Cost Comparison for a 100% Natural Area vs a Bike Skills Park at Hughes
Know Before You Vote, Fort Collins!
Here are some facts, since the Measure 2H proponents continue to falsely claim that a Hughes Natural Area will be more expensive than a regional recreation-destination mountain-bike skills park. Most of us know even intuitively that cannot be true. But, here is the proof, using the City’s own data.
First, we can all agree that the cost of purchasing the Hughes land is identical whether it becomes a 100% Natural Area for ALL (Citizen Measure 303) or an intensely developed recreation tourism destination with a Bike Park and private permanent buildings, offices, and facilities (City Council's Measure 2H).
So, the salient question revolves around the cost(s) of the proposed uses at Hughes.
The attached graphic shows the up-front costs of protecting Hughes (Citizen Measure 303) vs developing Hughes (City Council Measure 2H), depending on which ballot measure voters pass.
The bar on the left (green) represents first year’s costs ($62.5K) of 10 years of gradual but active restoration for a 100% Hughes Natural Area ($625K total over 10 years).
Also depicted by the center bar (blue) is the cost of gradual but active restoration for a 100% Hughes Natural Area over the entire 10 year time frame that restoration will be completed, per the Natural Areas Department. This is the third and final step in the community's long held vision to extend Maxwell and Pineridge, and to protect Hughes for land and wildlife conservation with low-impact recreational activities.
In contrast, the bar on the right (red) represents 2H’s proposed mountain-bike skills park, the up-front costs for which are estimated at $5 million and earmarked in the Community Capital Improvement Program(CCIP) tax that Fort Collins voters will also vote on in November 2025. The bike park is the ONLY cost that taxpayers have been made of aware of by the City. The City has not disclosed any other costs for 2H’s proposed large-scale “multiuse” development at Hughes.
Note that the cost to gradually but actively restore Hughes as a 100% Natural Area will never even come close to the cost of a mountain bike skills park.
And, this comparison does NOT include costs that are undisclosed by the City for the build-out, operations, and maintenance for the rest of the uses 2H proposes for Hughes, including the “multiuse” development and built-infrastructure facilities.
caption: Natural Areas FAQ Sheet to the Civic Assembly delegates. For active restoration at Hughes, the estimated cost is a total of $625 over 10 years, about $62K per year, much less costly than a bike skills park and other large-scale “multiuse” development.
caption: Examples of earmarked CCIP tax funds, including a bike park and bike infrastructure, as compared to affordable housing.
