Public Comments

I disagree with the first staff plan that will group Fort Collins with the 4th district. This will split Fort Collins away from the rest of Larimer County and the front range and group it will rural eastern Colorado. Fort Collins shares much more in common with other front range cities like Loveland, Longmont and Boulder than it shares with Fort Morgan or Sterling. Even given the agricultural history of Colorado State University the present population of Fort Collins doesn't have much of an agricultural interest because it has become a suburban city like much of the front range. If the commission wanted to group agricultural focused population centers together it would make more sense to add Greeley to the 4th district instead of Fort Collins.

The drafted redistricting of Fort Collins OUT of its' current congressional district and attaching it to Weld County makes no sense as the state needs congressional representation to reflect the culture and economy of the area. Fort Collins' culture and economy is as a growing urban area concerned with the issues inherent: water, environment, housing, arts, tourism, urban business etc. and the issues most prominent in the eastern part of the state are more rural, agricultural, oil/gas issues. These are not shared concerns that would be smartly represented in this proposed congressional redistricting.

PLEASE, I urge you, to NOT tie Boulder County to Routt County and Moffat County. Boulder County does not share similar anything with us in Routt County and Moffat County. I'm not even sure how this is getting proposed. We are rural, they are not. Our economies are different. Our landscapes are different. We are all different. By including them in our district, they will be in control of the majority and therefore will make all decisions for our counties. Please consider tying in other rural or resort counties.

I strongly object to Fort Collins being separated from Larimer County in the redistricting map.

Dear Redistricting Commissioners, I write to you today to comment on the proposed Congressional map that was released on September 3rd. This proposed map currently includes all of Douglas County with counties on the eastern plains, I believe this map would create a situation where the interests of residents Northern Douglas County and the eastern plans could not be properly represented. Northern Douglas County (Castle Rock, Parker, Highlands Ranch, and Lone Tree) in the past 20 years have largely become the far south Denver suburbs with many of its residents working in Denver or other Denver suburbs, the residents of Northern Douglas County have much more in common with residents of other Denver suburbs than they do with our fellow Coloradans living on the eastern plains. Including Northern Douglas County in a district with the eastern plans would cause a situation where the Congressional Representative has two vastly different constituencies and I believe that both constituencies would suffer as a result. In the preliminary maps the Commission released a few months ago much of northern Douglas County was included in a district with Jefferson County, I believe that this is the better option as it includes two large suburban Denver counties in one district which would allow the representative to have a community with more shared interests. I would implore the Commission to reconsider its placement of Northern Douglas County in a district that includes most of the eastern plains and instead include it in a district with other suburban Denver counties to allow similar communities of interest in that district. Sincerely, Bradley Bruchs Castle Rock, CO

As a fourth generation Fort Collins resident, I am appalled by the efforts to redistrict with communities with absolutely NO community shared interests. Fort Collins is a community that thrives on education(CSU, Front Range) progressive businesses (alternative energy, breweries etc.) tourism, arts, museums, entertainment venues and a commitment to future growth and planning for those needs. The almost entirely rural communities included in the redistricting plan have none of these interests and are stuck in outdated paradigms and dying because of it. REALLY? There is absolutely no logic in this plan. Is this the same old political gerrymandering? Is Fort Collins becoming too blue or even purple for your interests?

I am writing in favor of the most recent proposed map which creates a new district 2 for northwestern Colorado. The majority of the people in the proposed district 2 are united by the need to address and prepare for the loss of water in our corner of the state. Although all of the Western Slope has been affected, northwest Colorado will continue to be most affected because monsoonal moisture during the summer months is retreating further to the south. And, although Boulder and Larimer counties don't presently have the same drought conditions, the quality of life in those counties depends, to a considerable degree, on what happens in the rest of the proposed district. The loss of water affects hunting and every type of recreational activity, as well as air quality and all activities that depend on water flowing out of our northwest mountains onto the plains portions of Larimer and Boulder counties.

I just surveyed the new possible congressional district map and was shocked that my area of Fort Collins was placed with the eastern part of the state. Fort Collins has interests similar to other Front Range communities west of I-75 including educational institutions, mountain recreation, homeless problems, tourism, the environment, and forest fire issues. I-75 pretty much represents the dividing line between this lifestyle and the interests of those east of I-75 which would be issues of fossil fuel companies, ranching, and agriculture. I lived in central PA in a college town surrounded by a rural area. The overwhelming population was rural and I never felt like my Congressional representatives were concerned with issues important to me. I feel that you have separated Fort Collins by coming across the I-75 line and put me again in a Congressional district where issues important to me would be of no concern to my representative.

I do not think Boulder and Larimer County should be part of the Western "rural" 2nd district The interests of all counties in the 2nd district do not align well. The Northwestern part of the state would be better represented separate from Larimer and Boulder. Perhaps Larimer and boulder county should be part of the Weld and Broomfield 8th District. Thank you for your time.

Redistricting commission, First of all, thank you for all the time you have been devoting to this effort and everything you are doing to make equitable and fair state legislature districts. I’m aware that the preliminary June maps are not final but thought it was important to voice my concern related to these early redistricting maps related to the urban neighborhoods of the pikes peak region. When I dug in I was disheartened by the lack of community continuity reflected in the Colorado State house districts for Colorado Springs. The preliminary maps split the urban core of Colorado Springs into 3 separate districts, and at a micro level my particular westside neighborhood is even split. The needs an concerns of rural and suburban districts are different from those of urban districts such as the historic traditional core development of Colorado Springs, Old Colorado City, and Manitou Springs. My family chose to live in a more walkable, bikeable, urban part of Colorado Springs and it is important that our state representative is responsible for districts developed in similar manners. When I looked at the preliminary map I was caught off guard by how closely the CO House district 49 map looked like the El Paso County district 3 county commissioner map which was drawn by the county commissioners in order to guarantee that the district would remain a non-competitive Republican held district. I am hopeful that this district will be redrawn to be competitive as is a goal of this commission and to better capture similar communities. As stated above this house district map splits my near westside neighborhood. I've included important neighborhood boundaries below: - I25/Monument Creek/railroad (eastern boundary of Colorado Springs westside) - Western border of incorporated Manitou Springs (Western boundary of historical/urban development of the pikes peak region west of Monument Creek) - Bear creek park/Gold Camp RD (to the south) - Filmore St (to the North) Related to representing the westside of Colorado Springs accurately the Organization of Westside Neighbors has as map of the 6 separate westside neighborhoods they represent https://own-cos.org/neighborhoods/ Map available here - https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1ng_ksdlp45ce5hwSXFIs0AhxBhR2hbTR&usp=sharing In the interest of full disclosure I am a member of the Organization of Westside Neighbors board as well as a member of the Bike Colorado Springs Executive Committee but these statements above are made on my own behalf.