Jason Bane in Westword

Westword did a feature article on me and my campaign this week. You can read the entire story here, and I've included an excerpt below:

Most politicians spend their lives trying to get people to know their name. But Jason Bane, the Democratic Party candidate for Jefferson County commissioner against incumbent Republican Kevin McCasky, isn't most politicians.

In late 2004, when he helped launch the ColoradoPols.com website, Bane did so anonymously, and he left his moniker off his many posts there even after July 2005, when the Rocky Mountain News published an article revealing his identity. According to Bane, who's cut way back on his ColoradoPols writing since beginning his campaign, he didn't choose to perform his duties in the shadows "thinking, I wonder if this is going to hurt my chances if I run for office someday. In retrospect, will it? Maybe. But I can't think of anything off the top of my head I wrote that I'd regret." After a pause, he adds, "I'm sure there's something..."

Such concerns aren't commonplace, given that relatively few bloggers have made the transition from online firebrand to political hopeful. Indeed, the most prominent Colorado blogger-turned-candidate other than Bane is Republican Joshua Sharf, who aspires to serve as a state representative in the 6th District. (Sharf authors a blog called "View From a Height" and has contributed to the Denver Post's PoliticsWest.com site, home of the so-called Gang of Four, in addition to co-hosting a KNUS talk show with former state senator John Andrews.) So Bane is moving into relatively new territory, and he's finding it to be an often hostile place, thanks in part to conservative bloggers who accuse him — yes, anonymously — of hiding information about his employment by a prominent international union.

For his part, Bane insists that his past is an open book — one he has no problem letting potential voters peruse. A Jeffco native, he attended the University of Missouri's acclaimed journalism school with the idea of becoming a TV reporter. But he changed his mind following a stint at the NBC station affiliated with the college. "I was doing a live shot from a pumpkin festival," he recalls. "And I thought, what am I doing here?" So he turned to print, writing about sports for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch before relocating to the Denver area and taking a position with Westwind Media, an ahead-of-its-time Internet radio provider that paid for its prescience by going bust. From there, Bane served as a regular stringer for People magazine, penning human-interest stories and the occasional celebrity piece. "Let's just say I know my share about Ben Affleck," he admits, laughing. In the meantime, he got involved in politics, managing Dem Vince Buzek's unsuccessful 2002 campaign to unseat Republican Shawn Mitchell in Colorado House District 33 and playing the same role for Mitch Morrissey, who was elected Denver District Attorney in 2004...

...To Bane, the muck being flung his way represents a distraction from much more important matters. "I was born and raised in the county, and I've watched over the past several years the ridiculous scandals that have come out of there: the indictments, the accusations, the lawsuit," he says. In the end, "I got fed up. I want to see the government run in a manner that addresses the issues that people in the county are concerned about, like what kind of future growth we want."

Of course, the odds that the campaign will stick to such subjects exclusively are mighty slim, especially considering the direction in which the preliminary stages of the race have gone — and Bane concedes that his anonymous blogging past may offer opponents ammo to use against him. "One of the things I fully expect to happen is that someone will take something out of context from ColoradoPols and put it in a negative mail piece," he allows. "Whether I wrote it or not, they'll say it was me" — and he'll have difficulty refuting such a claim, since "literally thousands of posts" have gone up on the site over the years, and at this point, "I don't remember what I wrote or didn't write."

Jason Quoted in Denver Post Article on The Rock Church Rezoning

I wrote yesterday about my opposition to the Jefferson County Commissioners voting to approve re-zoning for The Rock church in a residential neighborhood. Today The Denver Post quoted me in a story about the re-zoning:

Jeffco reluctantly OKs church expansion
A brutal rezoning fight ends as commissioners approve the plan 2-1.

GOLDEN — One of Jefferson County's most bitter rezoning battles was resolved Tuesday with county commissioners reluctantly voting 2-1 to approve a large church's expansion.

The Rock Southwest Baptist Church, 10393 W. Alamo Place, will build a 16,000-square-foot youth center and parking lot west of the current church.

Residents of the Westridge and Reflections subdivisions fought the rezoning, saying the church already is too large and causes traffic and parking problems.

Though he voted "yes," Commissioner Kevin McCasky noted a difference of opinion between the church and the county about whether the church's vested property right allowed the center.

