​​September 25, 2025

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Ballot Question 300 allows voters to decide

I have come to your virtual door because I am hoping to engage for a few minutes about a proposal on this November’s ballot, an effort to give the citizens more of a chance to determine the direction and pace of development in the Town of Telluride.

 

What Ballot Question 300 is not is a plan to kill development, stymie affordable housing plans (too many of which are sadly un-affordable), or otherwise put us in economic peril. Ballot Question 300 is not a scam of wealthy elitists to enhance their estates, nor an effort by a bunch of wild-eyed crazies to pour sand in our gears.

What the proposition does do, however, is allow the voters to make decisions on some large developments, specifically those done by the Town of Telluride whose results we will have to pay for and then live with the enormous change they will bring.

 

As an example, many people have expressed doubt about building a massive 900 car parking structure in the Shandoka lot, something that many perceive as out of scale and a years-long construction project that neighbors in all directions will have to endure for years.

 

So too, many would like to vote on whether we want the town to re-zone long dedicated open space for still more multi-story hotels and commercial development; land which was to remain as vital lungs for the West End of Telluride, with all the accompanying demands that the increase of visitors and population creates.

It is fair to ask if the large hotel projects on the drawing board, all of which will surely contribute to a swelling of the town’s population by an easy 50% and, thus, the need for another school, equivalent expansion of infrastructure, etc. are really what we want.

 

Legitimately, some of the projects may be what you do want, others you may oppose, but this open embrace of democracy gives us all a right to vote on those proposals of such scale that they will have major impacts on what Telluride becomes and what we will watch unfold.

 

Clearly, a lot of this is motivated by a feeling that many of us share, from varying vantage points, that we are watching our town disappear and that too many decisions are being made by legions of out-of-town speculators and consultants, both of whom see Telluride not as their home, but only through the lens of how to increase their income.

 

Definitely, this is not a plan to stop the hospital, a proposal that surely merits our consideration. Nor will it impede the Telluride School District as it is a separate legal entity and Ballot Question 300 is focused on the Town of Telluride’s official actions and the rezoning of large swaths of historic open space.

 

Admittedly, the question is a bit complex, (we live in a world of attorneys and whereas’s) but it is all spelled out, briefed by lawyers and is simply a tool allowing practical means to make fundamental decisions as to how we live tomorrow and what Telluride will look like in five, 10 or 20 years. Ballot Question 300 should encourage Town Hall to do better research, be more transparent, and thereby give us the grounds to make truly informed decisions and the benefit of watching well-executed and financially sound implementation.

 

The proponents of this issue are not a monolith, no-growthers, nor economically naïve. We simply believe that as things seem to be whirling out of control, more democracy is a tool we should be comfortable in using for changes of such massive scale. And, if we have our fair share of differing perspectives, we do share a sense that better information on what we are being asked to pay for and live with, is a good thing in a community otherwise informed mostly by rumor and too often, dog-and-pony-show consulting teams.

 

To provide more illustrative understanding of what is happening, there is a regularly updated website at www.LetPeopledecide.org which is there to give us all a better understanding of what is occurring in our community and our historic right to do something about it. The website is sometimes a little sassy, but it is accessible and damned informative.

 

Telluride was years ago declared a National Historical Landmark, a designation we sought, a promise we made to the country to preserve a delicate slice of the nation’s heritage. 

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In fact, many of us decided to come here not only for Telluride's unrivaled beauty, but also for a sense of feisty uniqueness. If we were looking for a ski town, we pointedly chose Telluride over Summit County or Vail.

We want a community that is not to be lost to the deadening homogenization of condo projects to the horizon and will not further devolve into a never ending construction zone. The beep-beep of heavy construction equipment and views forever gone to ever taller buildings may not be what we or our visitors are seeking. No one is sitting in Kansas City or Houston and thinking they have to get to Telluride next summer because they need to see the new sidewalks that are being constructed there.

 

Some 250 years ago a lot of people living in an English colony decided that democracy was worth a try, even worth fighting for. We still believe that and, with similar conviction, we don’t believe that more is always better.

We do believe that Town Hall becomes more thoughtful and transparent when a participating citizenry becomes better educated; and that approach (always open to improvement as we progress) will create a better experience for residents and visitors alike.

 

Good projects will pass, flawed projects have a chance to make the necessary changes and come back to the voters, and things we actually do not want, or cannot afford, will not happen.

 

Time to slow down and smell the roses.

 

-Richard Silverman