ROCC History
The History of the Ridgway Ouray Community Council 1993 – 2016
(Highlighed in large type are some of the organization’s biggest accomplishments)
Beginning in the early 1990s Ouray County was experiencing unprecedented growth. While there were good land use protections on the books, the old era of mining and ranching and seasonal tourism was transitioning into a development driven economy. Property sales were increasing. Ranches were being subdivided. The county’s Master Plan, relative to Colorado at large, while good, nonetheless needed revisions.
Questions were being asked: was growth really ever going to pay for itself? There was a perception that Ouray County had too long been an old boy network. It was felt reforms were needed and by the fall of 1992, citizens began to organize. Several individuals then decided to form an organizing committee, and eventually a community group that would affiliate with Western Colorado Congress.
The first public meeting of ROCC was held on May 1, 1993 in the Sherbino Theater in Ridgway with a crowd of seventy-five people. ROCC’s membership comprised about forty people by the end of the first meeting. At that time the ROCC members initially identified three issues to build campaigns on: (1) Dark Sky regulations, (2) land use planning in the Town of Ridgway and (3) recycling. But these issues were soon overwhelmed by the issue that helped build ROCC and defined why it was a new type of local group, a group that was independent and could build power for its members.
In July 1993 City Market, a subsidiary of Kroger Corporation, announced plans to build a large supermarket in Ridgway, the town having a population of less than 500 at the time. ROCC members created a campaign strategy to protect local businesses and limit town growth, organizing an anti-big box campaign with the objective of limiting the size of any store. A major action during this campaign was when ROCC organized a forum about the proposed City Market, a forum co-hosted by the Ridgway Area Chamber of Commerce. During this time ROCC members also collected over 700 names on petitions opposing the proposed superstore. The ROCC campaign succeeded when, over six months later, the Ridgway Town Council voted to approve, with several conditions, a limit on the store’s size from 40,000 to 25,000 square feet. At that point the company decided to build its store somewhere else, ultimately constructing it on US Hwy. 550 on the south side of the City of Montrose.
Also in 1994, ROCC did win on one of the issues originally identified at its founding, when the Town of Ridgway enacted a Light Pollution ordinance. These regulations required that light from outdoor fixtures not shine directly off the property.
In the early years, ROCC members were also involved with public lands issues. In the mid-1990s, ROCC twice led successful campaigns to stop the Forest Service from unsound land exchanges with private owners at Red Mountain Pass. These campaigns signaled the beginning of long-term action by ROCC members on such issues. At the time, much work on the public lands was organized by the WCC Forest Management Committee, a committee that was very focused on conservation of forest resources. But during the 1990s, ROCC’s campaigns typically focused on recreation travel management and other recreational issues.
In 1996 ROCC held a series of Costs of Growth Forums and organized several Candidate Debates, events that earned ROCC important community recognition and emphasized early on the growing quality of life and fiscal concerns of accelerating growth.
Also in 1996 ROCC worked to stop Cyanide Heap Leach Mining in Ouray County
ROCC organized a Sustainable Living and Energy Fair in 1997.
In 1998 ROCC won the Governor’s Smart Growth and Development Award for its series of growth forums
Also during that year ROCC was proactive in the County Master Plan Review and Revision process, but its main victory that year was when the group pushed for and won a moratorium on new subdivision approvals in the Town of Ridgway. This campaign was launched when developers proposed two subdivisions that would have tripled the town’s population at build-out.
In 1998 ROCC held its first Adopt-a-Highway Clean-Up, an event that continues until today.
In 1999 ROCC public lands activists worked to help win an Uncompahgre Travel Management Plan. In particular, this campaign involved Dallas and Nate Creek Trails as well as Cimarron Ridge. Unfortunately, this campaign did not end, for the motorized users groups appealed the Forest Services’ travel plan, resulting in a protracted series of administrative actions and threats of litigation. The ultimate victory came in 2004 when the motorized users ended their efforts to have the Travel Plan thrown out. The preservation of the Dallas Trail System was important as it was being destroyed by uncontrolled ORV use. ROCC fought hard and won the appeal with the Forest Service to remove motorized use and preserve the trail for hiking only.
Also in 1999 another WCC affiliate, the Ouray County Alliance (OCA), merged with ROCC.
ROCC won another victory in 2002 when Ouray County enacted a set of outdoor lighting regulations to prevent light pollution. The draft regulations had been created and offered by ROCC’s Dark Skies Committee. The campaign took several years to win and was capped when ROCC members established a fund to pay to outfit lights with shields for any residents who requested help.
