JCHC Members Continue to Work to Preserve Equine Properties and Trail Access
Jefferson County Horse Council was very active in 2024 working for our Equine Community. We worked to raise our profile and to promote the positive impacts equines have on equestrians and the general public. Following is a summary of some of our activities:
Provided input on Bear Creek Lake Park and its importance to our community. While we recognize the need for additional water storage, we oppose the expansion of the lake in this park as it would flood most of the trails.
Our members provided data to Jeffco to be included as an Equine/Agriculture Overlay on the county’s interactive map.
Met with the Director of Planning and Transportation to discuss the concept.
Met with Chairperson of the Planning Commission to discuss the concept and other innovative ideas to further the preservation of equines and equine habitat in the county.
JCHC’s Land Use Committee has been extremely active in providing input into the county initiative to revise the Comprehensive Master Plan and the regulations that govern land use and development. Their activities include the following:
Attended numerous Together Jeffco Open Houses and Roundtables to provide input.
Hosted the Long Range Planner leading Together Jeffco and the Chairperson of the Planning Commission to present information about Together Jeffco and the county’s land use processes at a JCHC Membership Meeting.
Continued JCHC’s commitment to regularly review and comment on plan and regulatory documents as they are published.
Attended the Wheat Ridge Master Plan Open house providing equine oriented input.
In keeping with the collaborative nature of our efforts, JCHC members held discussions with several other stakeholders and organizations who share in our mission, including:
Jefferson County Historical Commission - We both have a mission to preserve our western heritage and hope to work together on future projects.
Department of Agriculture - We both have a mission to support agriculture and equines are considered part of the livestock arm of DOA. We were interested in possible funding sources for some of our future initiatives.
Engaged with our state and county representatives and candidates:
In conjunction with Community Equestrian, participated in an equine promotional table at a recent candidate forum featuring county and state candidates.
Also working jointly with Community Equestrian, secured the support of our state representative to sponsor an Equine Bill of Rights in 2025.
JCHC submitted position statements and testified at key land use case hearings that will impact the equine community:
Table Mountain Ranch - Testified at both the Planning Commission and Board of County Commissioners hearings. Both commissions were very receptive and gained an entirely new perspective on the importance of equines to the community. Along with Community Equestrian we successfully worked with the developer to secure horse trailer parking to access North Table Mountain from the north and continue to work with the developer to relocate the TMR indoor arena to a new site for public use.
Submitted position statements on the Acme Clay Mine and the McIntyre Mega-Warehouse.