Rob Ittner and John Doyle, both Democrats, are vying for the District 1 seat on the Pitkin County Board of County Commissioners. The district includes parts of the city of Aspen, some surrounding neighborhoods and most of the land east of the city.
Ittner, 56, has lived in the Roaring Fork Valley for almost 30 years. He previously served as a Pitkin County commissioner from 2011-2015, and he currently manages the Pine Creek Cookhouse.
Doyle, 65, has lived in the Roaring Fork Valley for over 40 years. He’s currently serving a second term on Aspen City Council. He’s also a sculptor.
Ittner and Doyle were interviewed at the Aspen Public Radio studios a few weeks ago on some of the top issues facing Pitkin County.
Water rights
Doyle believes that water rights will be Pitkin County’s defining issue moving forward. Despite recent monsoons, he said precipitation in the past few months hasn’t been enough to offset the region’s ongoing drought.
He said, if elected, he would focus on storing more of the county’s water. Pitkin County diverts the second-highest amount of water in the state at around 40%, and Grand County diverts about 60%, according to The Colorado Sun.
“That's a tremendous amount of water that is not in our streams,” Doyle said. “And it's going to get worse.”
Ittner is also concerned about the county’s water resources. He said he will work to protect the health of area streams and rivers, like the Roaring Fork, Frying Pan and Crystal. He said he would also ensure that people aren’t abusing their water rights.
“So many of these laws and regulations around this go back hundreds of years, during a time where there was plentiful water,” Ittner said. “Now, [with] the aspects of ‘use it or lose it,’ people use water when they don't really need it.”
Ittner said, if elected, he would prioritize building relationships between the federal, state and local governments to protect and preserve river flows and aquatic life.
“I think it’s crucially important to fight for all those,” he said.
Transportation issues
Traffic congestion is a top priority for candidates, as the city of Aspen and Pitkin County continue to discuss the entrance to Aspen and more employees live outside the municipalities they work in.
Ittner said that approximately 60% of Pitkin County employees live outside the county. As more full-time employees live downvalley, more commuters are on the road.
He said addressing housing — and expanding the county's urban growth boundary — would reduce some of the county’s congestion issues.
“How do we get our urban growth boundaries to have a little bit more density on housing?” Ittner said. “We have to change the housing aspect to help that.”
While there’s room for local input, Doyle recognized that Highway 82 is a state highway. He said he’s learned from his time on Aspen City Council that local municipalities have to work with the Colorado Department of Transportation on solutions.
“We don't have to do exactly what they say, but they're going to get their way,” he said. “Ideally, we're there to provide as much community input as possible.”
Doyle also supports a potential light rail component to the new entrance to Aspen, which state and local officials have previously considered. He sees using the airport modernization as an opportunity to reimagine how locals and visitors move from the airport to downtown Aspen. He envisions a station right at the airport to get more single-occupancy vehicles off the road.
Large home mitigation
In 2023, Pitkin County reduced the maximum home size from 15,000 to 9,250 square feet.
Neither Doyle nor Ittner believes that reduction was enough, and they want the county to further mitigate home sizes and development.
Doyle recommended taking “baby steps” to limit home sizes while protecting homeowners’ property rights.
“I'm a property owner, so I'm aware of how I feel when my property rights are being challenged,” he said. “It's a touchy business. You've got to make short, measured steps towards mitigating the massive amounts of development that we have going on in Pitkin County right now.”
Ittner said he would push to increase an employee housing impact fee for developers. The fee is designed to have homeowners fund more affordable housing developments in the county and the Aspen-Pitkin County Housing Authority.
According to the Aspen Daily News, Pitkin County has conducted studies over the last several years that indicate new homes generate demand for new workers in the valley, including landscaping, house cleaning, catering and security services.
The fee is calculated based on development type and square footage, and the county is already considering increasing the fee.
“There's a need for this,” he said. “We have a 3000-plus deficit of employee housing for the upper valley over the next five years.”
Airport closure
The Aspen-Pitkin County Airport will close from April to November next year.
The airport, Pitkin County, the Aspen Chamber Resort Association and other regional partners have been in ongoing discussions in recent months on how to mitigate the closure and support local businesses and workers during that time.
As the county prepares for the airport closure — and continues to talk about the new terminal design — Ittner would like to see how much revenue the county can collect from various airport fees.
“Whether it be rental car fees, advertising fees, the restaurant lease fee? All of those generate revenue for the airport,” he said.
Doyle said the airport closure might not be as bad as it may seem. He pointed to data ACRA collected in March of this year indicating Aspen gets more vehicle traffic than flights in the summer months.
“They did a questionnaire, and they found out that there's a pretty good percentage that [tourists] were more likely to visit Aspen because they thought it would be less crowded.”
Doyle currently serves on APCHA. He said he and his fellow board members are considering lowering eligibility requirements, like work hours, if businesses furlough employees during the airport closure.
Maroon Bells management
Pitkin County commissioners are getting closer to taking over management of the Maroon Bells Scenic Area. Both candidates agreed with the county’s decision, especially as Pitkin County and the U.S. Forest Service have seen more funding and staffing cuts in recent years.
“With the current funding structure, it was obvious Pitkin County needed to step in,” Doyle said. “And who better to step in than the people who live here and truly care about that resource?”
Doyle said he would fight to make sure the Maroon Bells doesn’t end up in private management, which he said could increase fees and limit access to one of the county’s most iconic — and most visited — areas.
Ittner said if elected to the board, he will join the county’s mission to protect the area’s natural environments as much as possible. But he said there is a balance between protecting these places and making them accessible.
“We've talked about this ‘loving it to death’ situation. You know, people abusing the land and overusing it,” he said.
Ittner said he’s curious how the county will fund the area, and whether holding weddings and other special events in the area could bring in more revenue through an enterprise fund.
The winning candidate will join Francie Jacober, Greg Poschman and Jeffrey Woodruff on the board. Patti Clapper, who currently holds the District 1 seat, is term-limited and cannot seek reelection after serving eight years on the board.
Ted Mahon and Emily Kolbe are also running for the county’s District 2 seat.
Election day is Nov. 3.