In 2003 the ROCC Recycling Committee won a green campaign when the Town of Ridgway implemented curbside recycling. The victory followed the mailing to Ridgway residents of a survey on recycling by ROCC. These results were presented to the Town Council, which then placed the proposal on the ballot. Ridgway voters approved curbside recycling.
In May 2005, the Bureau of Land Management announced an auction of a number of parcels for oil and gas development, including some in Cow Creek near Ridgway. ROCC organized a protest to the BLM, with area ranchers joining in. This effort won the support of Congressman John Salazar, and the sale was delayed.
That year ROCC continued its engagement with the county planning process by collaborating with the developer of a very large tract subdivision on its wildlife plan.
These parcels were later auctioned, but not before ROCC launched an ultimately successful two-year campaign resulting in Ouray County approving oil and gas regulations for its Land Use Code in early 2007. As of March 2008, there are no active oil and gas wells and the BLM has not offered a single parcel for auction since August 2005. The regulations are now viewed as providing some of the best protections for property owners in the state of Colorado.
On February 6, 2006 the Board of County Commissioners agreed to sponsor a study that would provide vital information on how Ouray County will look in the future through a series of alternative scenarios and projections pertaining to fiscal and economic impacts of zoning regulation changes. The study was conducted by Dr. David M. Theobald, PhD, of Colorado State University. Selected stakeholders included a balanced mix of environmentalists, ranchers, developers and elected officials from the towns. But before either of the studies had even been initiated, the BOCC considered approval of a developer led proposal to amend the zoning regulations.
ROCC stopped a potentially disastrous zoning proposal in 2006: The proposal, if enacted, would have resulted in the doubling of the density of open lands, including the alpine, high mesa and valley zones; would eliminate public hearings for some applicants, at the county planning commission stage, even on very large developments; and would likely have cost the Ouray County more than it gets in increased property tax revenue. It was believed that such a drastic change could have contributed to permanent impacts on existing ranches due to unbridled checkerboard development in close proximity.
The proposal galvanized many ROCC members and county citizens to gather over 700 petition signatures and letters in opposition to the proposal in just six days. Over 400 of members of the public attended a hastily scheduled special public hearing that was intended to give a “fast track” consideration of the disfavored proposal. However, with the voiced opposition readily apparent, the developer withdrew the proposal and the hearing was abruptly ended. And because the County Commissioners and Planning Commission were at a crossroads in making decisions about how to direct growth in the County, ROCC’s leadership in this campaign could well be regarded as one of its crowning achievements.
ROCC’s membership at the end of 2006 was 349, an all-time high that represented about ten percent of the total county population.
In the fall of 2007 ROCC began a campaign to win permanent wilderness status for the Sneffels Addition wilderness. In November 2007 the Ouray BOCC endorsed the proposal. Also that year ROCC pushed for the enactment of a Green Building Code in the town of Ridgway.
The organization has consistently monitored and contributed to the dialogue on much of the municipal and county legislation and land use planning initiatives with a view towards limiting or eliminating land use code loopholes, strengthening protections for property owners while encouraging sustainability, and insisting on transparency in government decision making.
Uncompahgre Valley Association (UVA), Friends of River Uncompahgre (FORU), Uncompahgre Watershed Partnership (UWP) and ROCC members worked to establish a comprehensive Uncompahgre Watershed planning initiative.
Worked on the creation of the 210,172-acre Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area, which includes the 66,280-acre Dominguez Canyon Wilderness that was created by the 2009 Omnibus Public Lands Management Act and is part of the Bureau of Land Management's National Conservation Lands.
In 2013 ROCC participated in the Adopt-a-Park program by adopting Hartwell Park and Cottonwood Creek Park in Ridgway. One of our projects was to sand and stain the picnic tables and the entire Gazebo on the north end of Hartwell park. We also helped weed the landscaping boxes. In Cottonwood Creek Park ROCC cleaned up the creek of garbage and discarded items.
In 2016 ROCC was the driving force behind the coalition "Keep OURay Alpine Wild" which campaigned to protect the high alpine zone (above 9480 feet) in Ouray County from potentially rampant development on almost a thousand mining claims. Keep OURay Alpine Wild organized large numbers of citizens to testify at workshops and hearings. This resulted in the Ouray Board of County Commissioners voting unanimously to adopt a strong code that keeps residential density low and as unobtrusive as possible below tree line and prohibits it entirely in the tundra above tree line. The results of this campaign will protect our historic mining heritage, the beauty and ecosystems of our high alpine terrain, the Uncompahgre watershed and our tourist economy.
Most noteworthy ROCC has consistently upheld the structure of grassroots democracy. Open to the public, the organization's members choose they own campaigns. In the span of a few years, ROCC proved that preserving a way of life in the face of demographic and economic change could happen from the grassroots.
