Open Space Advisory Board Agenda and Packet 2025 05 14

Home Browse Search

Joint Meeting of Lafayette and Louisville Open Space Advisory Boards March 20, 2025 Page 2 • BioHabitat prepared the Wildlife Plan. They recommended that Lafayette focus on properties with water, starting with Coal Creek. Coal Creek is "loved to death." Susan agreed that Coal Creek is a very important component of all its communities and proposed that the communities work together on the vital resource. • Lynn commented that the Lafayette Board would like to update our acquisition plan. • Casey discussed how Friends of Coal Creek hopes to work with all 6 of the Coal Creek communities to consider creating a formal stream management plan for Coal Creek. He recently met with land managers from Jefferson County, Superior, Louisville, Lafayette and Erie (Boulder was not represented at the meeting) • Social Trails: Lafayette's experience with social trail management: Lexie said Open Space staff is strategically closing social trails based on significance of ecological harm. People react very negatively to having their favorite social trails closed. Current focus on closing small areas with things that are "pokey" to discourage removal. • Louisville has similar issues regarding social trails. They have two Rangers working on this issue in conjunction with the police department. They patrol with mountain bikes and now with e-bikes. D. Budget Priorities & Biggest Challenges • Lafayette discussed the tax funds that have been approved by the citizens in perpetuity to support open space acquisition and management. Louisville has ten-year tax funding. Their goal is to get tax funding in perpetuity approved in 2028. E. Enforcement & Regulations • E-bikes: Louisville has not yet enacted regulations allowing e-bikes on its trails. They are dealing with youth with mo-ped-like bikes "burning out' 6 inch -ditches in the trails. The bikes are not legal but it is hard to enforce the restriction, so they are trying the education route. Lafayette is concerned with people riding Class C E-bikes (very fast) and e-bikes being used by folks who do not understand cycling courtesies. The staff is considering implementing a "use our bell" campaign. Lafayette has similar experience. Police do a good job of enforcement of no -camping regulations on Open Space. 90% of the time the campers move on, but leave their trash. • Unhoused camps: Louisville experiences numerous unhoused camps every summer and they cause significant resource damage. F. Prescribed Fire • Louisville: the City is reluctant to get prescribed burns started again because of the Marshall Fire. Lafayette: An approval process has been recently established to burn Open Spaces (post -Marshall Fire) G. Mutual Conservation Goals • Beavers: Lexie discussed management plans regarding Beavers. The beavers have a dam on Coal Creek at 120th St. The staff has wrapped cotton woods the city wants to keep to prevent Beaver damage. On a helpful note, the beavers have eaten all the crack willow in the area! The Louisville Board expressed interest in exploring how to attract beavers to their stretch of Coal Creek. H. Coal Creek Trail Ordinances • The two boards discussed the prospect of aligning rules and regulations regarding Coal Creek for the entire Coal Creek corridor. I. Consider Identifying Board Individuals to Continue Louisville/Lafayette Collaboration and Information Sharing • The two boards discussed potential joint meetings twice yearly. 14