That's why Park County is working to see that its Strategic Master Plan is a document that can be used for the benefit of the county's residents and landowners for the next 20 years, at a minimum. The main issue, once again, is how to manage the projected growth so that the county can maintain its predominantly rural character and the elements of its unique heritage. However, bringing everyone into consensus about what that entails has been, and continues to be, a very delicate task. The main points of contention are private property rights and the conflict they often generate within the general needs of the community. Covering almost 2,200 square miles, the county embraces an enormous variety of structures, settlements and lifestyles.
Life has a different rhythm, north to south and east to west.
Different things are important to different segments of the population and residents feel those differences must be honored and, when possible, accommodated. Respecting that diversity, consultants devising the Master Plan divided Park County into five sub-areas to address the particular needs and interests of residents in each of those areas. The Master Plan, per public input, seeks to preserve and enhance existing commercial development in the original rural center at the bottom of the hill, although the topography and the North Fork of the South Platte River will probably limit additional development. Design standards are one device residents would like to use to protect this unique community. The plan also calls for creating regulatory incentives to redevelop existing platted parcels in the original area by allowing mixed-use development.