(Highlighed in large type are some of the organization’s biggest accomplishments)
Beginning in the early 1990s Ouray County was experiencing unprecedented growth. While there were good land use protections on the books, the old era of mining and ranching and seasonal tourism was transitioning into a development driven economy. Property sales were increasing. Ranches were being subdivided. The county’s Master Plan, relative to Colorado at large, while good, nonetheless needed revisions.
Questions were being asked: was growth really ever going to pay for itself? There was a perception that Ouray County had too long been an old boy network. It was felt reforms were needed and by the fall of 1992, citizens began to organize. Several individuals then decided to form an organizing committee, and eventually a community group that would affiliate with Western Colorado Congress.
The first public meeting of ROCC was held on May 1, 1993 in the Sherbino Theater in Ridgway with a crowd of seventy-five people. ROCC’s membership comprised about forty people by the end of the first meeting. At that time the ROCC members initially identified three issues to build campaigns on: (1) Dark Sky regulations, (2) land use planning in the Town of Ridgway and (3) recycling. But these issues were soon overwhelmed by the issue that helped build ROCC and defined why it was a new type of local group, a group that was independent and could build power for its members.
In July 1993 City Market, a subsidiary of Kroger Corporation, announced plans to build a large supermarket in Ridgway, the town having a population of less than 500 at the time. ROCC members created a campaign strategy to protect local businesses and limit town growth, organizing an anti-big box campaign with the objective of limiting the size of any store. A major action during this campaign was when ROCC organized a forum about the proposed City Market, a forum co-hosted by the Ridgway Area Chamber of Commerce. During this time ROCC members also collected over 700 names on petitions opposing the proposed superstore. The ROCC campaign succeeded when, over six months later, the Ridgway Town Council voted to approve, with several conditions, a limit on the store’s size from 40,000 to 25,000 square feet. At that point the company decided to build its store somewhere else, ultimately constructing it on US Hwy. 550 on the south side of the City of Montrose.
Also in 1994, ROCC did win on one of the issues originally identified at its founding, when the Town of Ridgway enacted a Light Pollution ordinance. These regulations required that light from outdoor fixtures not shine directly off the property.
In the early years, ROCC members were also involved with public lands issues. In the mid-1990s, ROCC twice led successful campaigns to stop the Forest Service from unsound land exchanges with private owners at Red Mountain Pass. These campaigns signaled the beginning of long-term action by ROCC members on such issues. At the time, much work on the public lands was organized by the WCC Forest Management Committee, a committee that was very focused on conservation of forest resources. But during the 1990s, ROCC’s campaigns typically focused on recreation travel management and other recreational issues.
In 1996 ROCC held a series of Costs of Growth Forums and organized several Candidate Debates, events that earned ROCC important community recognition and emphasized early on the growing quality of life and fiscal concerns of accelerating growth.
Also in 1996 ROCC worked to stop Cyanide Heap Leach Mining in Ouray County
ROCC organized a Sustainable Living and Energy Fair in 1997.
In 1998 ROCC won the Governor’s Smart Growth and Development Award for its series of growth forums
Also during that year ROCC was proactive in the County Master Plan Review and Revision process, but its main victory that year was when the group pushed for and won a moratorium on new subdivision approvals in the Town of Ridgway. This campaign was launched when developers proposed two subdivisions that would have tripled the town’s population at build-out.
In 1998 ROCC held its first Adopt-a-Highway Clean-Up, an event that continues until today.
In 1999 ROCC public lands activists worked to help win an Uncompahgre Travel Management Plan. In particular, this campaign involved Dallas and Nate Creek Trails as well as Cimarron Ridge. Unfortunately, this campaign did not end, for the motorized users groups appealed the Forest Services’ travel plan, resulting in a protracted series of administrative actions and threats of litigation. The ultimate victory came in 2004 when the motorized users ended their efforts to have the Travel Plan thrown out. The preservation of the Dallas Trail System was important as it was being destroyed by uncontrolled ORV use. ROCC fought hard and won the appeal with the Forest Service to remove motorized use and preserve the trail for hiking only.
Also in 1999 another WCC affiliate, the Ouray County Alliance (OCA), merged with ROCC.
ROCC won another victory in 2002 when Ouray County enacted a set of outdoor lighting regulations to prevent light pollution. The draft regulations had been created and offered by ROCC’s Dark Skies Committee. The campaign took several years to win and was capped when ROCC members established a fund to pay to outfit lights with shields for any residents who requested help.