McCasky also admonished church officials and members during Tuesday's hearing, saying: "There has been a level of acrimony in these hearings we've never seen."

Jason Bane, McCasky's Democratic opponent in November, took him to task over the approval.

"This is not about the church. You can't have a big commercial building in the middle of a neighborhood," Bane said. "It's a mess for those people, and it's really sad that the people who live there are completely ignored in all this. When are their rights considered?"

Commissioner Kathy Hartman cast the lone "no" vote, saying The Rock will become "ten times as large as any similar church in the area more than 500 feet from a major right of way."

The result, Hartman said, "is a travesty for the neighborhood. I think this is wholly inappropriate."

Church administrator Tim Price said the church would be willing to direct traffic during peak worship and activity times, not institute a day care or school, and allow adjacent Westridge Elementary School to use the parking lot for drop offs and pick ups.

McCasky and Congrove Ignore Citizens, Approve Controversial Rezoning

My campaign issued the following press release this afternoon in response to the news that County Commissioners Kevin McCasky and Jim Congrove voted to approve a controversial rezoning request in a neighborhood that is unsuitable for such a major change:

Jeffco Approves Controversial Church Expansion

Commissioners McCasky, Congrove Ignore Pleas Of Residents

JEFFERSON COUNTY (April 22, 2008)—Jason Bane, candidate for the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners, issued the following statement today in response to a controversial 2-1 vote by the Board of Commissioners approving expansion of The Rock South Baptist Church in a residential neighborhood:

“Time and time again the pleas of the community are completely ignored by the Board of Commissioners,” said Bane. “I know this neighborhood well—a large commercial facility has absolutely no place in the middle of a residential neighborhood where the vast majority of traffic will come from people who live outside the area.”

The Rock church had asked the Board for permission to rezone an area of land that would allow for a large expansion and additional parking. With a 2-1 vote (Commissioners Kevin McCasky and Jim Congrove voted YES), the Board of Commissioners approved the rezoning—despite a DENIAL recommendation from the staff of the Jefferson County Planning Commission and despite passionate testimony from local residents opposed to the plan.

Bane opposed this rezoning proposal from the beginning, and in February walked door-to-door in the neighborhood to discuss the issue. As Commissioner Kathy Hartman said in voting against the proposal, the rezoning makes The Rock “ten times as large as any similar church in the area more than 500 feet from a major right-of-way.”

“This isn’t about the church or its purpose for expansion—I would have opposed this expansion if it was the former tenant—the Chatfield-Columbine YMCA—that had made the proposal. It is absolutely poor county planning to allow a massive commercial structure in the middle of a residential neighborhood that already faces heavy traffic from the elementary school next door.

“That’s why I’m running for Jefferson County Commissioner: So that the people of this county can finally have a real voice in decisions that affect their daily lives.”

For more background on this issue, here's a quick story from The Denver Post:

A controversial expansion of a large south Jefferson County church has been reluctantly approved by county commissioners.

Today's rezoning will allow The Rock South Baptist Church, 10393 W. Alamo Place, to construct a 16,000-square-foot youth center and a parking lot west of the current church building.

Residents of the Westridge and Relections subdivisions have fought the rezoning, contending the church already is too big for the surrounding neighborhood and causes parking and traffic problems...

...Commissioner Kathy Hartman was direct in her opposition. The Rock's expansion will make it "ten times as large as any similar church in the area more than 500 feet from a major right-of-way," she said.

Hartman added, "This is a travesty for the neighborhood. I think this is a wholly inappropriate use. No."

Church officials have agreed to have people directing traffic during peak worship and activity times and to allow Westridge Elementary School to use the planned parking lot for drop-off and pick-up of students.

I grew up not far from this neighborhood. My aunt lives just down the street from The Rock. I learned to play basketball here when The Rock was the Chatfield-Columbine YMCA (and prior to that, The Ridge Athletic Club).

It makes absolutely no sense to allow a major expansion of any sort of commercial property here, whether it is a church, a YMCA or a storefront. This is a residential neighborhood (located between Kipling and Simms, just North of Bowles in South Jeffco) that was not built or conceived to be able to absorb so much traffic from people who don't live in the area.

I walked this neighborhood back in February, knocking on nearly every door, and I only met two people who were in favor of the rezoning. It's a shame that Commissioners McCasky and Congrove continue to turn a deaf ear to the needs and desires of the people who live in the community.

