The story is told of a hiker who was hiking where it was very cold. He looked down and saw a rattlesnake, which was unable to move because of the cold. The snake asked the hiker to take him down the mountain where it would be warmer.
The hiker told him “no” because he feared the snake would bite him. The snake promised he would never do that because, after all, the hiker would have saved the snake’s life. After a lengthy discussion the hiker was finally convinced that he could trust the snake. So the two of them trooped down the mountain. When the snake finally got warm, it bit the hiker. In total shock the hiker asked how the snake could do such a thing. The snake responded, “You knew what I was when you picked me up.”
Changing the zoning next to Carpenter Natural Area from commercial to industrial is much like carrying the snake down the mountain; there will be little control over what happens with that land now or in the future.
It also makes no sense to issue a limited use permit, which would allow all the objectionable uses except for storing firewood.
Hopefully, Cortez City Council will abide by the city’s own zoning regulations. Surely, Independent Log Co. can find a more appropriate piece of land to provide a very needed service.
David and Patricia Faulkner
Cortez