In 2003 the ROCC Recycling Committee won a green campaign when the Town of Ridgway implemented curbside recycling. The victory followed the mailing to Ridgway residents of a survey on recycling by ROCC. These results were presented to the Town Council, which then placed the proposal on the ballot. Ridgway voters approved curbside recycling.
In May 2005, the Bureau of Land Management announced an auction of a number of parcels for oil and gas development, including some in Cow Creek near Ridgway. ROCC organized a protest to the BLM, with area ranchers joining in. This effort won the support of Congressman John Salazar, and the sale was delayed.
That year ROCC continued its engagement with the county planning process by collaborating with the developer of a very large tract subdivision on its wildlife plan.
These parcels were later auctioned, but not before ROCC launched an ultimately successful two-year campaign resulting in Ouray County approving oil and gas regulations for its Land Use Code in early 2007. As of March 2008, there are no active oil and gas wells and the BLM has not offered a single parcel for auction since August 2005. The regulations are now viewed as providing some of the best protections for property owners in the state of Colorado.
On February 6, 2006 the Board of County Commissioners agreed to sponsor a study that would provide vital information on how Ouray County will look in the future through a series of alternative scenarios and projections pertaining to fiscal and economic impacts of zoning regulation changes. The study was conducted by Dr. David M. Theobald, PhD, of Colorado State University. Selected stakeholders included a balanced mix of environmentalists, ranchers, developers and elected officials from the towns. But before either of the studies had even been initiated, the BOCC considered approval of a developer led proposal to amend the zoning regulations.
ROCC stopped a potentially disastrous zoning proposal in 2006: The proposal, if enacted, would have resulted in the doubling of the density of open lands, including the alpine, high mesa and valley zones; would eliminate public hearings for some applicants, at the county planning commission stage, even on very large developments; and would likely have cost the Ouray County more than it gets in increased property tax revenue. It was believed that such a drastic change could have contributed to permanent impacts on existing ranches due to unbridled checkerboard development in close proximity.
The proposal galvanized many ROCC members and county citizens to gather over 700 petition signatures and letters in opposition to the proposal in just six days. Over 400 of members of the public attended a hastily scheduled special public hearing that was intended to give a “fast track” consideration of the disfavored proposal. However, with the voiced opposition readily apparent, the developer withdrew the proposal and the hearing was abruptly ended. And because the County Commissioners and Planning Commission were at a crossroads in making decisions about how to direct growth in the County, ROCC’s leadership in this campaign could well be regarded as one of its crowning achievements.
ROCC’s membership at the end of 2006 was 349, an all-time high that represented about ten percent of the total county population.
In the fall of 2007 ROCC began a campaign to win permanent wilderness status for the Sneffels Addition wilderness. In November 2007 the Ouray BOCC endorsed the proposal. Also that year ROCC pushed for the enactment of a Green Building Code in the town of Ridgway.
The organization has consistently monitored and contributed to the dialogue on much of the municipal and county legislation and land use planning initiatives with a view towards limiting or eliminating land use code loopholes, strengthening protections for property owners while encouraging sustainability, and insisting on transparency in government decision making.
Uncompahgre Valley Association (UVA), Friends of River Uncompahgre (FORU), Uncompahgre Watershed Partnership (UWP) and ROCC members worked to establish a comprehensive Uncompahgre Watershed planning initiative.
Worked on the creation of the 210,172-acre Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area, which includes the 66,280-acre Dominguez Canyon Wilderness that was created by the 2009 Omnibus Public Lands Management Act and is part of the Bureau of Land Management's National Conservation Lands.
In 2013 ROCC participated in the Adopt-a-Park program by adopting Hartwell Park and Cottonwood Creek Park in Ridgway. One of our projects was to sand and stain the picnic tables and the entire Gazebo on the north end of Hartwell park. We also helped weed the landscaping boxes. In Cottonwood Creek Park ROCC cleaned up the creek of garbage and discarded items.
In 2016 ROCC was the driving force behind the coalition "Keep OURay Alpine Wild" which campaigned to protect the high alpine zone (above 9480 feet) in Ouray County from potentially rampant development on almost a thousand mining claims. Keep OURay Alpine Wild organized large numbers of citizens to testify at workshops and hearings. This resulted in the Ouray Board of County Commissioners voting unanimously to adopt a strong code that keeps residential density low and as unobtrusive as possible below tree line and prohibits it entirely in the tundra above tree line. The results of this campaign will protect our historic mining heritage, the beauty and ecosystems of our high alpine terrain, the Uncompahgre watershed and our tourist economy.
Most noteworthy ROCC has consistently upheld the structure of grassroots democracy. Open to the public, the organization's members choose they own campaigns. In the span of a few years, ROCC proved that preserving a way of life in the face of demographic and economic change could happen from the grassroots.
