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Telluride passes hat, collects $50 million

Fundraising drive nets enough to preserve pristine land

Joanne Kelley, Rocky Mountain News

Published May 10, 2007 at midnight

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Telluride met a deadline for raising the $50 million it needed to preserve one of its most scenic landscapes - 570 acres of meadows and wetlands just outside the entrance to the Victorian-era resort town.

A $2 million donation from Hollywood producer and director Tom Shadyac, a frequent Telluride visitor, sent the fundraising campaign over the top at the 11th hour, capping a decades-long fight with the land's owner.

"This is an incredible day in the history of Telluride," Mayor John Pryor said. "This parcel defines Telluride historically, culturally and ecologically."

But Neal Blue, of San Diego, who bought the land in the early 1980s, will continue to fight the town's condemnation of the land. The case is on appeal to the Colorado Supreme Court.

"He believes this is just one round in a long fight," said Thomas Ragonetti, a Denver attorney representing Blue.

Telluride will immediately move to take possession of the property, which it plans to maintain as open space.

"Think of the fishing, the hiking and the biking we'll do," Pryor said. "We are indeed now even luckier to live here."

Ragonetti said his client objects partly because a group of residents and homeowners has banded together to use the land as its "playground."

"He believes this is illegal and a hypocritical act by Telluride in that it's financed in large part by wealthy individuals," Ragonetti said.

The California defense contractor, whose company, San Miguel Valley Corp., has indicated it wants to develop the land for commercial use, bought it for about $7 million.

The town of Telluride, located about 330 miles southwest of Denver, seized the land in eminent domain proceedings.

The fundraising effort began after a Delta County jury set the land value at $50 million, twice the amount the town had offered for it. Nearly two-thirds of the money raised from private donors was committed in the past 11 weeks.

"Never have I seen a community rally more effectively for the preservation of one of its most important assets," said Richard Moe, a Telluride homeowner who is president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Preservationists say it offers some of the area's most scenic vistas even though it was once the site of mining activity.

Big donors such as second- home owner and eBay CEO Meg Whitman helped rally deep-pocketed donors from across the country.

"This was an extraordinary effort," Whitman said on a conference call. "You don't see communities come together like this very often."

U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., also called to congratulate Telluride residents, who gathered for a news conference in Elks Park. He called the valley floor land "truly one of the crown jewels of America."

Locally, residents pitched in by contributing more than $1 million in loose change and $100 bills to a wishing well.

Actress Daryl Hannah and heavy hitters such as former U.N. Ambassador Richard Holbrooke also became active in an effort spearheaded by a group known as Valley Floor Preservation Partners.

Shadyac, 47, does not own a home in the former mining outpost turned ski town. He has directed and produced numerous films, including Liar Liar, Patch Adams and Bruce Almighty.

Battle over valley floor

• The issue: A 570-acre swath of undeveloped private land at the approach to Telluride has pitted the town and its residents against a real-estate developer.

• The stakes: The former mining outpost turned resort town offered $25.5 million for the property known as the valley floor. But preservationists had to come up with $24.5 million in private funds when a Delta County court set the land value at $50 million.

• The controversy: The town of Telluride, located about 330 miles southwest of Denver, seized the land in eminent domain proceedings. Preservationists say the meadows and wetlands offer some of the area's most scenic vistas. The landowner wants to develop it.

Players in the dispute

• Neal Blue: A defense contractor whose company, San Miguel Valley Corp., has owned the land for decades with the intention of developing it for commercial use. He bought it for about $7 million in the early 1980s.

• Big donors: Second-home owner and eBay CEO Meg Whitman supported the fundraising effort. Actress Daryl Hannah and heavy hitters, such as former U.N. Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, also became active in an effort spearheaded by a group known as Valley Floor Preservation Partners.

• Hundreds of backers: More than 1,700 donors stepped forward, including a boy who gave $42 from his allowance and a couple who donated money earmarked for a trip to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary.

• Where things stand: Despite the 11th-hour push to raise the money needed to buy the land, the fight is not over. The developer's case is being appealed to the Colorado Supreme Court.

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