Jason Bane Interviewed on South Jeffco Development

I was interviewed last night by Channel 7 for a story about a proposed development in the Willowbrook/Willow Springs area of Jefferson County (southwest of HWY 285 and C-470). Here's the story from Channel 7's Website, which also appeared on the Thursday 10:00 p.m. newscast (my quote appears in bold below, or click on the link above to see the video):

For eight years 284.4 acres in Jefferson County has sat empty, but not completely vacant. Nearby residents said when Colorado Christian University closed its Western Bible College campus, its buildings became nuisances and home to criminal mischief.

“The highest and best use of the property was for high quality residential development,” said University President Senator Bill Armstrong during a public hearing Thursday night.

The university wants to re-zone the property so Shea Homes can build 280 houses on the land in a project called “Lyons Ridge Development.”

“Of course we would prefer nothing and we were lucky to have nothing for long time,” said Willow Springs resident Mimi Murphy. “But I don’t think we can make that decision because it is not our property. So we want the best that we can get to keep it the same that it has been.”

Murphy is not alone. Residents from Hogback Conservancy, Willowbrook Home Owners Association, Willow Springs HOA, and residents from other nearby neighborhoods packed three rooms Thursday night at the Jefferson County Courts and Administration building to voice their opposition to a development project they say goes against the south Jefferson County community plan decided upon March 14, 2007.

“If you are going to ask the citizens to come up with a plan as to how the community is developed and then you are going to ignore it, that is like asking someone to bake a cake and then turning it around and smashing it in their face,” said Jefferson County resident Jason Bane.

But some residents acknowledge development is inevitable and some homeowners think this project is the best option.

“It is less dense than the willow springs development,” said Kevin Stafford whose parents live adjacent to the property in question. “And also there is some open space that would be public where the other two developments open space is private,” he said referring to neighboring developments.

So many people showed up to speak Thursday night that County Commissioners continued the public hearing to April 15th at 6pm.

I have attended several public meetings in front of the Jefferson County Planning Commission over the last several months, and I completely oppose this effort to ram through 280 homes in an area that was only planned to allow for about 100 lots.

This proposed development is completely at odds with the South Jefferson County Community Plan (SJCCP) adopted by nearly 200 citizens and 20 government agencies. The SJCCP, which was formally adopted on March 14, 2007, was crafted over the course of 38 meetings in 14 months. While the SJCCP is not a binding document, the county should certainly pay close attention to whatever comes from it; the people who live in these areas are the ones who know what would work best in their communities.

The proposal submitted by the developer, Shea Homes, and its partner Colorado Christian University, virtually ignores the SJCCP. It was for that reason that the staff of the Jeffco Planning Commission recommended DENIAL of the developer's proposal. My comment to Channel 7 above was about the SJCCP and the process that created it; the county government shouldn't seek out community input if they are going to just completely ignore them later.

Despite that denial from the staff, and despite the presence of literally hundreds of Willow Springs/Willowbrook residents at every meeting, the Planning Commission approved a slightly modified version to be sent to the Board of County Commissioners. The developers took that suggestion and, again, ignored it. The Planning Commission suggested a toned down version of 215 homes, instead of 280 (the latter of which is one home per acre), but the developers pushed for the larger number.

To understand why this is such a big deal to people in the community, it helps to get a picture of how this area looks now. I grew up about a mile from here, and I always loved the Willowbrook/Willow Springs area because of the modest homes that sat on large acres of land. Nobody has fences, which allows for migration of all kinds of animals through the area. It really is a beautiful neighborhood - a rural respite in the middle of a suburban area.

To recap, here's what has happened to get us to this point:

1. All 11 homeowners associations in the area have joined together in a group called The Hogback Conservancy Coalition in order to fight this development. In other words, the people who live in the area are adamantly opposed to this large development. They are not opposed to ANY development, because the agreed to a plan for about 100 homes that preserved open space.
   
2. The staff of the Planning Commission recommended DENIAL of the developers' proposal.
3. The Planning Commission board did not deny the proposal, but suggested a slightly weakened version.
4. The developer ignored the Planning Commission and re-submitted their original 280-home rezoning proposal.
5. The Board of County Commissioners is now hearing testimony from both sides of the case and may vote on the proposal on April 15. Most observers feel that Commissioner Kevin McCasky, my opponent in this race, holds the deciding vote. I hope he does the right thing.
   

