The Estes Park Town Trustees narrowly denied a request for temporary use of Lot 4 on the campus of The Stanley for guest parking during the construction of The Stanley Film Center. Construction is expected to last at least another year.
The decision came after a fiery debate between trustees about the temporary use of the space, the economic benefits The Stanley provides, private property rights, and definitions of “open space.”
The iconic hotel, which opened in 1909, is owned by The Stanley Partnership for Art, Culture, and Education, known as SPACE, a public-private entity established by the Colorado Educational and Cultural Facilities Authority. Lot 4 is a seven-acre parcel that butts up to the back wall of the Safeway grocery store at Upper Stanley Village.
In 2014, voters approved the sale of Lot 4, subject to a restrictive use covenant requiring that the lot be used as a wellness center or as open space reserved for public use. Ten years later, in 2024, the town issued a permit allowing the lot to be used as a “secondary temporary dirt stockpile location” during the construction of the Film Center onto the Stanley Hotel.
In addition to allowing storage of construction materials on the lot, the town granted permission in May 2026 for construction vehicles to park there during the construction phase, which is expected to continue for another year.
Deputy Town Administrator Jason Damweber said the construction storage permit was issued by staff “unaware of the existing covenant.” Although parking for construction crews has already been granted, he called the permit a “staff error.”
On Tuesday night, the board faced a request to allow hotel guests to park in the lot during construction, as regular guest parking has temporarily been reduced.
“There’s nothing that I see that restricts parking,” said Mayor Gary Hall. “All it (the 2014 ballot initiative and restricted use covenant) talks about is a wellness center or an open space, and no developments or improvements.”
Trustee Frank Lancaster argued that the board has a “moral obligation” and “fiduciary responsibility” to follow what the voters directed them to do with the lot, reserve it for a wellness center, or preserve it as open space “reserved for common use and enjoyment by the owners and occupants.”
After a debate between Mayor Hall and Trustees Lancaster and Jamie Mieras, Trustee Mark Igel said he had “never felt such separation between different people up here on the dais.”
Mieras, Hall, and Brown supported the temporary use permit due to the 2014 ballot initiative and the subsequent covenant containing no explicit parking restrictions, citing the economic benefits Stanley brings to the town, and the town’s duty to respect private property rights and to protect local businesses from having to jump through logistical hurdles and government overreach.
Mayor Pro Tem Kirby Hazleton, Trustees Lancaster, Eshelman, and Igel argued against the temporary use permit based on “honoring the will of the voters” and arguing that the temporary use of Lot 4 as a parking lot is not in keeping with the concept of an “open space.”
Trustee Brown pointed out that the code lacks a definition of “open space.”
Trustee Igel said that the town staff had already mistakenly approved this unpermitted use three times prior. He argued that the town shouldn’t compound a “systemic failure” by granting it a fourth time, noting that a regular business owner would be heavily fined for non-compliance rather than rewarded with an extension.
“We never should have had the first permits in there in the first place. Staff has admitted that it was a mistake,” Trustee Lancaster said.
While a formal vote was not taken, Mayor Pro Tem Hazleton, speaking last, acted as the deciding voice, ultimately directing staff not to extend the temporary use permit for hotel guest parking. While the current construction-related use will be honored through the remainder of the project, any expansion into guest parking was blocked.
Mayor Hall brought the tense discussion to a close, noting that despite differing interpretations of the covenant and voter intent, the board’s directive was clear, effectively ending the debate on the future of Lot 4 for the duration of the Film Center’s construction.
Childcare facility master plan
The Board of Trustees accepted the Estes Valley childcare facility master plan during the Town Board meeting on Tuesday, highlighting a focus on “re-use and redevelopment” of current childcare facilities in the Estes Valley.
The plan, developed by Executives Partnering to Invest in Children, provides a strategic framework to address the critical childcare shortages in the Estes Valley. Funded by a Colorado Department of Local Affairs planning grant, the plan shifts the community from reactive investing to a three-phase, coordinated infrastructure strategy mapped out for the near-, mid-, and long-term.
A key element of the plan is adopting childcare-friendly land-use, zoning, and development standards to prevent future barriers to expansion and development. Currently, setting up a childcare center in certain areas requires a lengthy, expensive, and uncertain public hearing process.
EPIC recommends allowing licensed childcare “by right” in any area that already permits schools, churches, apartments, or offices. This means providers who meet basic safety codes can get approved quickly by town staff, skipping months of public hearings and bureaucratic delays.
EPIC also recommended that the town establish a public-private childcare infrastructure partnership strategy to outline funding frameworks and help clarify roles between what the town is responsible for, including infrastructure, policy, and zoning, and how the childcare facilities operate.
The plan asks the town to help select the best pathways for the three phases: expanding existing sites, redeveloping community buildings, and, eventually, building new childcare facilities, based on community readiness and resources. It also asks the town to secure partner commitments with childcare operators and coordinate funding to maintain childcare stability over time.
While the 6E Lodging Tax Extension has provided over $1 million for childcare in 2025, the Colorado Child Care Facilities Report from February 2026 shows “severe gaps” in licensed childcare facilities in the Estes Valley. Licensed facilities lack 55 infant spaces, 123 toddler spaces, and 64 preschool-aged spaces.
To address this gap, the plan recommends expanding existing providers and redeveloping current facilities to increase infant and toddler slots by 170 within the next five years. According to EPIC, achieving this will require an initial capital investment of $3.5 million to $5.9 million for renovations and expansions.
Once built, these facilities will require substantial ongoing community financial support to cover annual operating expenses, which are projected to range from $850,000 to $2.5 million.
Redevelopment plans over the next two to five years aim to convert and adapt existing community and faith-based facilities into high-capacity childcare centers, but require addressing and modifying building codes, accessibility, and licensing requirements.
Financial strategy and community impact
While the plan details the expansion model as the most feasible solution to childcare in Estes Valley in the near future, the mid-term redevelopment and new construction models also require significant investments. Converting existing community and faith-based properties requires more capital investment just to bring older structures up to code, and developing new centers can range anywhere from $7.5 million to $13.7 million. Once these redeveloped and new centers are open, they face ongoing operational expenses.
According to the plan’s financial assumptions, personnel costs are the largest cost driver, accounting for approximately 65 to 75 percent of total operating expenses. Furthermore, because infant and toddler classrooms require much lower teacher-to-child ratios than preschool classrooms, their per-child operating costs are significantly higher. As a result, for-profit childcare facilities, especially infant and toddler rooms, are unlikely to survive on tuition alone, according to EPIC.
Ultimately, the plan states that childcare facilities should not be evaluated solely by their ability to generate an operating profit. Instead, the master plan urges Estes Park to view these facilities as vital community infrastructure investments that generate broader economic, workforce, and social benefits.
By establishing a public-private partnership framework, securing operator commitments, and leveraging external funding and grants, the town can successfully transition to a sustainable infrastructure strategy that ensures childcare for local families well into the future.
Correction, July 18, 2026 8:50 pm: The name of Trustee Mark Igel was corrected.
Mieras & Brown were not here when the Lot 4 ballot was passed, and perhaps Mayor Hall was not involved, but thank you, other Trustees, for sticking to the restrictions. Sadly, in 2014 the voters were lied to, and told the sale of Lot 4 would “save the Medical Center” by setting up an “Anschutz Wellness Center” that would bring money to the hospital. But the deal required part of the parcel was to remain as open space. While the value of it is minimal due to the bulldozing and thanks to the overdevelopment in the Stanley Historic District, a deal is a deal.