Report of Findings
As time has passed, there is a change that can be perceived in the culture and values in the Telluride community. There has been an astronomical increase in property value. In the Town, there has been a progression in long term rentals converting to short term rentals. An influx of remote working telecommuters has reduced availability and driven up the cost of long-term rental housing. These factors combined to drive away much of the salt of the earth population that long made up the Telluride community.
There is not an official count of the number of people living in the Lawson Hill deed restricted area. The best guess is around 600 people. The most influential and impacting governmental entity in the region is the Town of Telluride. In the last election, approximately 1300 people voted in the Town of Telluride. Not being in the town limits, Lawson Hill residents are precluded from voting on town matters. Assuming around 400 people in Lawson are qualified to vote, if Lawson were included in the town, Lawson Hill residents would make up approximately 23.5% of the vote. Since the Lawson Hill population is made up of the local workforce, adding them in the vote would alter cultural influence on the Town of Telluride in direction and policies. If annexed, Lawson residents would be eligible to vote and to hold office in the Town of Telluride. Being incorporated into the town would allow Lawson residents to participate in town boards and help shape policy and operations to benefit our neighborhood as well as the overall region.
In this context, a volunteer group of Lawson Hill residents formed the Lawson Annexation Study Group (LASG) last spring to find what would be involved in annexing Lawson Hill into the Town of Telluride. The study group has delved into what is required in the process of annexation, what advantages and disadvantages would there be in annexation, the history and experience of Lawson Hill regarding annexation into the town, and what could be expected in costs to the inhabitants of Lawson Hill if annexed. This is a report on the findings of this group.
In 1999, Lawson Hill explored annexation to the Town. At that time, it was concluded that there was not enough value in annexation to pursue the option. There was concern that annexing to the Town would increase living costs. The Lawson Hill Property Owners’ Association, is well funded and managed, providing a good level of service. Because our owners’ association has performed well, there is not a perceived need for town provided services.
The time of the 1999 annexation study was prior to the internet’s impactful morphing of short-term rental. Many of the Town of Telluride rental homes at that time were long term rentals occupied by service employees. Since then, VRBO and Air B&B have changed that. Much of the town’s workforce has moved to Lawson Hill. The proportion of town voters that work and live in the town has been depleted. With that 1999 evaluation being prior to the purchase of the Valley Floor, there was not contiguity (a physical connection with town limits) between the town and Lawson, which was a complication in annexation. Since the Valley Floor is now owned by the Town, there now is contiguity with Lawson. At that time, water and sewer rates for Lawson residents was right around $100 bimonthly. The out of town water and sewer rates have increased nearly three-fold since then. There is a deeply ceded belief, that annexation would increase the cost of living in Lawson. We have collected information on what the cost differences could be. There is a feeling that the process is extremely complicated. We studied what is involved in the process. The process is involved with several checks and balances. The Town has gained experience in the process that it had not had the last time it was approached. Although the town sees it as an involved process, it does not see the process as daunting.
