community that surrounds it."

—Fenno Hoffman, Architect



"This plan will employ a wide variety of designs, colors, and structures. When completed, Golden Run will have the look and feel of Boulder County's 'Old Town' neighborhoods and commercial areas. Our finest communities evolved for decades at a time when resources were scarce and people depended on one another to survive. Form followed function then, and it will again in Golden Run."

—Ed Byrne, Attorney



"Our goals of sustainability - environmentally, economically, and socially - are being met through a number of diverse ways. We are using an incremental approach that will add up to a considerably more efficient, healthier community at all levels."

—Jeff Ruppert, Civil Engineer



"We differ from developers and builders because we are a permanent part of the community. We have watched growth skyrocket in the area and have realized this is one way we can help shape that growth. We can show citizens that it is OK to demand more of developers and builders - that we need to hold them to higher standards."

—Aaron Harber, Owner