PrivateTrail Sparks Public Debate

This issue made it onto both 7News and The Denver Post. The Denver Post article is excellent and frames the situation very well.

Highlands Ranch - If Ben Lockett strolls down his street in the Castle Pines North subdivision and onto the Wildcat Mountain Trail, he would be walking on the wrong side of the law.

Neighboring Highlands Ranch owns the newest trail system to spill from the region's homes and shopping centers into the unspoiled foothills, lush with scenic vistas, deer, elk, bear, snakes and fowl.

When it opened earlier this month, Gary Debus, the manager of Highlands Ranch Community Association, invited National Geographic to take a picture.

But without an invitation from a dues-paying member of the Highlands Ranch Community Association, the Wildcat Mountain Trail is off-limits.

Meanwhile, Douglas County soon will start work on a 4-mile public trail that would intersect with the 5-mile private network, cumulatively called the Wildcat Mountain Trail.

The county expected the two trails to complement each other, said Ron Benson, Douglas County's director of parks and trails.

Designating the Wildcat Trail private was a curve Benson didn't see coming.

"We wanted to open both trails at the same time," he said. "They didn't want to do that. I see why now: They wanted theirs to be private."

A 25-year-old agreement with the county gives Highlands Ranch residents "preferred" use of the land, and the community association interprets that to mean "exclusive" use, Benson said.

"I already made it known to them that I have some doubts about their legal interpretation," he said, adding that a county attorney is looking into the matter.

No-trespassing signs ward off non-Highlands Ranchers from the Wildcat Mountain Trail.

The Highlands Ranch Community Association has told hikers to keep their membership cards handy because volunteers will be patrolling for trespassers.

Lockett believes trails, like nature, are a common good and should be free to all. "It seems to be against the Colorado way of life, the life we all live here for."

Debus said the public will have use of the county's public trails, while his members can enjoy the association's private trail.

"We want to make sure our members have a quality experience," he said. "But we also want to make sure the wildlife and habitat are impacted as little as possible."

The Wildcat Trail winds through parts of the 8,200 acres donated by Shea Homes, the builder of Highlands Ranch.

Shea deeded the property to the Highlands Ranch Community Association, an umbrella organization of homeowner associations, which built the trail for $86,000.

Members' exclusive use of trails is no different than their use of the association's pools or recreation centers, Debus said.

Most of the trails and parks in Highlands Ranch are public, however. The reason: Highlands Ranch Metro Districts, like towns and counties, collect and spend tax money, making its parks open to the public.

Homeowners associations, however, are funded by dues, and their holdings are reserved for members.

The spat over the public use of private trails has simmered locally and nationally for years. Ken-Caryl Ranch, for instance, incurred a flap a decade ago for its residents-only policy for a privately owned network of trails in Jefferson County.

Chris Pacetti, executive director of Ken Caryl's master association, said Monday that it's a simple question of ownership.

"Why is your living room not open to the public?" he said.

Staff writer Joey Bunch can be reached at 303-820-1174 or jbunch@denverpost.com.