KEEP

MISSOURI HEIGHTS

RURAL

Our Mission


To preserve the rural character, sustainability, safety and quality of life of Missouri Heights, an elevated desert with a fragile environment.


Our purpose is to protect against unbridled development and other incompatible land uses as well as actions that put a strain on vital resources and infrastructure, especially to preserve water and prevent wildfire.


Overall, we are opposed to measures that negatively impact the serene character and safety of the area and its wildlife habitats.


As a grass roots organization, we will educate the public, advocate for the community and bring the neighborhood together.

No positions in this organization are paid. All administrative functions are on a volunteer basis. Any funds raised go directly to the defense of our collective rural way of life and the preservation of our property rights.

Please Donate!

  • Our successful campaign to deny the Ascendigo Land Use Change Application was expensive.

  • Our success was due, in a large part, to the experts we hired to review, report and testify on the technical aspects of the Land Use Change Application.

  • Hiring these experts, early on, likely saved us the massive expense of potential future litigation.

  • Check out our Financials Page and please help donate down our >$11,000 shortfall.

WHY OUR WORK CONTINUES

Keep Missouri Heights Rural's opposition to the Ascendigo Ranch informed the Garfield County BOCC's ultimate denial of the Land Use Change Application. We support the board's decision. They made the right decision. We also support Ascendigo's mission and wish them the best in their future endeavors.


Our work is not done. We must stay stridently vigilant to identify new threats to our collective way of life and to preserve our property rights. We will continue our efforts to KEEP MISSOURI HEIGHTS RURAL. To this end, we will watch for all new proposed development in the Missouri Heights areas of both Eagle and Garfield Counties, and we will respond appropriately and effectively.

Donations are needed and greatly appreciated.

Click here to read more

The organization is planning to continue in operation with its stated purpose of protecting the rural nature of Missouri Heights.

KMOHR will continue operating at a very low level of activity and is applying for 501(c)3 status so that donations, even if made prior to this date, will be tax deductible.

You can request the accounts payable spreadsheet by contacting keepmohrural@gmail.com. We are being totally transparent about our outstanding debts.

Even if you have not been an active supporter of KMOHR in the past, or were indifferent to the Ascendigo application, you are a direct beneficiary of the decisions to deny the application by:

  • Keeping large scale commercial enterprises out of Missouri Heights

  • Preserving the residential and rural zoning and way of life

  • Retaining present traffic volume

  • Minimizing fire dangers.

  • Preserving community and neighborhood values

  • Establishing a precedent in Garfield County that will discourage any attempt at a similar commercial development

Please consider a financial investment in the effort to preserve our rural, residential community. We will take any size donation.

WHAT INITIATED OUR GROUP?

Ascendigo is a well-respected, nonprofit organization in the Roaring Fork Valley. The autistic children they provide services for, and their selfless staff, deserve a place to call home.

Unfortunately, their vision for Ascendigo Ranch in Missouri Heights was simply not compatible with the current zoning regulations and the limited natural resources in the area.

Click here to read more.

A requirement for compatibility of land use assures landowners that the risk of adverse effects due to future development is minimal. Requiring compatibility is a way to offer predictability to landowners about the future land development in their neighborhood.

Ascendigo Ranch had filed a 700-plus page, convoluted, “limited impact” review application with Garfield County, which can be found in its entirety on the Garfield County planning department’s website. There were inaccuracies in this application that, we strongly believed, invalidated their numbers.

  • According to the exhibits filed with this application, their idea of “limited impact” included almost 50,000 square feet of new structures, including a 14,000-square-foot, 50-foot high activity center.

  • Their peak months of operation would consist of more than 100 people onsite daily. There would be numerous vehicles coming and going throughout the day, at least tripling the local traffic volume.

  • Plans also included almost 100 parking spaces.

  • The camp would have multiple daily deliveries, camper day trips, etc.

  • Also proposed was a 1- to 2-acre pond for aquatic activities. They had also committed to offering year-round programming and had reserved the right to offer the property to outside organizations for other uses as they saw fit.

This type of heavy commercial use is not compatible with the rural residential zoning of Missouri Heights, as outlined in Garfield County’s growth plan. Ascendigo is an admirable organization, but we said no to Ascendigo in Missouri Heights.

WHY WE WERE CONCERNED

This proposed facility would negatively impact Missouri Heights because it would be:

  • Incompatible with adjacent land uses

  • A significant negative impact on water resources

  • An enormous increase to existing traffic

  • A strain on the currently inadequate road infrastructure

  • A strain on services

  • A significant factor in dealing with potential wildfires

The corporation’s purpose for this land did not meet the definition of “Educational Use,” yet it was the stated purpose for the change in zoning.

SUMMARY

  • Major concerns existed with the proposed facility

  • The Corporation failed to reach out to a majority of the property owners (stakeholders) in Missouri Heights.

  • The Corporation’s story had changed significantly from July 2020 to the filing of the application.

  • Little control existed for any future expansion.

  • This commercial development would have impacted us on a daily basis and would have had a significant implications on the future development of Missouri Heights.

  • We support the board's decision. They made the right decision. We also support Ascendigo's mission and wish them the best in their future endeavors.