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Fish Hatchery - Current Updates

 

Timeline of Project Steps (most recent updates first) & Narrative Updates

  • April 2025 - July 2025
    • Ongoing Work: 
      • The development team continued weekly meetings as an entire group, and more frequently based on project need. 
        • Planned development: about 117 units total
        • 40-50 units targeted as rental units through 9% Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC), serving households between 30%-80% AMI.
        • Remaining units planned for attainable homeownership.
        • Conducted neighborhood meetings to gather community feedback, which primarily centered on concerns about traffic, wildlife, evacuation routes, density, and wetlands.
        • Despite low participation in the community survey, feedback at meetings was generally positive, especially regarding reduced density and preservation along the river.
        • Plans include continued neighborhood engagement throughout the planning process, beyond code requirements.
        • Water Pressure Analysis: Confirmed adequate existing water capacity for domestic and fire suppression needs, with potential booster systems for some buildings.
        • Fire Hydrant Testing completed.
        • Traffic studies conducted based on feedback from CDOT.
        • Adjusted internal road network design to accommodate minimum lot size requirements.
        • Ongoing discussions regarding a potential trail connection and emergency egress with a neighboring landowner.
        • Engaged with National Park Service (NPS) on road and utility development, aiming to stay under a $500,000 budget threshold.
        • Conducted wetland analysis to ensure minimal impact within required setbacks.
        • Commissioned Wildland & Urban Interface consultant for wildfire prevention and safety planning.
        • Completed asbestos testing and initiated cultural, archaeological, and architectural review.
        • Received initial pricing feedback from three general contractors for financial modeling and feasibility analysis, focusing on cost efficiency.
        • Received expert feedback cautioning against overly unique lot layouts due to potential investment and operational risks.
        • Floodplain and Zoning Adjustments
        • Initiated a rezoning request from older FEMA floodplain maps to the updated 2021 Draft FEMA floodplain map, accurately reflecting current river path and enhancing long-term resident safety.
        • This adjustment will also eliminate split zoning on individual lots, simplifying future regulatory compliance.
        • Approvals & Submissions
        • Provided progress updates to the Town Board, receiving positive feedback and limited questions.
        • Preparing initial formal application submission to Community Development, targeted to be completed by the next board meeting cycle.
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • November 2024 - January 2025: 
    • Ongoing Work:
      • The development team continued weekly meetings. 
      • Given the complexity of the site, and EPHA and the Town of Estes Parks desire to be sensitive to all aspects of potential impact, work in the past few months has included engaging the following list of consultants: 
        • (Paid): Traffic, Wetlands, Wildlife, Cultural and Historic Review, Land Planning Group, Civil Engineer, Landscape Architect, Geotechnical Engineer, Geohazard Evaluation, Phase 1 Environmental, Surveyor, Wildfire Professional, Asbestos, Domestic and Fire Flow Water Capacity and Pressure Analysis
        • (Non-Paid): Community Members and Neighbors in the Fall River Corridors, Rocky Mountain National Park, Estes Valley Fire Protection District, Estes Park Police Department, Estes Park Community Development Staff, Estes Park Power and Communications Staff, Estes Park Utilities Staff, Town of Estes Park Transportation Staff, Estes Park School District Transportation Department, State Historical Preservation Office.  
      • With all of the requisite consultants on board, significant progress has been made working through the due diligence requirements. 
      • In the middle of December 2024 we closed our online community survey and have taken that feedback into consideration with our preliminary site designs. 
        • Key pieces of feedback requiring site design changes:
          • Adjusting the site for placement of RMNP owned land. (dirt road through the existing site).
          • Adjusting the site for wildlife and wetlands setbacks. 
          • Adjusting of the site layout based on community feedback. 
          • Adjusting the site based on Wildland Urban Interface Code (WUI).  
      • Anticipated next steps juggling the myriad of moving parts:
        • Wednesday February 19th public evacuation meeting 
        • Follow-up meeting with RMNP regarding owed strip of land through the site and legal ramification of use of land. 
        • Updated milestone schedule sent to Larimer Country for extension request of Larimer County Funds. 
        • Design team working on plans which may be provided to general contractors for schematic level pricing estimates. 
        • Engagement in additional consultants:
          • Fire Specialist to assist in creating safe and wildfire resistant community
          • Water Flow Analysis
          • Asbestos
          • Section 106 evaluation to examine historical and cultural significance.
        • Targeting our second neighborhood meeting in late March or early April in which we plan to review the following:
          •  First public site design layout (still conceptual and expected to change). 
          • General progress on due diligence. 
          • Survey result summary. 
          • Review of anticipated timeline and next steps. 
          • Community feedback.
          • Additional items as needed. 
  • September/October 2024: 
    • September: 
      • The development team continued weekly meetings. 
      • A wetlands study was completed 
      • Traffic counts were taken both for weekdays and weekend traffic patterns taking pre-timed entry and post-timed entry into account. (September is historically and consistently the second heaviest traffic into RMNP) 
      • Background and discovery activities regarding the site continued, including but not limited to discussions wildlife patterns, general wetland and river related concerns, light pollution, 
    • October: 
      • Wetlands study follow-up and discussion of findings and associated limitations. 
      • Discussions centered around development code restrictions potentially limiting the design options specifically in regards to the variety of housing types and their placement on the site. 
      • Preliminary site plan sketching took place with initial site constraints identified. 
      • Website information transitioned to EPHA. 
  • September 2024: Initial Outreach focused on immediate neighbors occurred on September 5, 2024 at the Estes Park United Methodist Church. The presentation included an introduction to the design team and provided an opportunity for the neighbors to ask questions and provide feedback to the project team. 
  • July 2024: Selection and kickoff engagement with Pel-Ona Architects and Urbanists to lead the design and entitlement for the Fish Hatcher Neighborhood. Pel-Ona's RFP
  • April 2024: EPHA issues Request for Proposal (RFP) for land planning, landscape architecture, and entitlement services. RFP Document
  • March 2024: Town of Estes Park and Estes Park Housing Authority (EPHA) enter into a Memorandum of Understanding as the developer of the Fish Hatchery Project and as a sub-award grantee of ARPA funds dedicated to the project. Resolution 33-24 
  • March 2024: Town of Estes Park awarded American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds from Larimer County for design and public outreach work. Resolution 19-24
  • October 2022: Rezone of Parcel Completed Ordinance No 17-12