I am not opposed to growth in Jefferson County, but I think we need to have RESPONSIBLE growth that both preserves open space and protects the property rights of the existing homeowners. McCasky has said repeatedly that he believes in property rights. Well, so do I, but I don't just believe in the property rights of people who want to build on new land. Everyone has property rights, and what one person does affects their neighbor. Just because it is your property, should you be allowed to build a 50-story high-rise building? Of course not.

I will be following this debate closely as it comes to its conclusion in the next couple of weeks. For more background information, check out this letter from the attorney for the Hogback Conservancy to the Planning Commission.

Grant Program for Solar Innovation

Renewable energy seems to be the theme of the week. Yesterday I wrote about legislation to offer low- and no-cost loans for people who want to add solar energy to their home, and today the Governor's Energy Office announced a new grant program for businesses that want to look into solar projects:

Gov. Ritter today announced that the Governor’s Energy Office (GEO) is seeking grant applicants for $350,000 in incentives for solar innovation projects. The “Solar Innovation Grant” funds are being made available through the Clean Energy Fund.

“These innovation grants will help us continue to grow our solar industry by increasing development and infrastructure. They will allow us to continue advancing Colorado’s New Energy Economy and bring good jobs, revenue and clean power to our state,” Gov. Ritter said.

Under GEO’s stewardship, the Solar Innovation Grant will be used to support programs that can overcome financial, educational and technical barriers and lead to greater solar electric and solar thermal technologies in the residential and commercial sectors.

GEO is looking to fund projects from partners such as utilities, homebuilders, installers and system integrators, lenders and financial institutions, non-profits and trade associations. For the competitive application process, GEO will consider funding requests for the following purposes:

Education: Applicants will provide educational resources to targeted sectors with the goal of expanding the quantity and quality of solar installations in Colorado.

Integrated Design: Applicants will address opportunities to incorporate solar technology into the commercial and production home sectors in both new and existing infrastructure.

Utility Programs: Applicants in this category will work to improve the viability of solar technology as a means to offset energy and power demands at the utility level. GEO is soliciting innovative solutions to promote solar technology at the utility level.

Market Analysis & Policy Recommendations:Colorado and present solutions in the form of a comprehensive policy report. Applicants will identify policy barriers to the wider implementation of solar technology in Colorado.

Financing: Applicants will present innovative financing models that will increase the affordability of integrating solar technology in the residential and commercial sectors.

Individual awards will not exceed $50,000 and applications are due by April 30. To learn more, visit GEO’s website: www.colorado.gov/energy.

Low- and No-Interest Loans for Solar Panels

I was excited to see this news today from the state capitol. Jefferson County should definitely try to offer low- and no-interest loans to residents who want to move toward renewable energy.

CLEAN ENERGY FOR ALL COLORADANS!
Program provides low- and no- interest loans for solar panels at home or business

DENVER – Tuesday at noon, House Majority Leader Alice Madden, championed the ‘Clean Energy Home Financing Act,’ making renewable energy systems – including small scale wind and solar – affordable for all Colorado homeowners and small businesses. Rep. Madden was joined by state legislators, local elected officials and clean energy leaders as employees from Namaste Solar Electric held an array of solar panels.

Two hours later, House Bill 1350 passed out of the House Transportation & Energy Committee unanimously.

“Despite the availability of rebates, many Coloradans cannot afford the upfront costs of efficiency investments right now, even though it saves time and money in the long run,” said Rep. Madden. “But this legislation gives our communities the tools for investment that will help homeowners and businesses build the new energy economy.”

HB 1350 helps Coloradans of all income levels participate in the energy economy by providing low- and no- interest loans for energy savings devices like wind turbines and solar panels.

Cities and counties will be able to provide low- and no- interest loans for the upfront costs of panels and turbines. Home and business owners will then have the option of paying back the loans over time through a property lien. Communities can finance loans using existing bond potential, or by creating special energy improvement districts.

“This is a remarkable program and the first of its kind in the country,” Rep. Madden noted. “Just think about affect it could have: this sets the groundwork so every Colorado home, farm, ranch, and business can invest in a new energy future.”

The bill now moves to the House floor for further debate. It is being co-sponsored in the by State Senator Chris Romer (D-Denver).