Jefferson County Open Space announced the formal acquisition of two properties that add to existing parks.
The transactions have been completed on 36 acres near Meyer Ranch Park in Conifer and two large properties totaling 1,036 acres in the Douglas Mountain area in northern Jefferson County.
The Douglas Mountain acquisition was proposed in 2014 and has since added acreage. The properties border each other, and are adjacent to both Golden Gate Canyon Road and Robinson Hill Road. It sits north of Centennial Cone Open Space Park and south of Golden Gate State Park.
Property in the same area was first proposed for Jeffco Open Space Acquisition in 1996 and again in 2004, according to a June release. Public opposition caused the Jeffco Open Space Advisory Committee to table the decision over concerns of traffic and wildfire danger, but this time around, comments were mostly in favor.
“It has been some time since we’ve had the opportunity to preserve large parcels of property for open space,” Tom Hoby, director of Jefferson County Open Space and Parks, said in a release Wednesday. ” I want to acknowledge the wonderful landowners who found Jeffco Open Space to be the right fit for continued land stewardship and our staff that gave these projects all the care and attention they deserved.”
The other acquisition in Conifer will be an addition to Meyer Ranch Open Space Park. It is known as the Pendleton Property north of U.S. 285 and backs up to land owned by Denver Mountain Parks.
Open Space rangers will begin to inventory the land and conduct surveys before the agency moves on to further planning for its use.
Josie Klemaier: 303-954-2465, jklemaier@denverpost.com or @JosieKlemaier
