A right to privacy for BBR residents

It is with great dismay that I watch the ongoing written battle of opponents and proponents of a proposed bike trail between Sisters and Black Butte Ranch in Nugget publications.

Inaccuracies, rude language and accusations are bad enough, but the notion that trespassing onto Black Butte Ranch's private property should be condoned because "parking and biking" has been going on for a long time, is particularly bothersome.

The only public part of the Ranch's bike path system runs from the east gate to the west gate and to the Big Meadow parking lot. Any path behind those points is marked "PRIVATE RESIDENTIAL AREA," and signed as "Property owners and registered guests only beyond this point." Registered guests include those lodging at Black Butte Ranch.

As Bonnie Malone mentioned in her recent article to The Nugget, homeowners purchased the Ranch from Brooks Resources in the 1980s.

Since then, Black Butte Ranch's facilities have been improved upon through multiple homeowner-funded assessments, and facility maintenance is supplemented by constantly increasing homeowner dues.

Black Butte Ranch is unique among other resort developments in the region, and its mission is to "Maintain and enhance a high-quality, family-oriented recreational and residential community preserved in its naturalness, with limited commercial activities and necessary regulations to preserve the safety, tranquility and future value for its owners, their families and guests."

It is this harmony between the residential and recreational communities, this balance between commercial activities and privacy, and this stewardship of natural resources and the financial support for maintenance or renewal of facilities that make Black Butte Ranch special.

Developing a bike trail that ends at Black Butte Ranch will jeopardize much of what is presently enjoyed by homeowners and registered guests alike.

Homeowners and guests of all ages and abilities frequent the Black Butte Ranch trail system as soon as the paths are swept in the spring till the first storms in the late fall. The highest concentration of walkers, bikers and runners are undoubtedly from June through September with trail usage spiking on any fair-weather holiday weekend. Roads and paths are narrow, curvy and steep - in some places quite dangerous.

Any influx of more bike traffic due to a public path ending on Black Butte Ranch grounds would not only aid and abet more trespassing but also greatly diminish the unique Black Butte Ranch experience for homeowners and registered lodgers.

It will require additional police personnel to fulfill its mission "to partner with our community and the Ranch staff to preserve the safety, security and tranquility of the Ranch for the enjoyment of all." It will increase Black Butte Ranch's liability. And ultimately, it will necessitate higher homeowner dues and levies; more homes will come on the market with supply and demand dictating the future value for its owners.

And, Black Butte Ranch will no longer be that special place as we know it, but just another resort community.