Lawson Hill, home to many locals and local businesses, has reached an "exciting point of self-determination," said Pam Hall of the Lawson Hill Property Owners Co. After many years of control by Telecam Partners, the original developer of the planned community, Lawson took its final step to autonomy at the end of October when it took title from Telecam of several large properties including the ball fields and over 100 acres of open space.

Transfer of title represents the culmination of a long and often difficult series of negotiations, agreements and contracts with Telecam and the county.

"It puts to bed all issues," said Hall. "Now it's mostly a matter of the community agreeing on the last things we need for neighborhood use."

Included in the property transfer is a 1.88-acre parcel adjacent to the ball fields zoned for public use and approved for a maximum building area of 30,000 square feet. Hall said that there are no immediate plans to develop the site but that various ideas have been put forth by Lawson Hill residents, including recreational and health care facilities.

Board President Bill deAlva said that the idea of a wellness campus – a combination of health and recreational facilities – had been proposed by Rick Houck of the Telluride Medical Capital Fund, and was well-received by the owners. He conceded, though, that many potential obstacles stand in the way of such a use.

"As significant as the public use site in the long term is the open space," deAlva said. "Open space will give the Lawson homeowners a much better sense of ownership and community."

DeAlva described the open space acreage as "weaving through" the Lawson Hill neighborhood and said that board discussions had been held about grooming a cross-country ski trail that would connect with the Galloping Goose.

Lawson Hill was originally developed by Telecam as a planned community with mixed uses including residential, commercial, light industrial and live-work. Occupancy is primarily residential and comprises deed-restricted units dedicated to people who live and work in San Miguel County. Some of the original residents of the community were relocated in the early 1990s from Pandora at the east end of the Telluride box canyon as a result of mine tailing remediation there.

"The property owners' company is like a housing association," said Hall, "the same concept but with broader responsibilities since it includes all owners, commercial as well as residential."

The association was controlled for its first ten years by Telecam in order to assure consistent management and compliance with the original design plan. "Until this year, they still had effective control because they held such a large bloc of voting rights," deAlva explained.

With transfer of the playing fields, the public use lot and the open space, combined with other sales of its Lawson properties over the past months, Telecam has relinquished its control.

"This is exciting for people who have lived here a long time," said Hall. "The board and Hans Jones of Telecam have worked diligently to come to resolution on outstanding issues. This is a milestone."

Added deAlva: "There are still key pieces of the development to be built out, especially the undeveloped commercial lots, and they could change the character of the community. Still, transfer of these last properties from Telecam is very significant. It marks the completion of many goals."

The Lawson Hill board, whose other members are Jody Van Stratt, Bob Beer and alternate Ginny Gordon, expects to initialize a formal planning process to identify and prioritize uses for the public use site. A subcommittee will also be formed to assist with management of the ball fields. For more information, contact Pam Hall at 728-5893 or log on to www.lawson-hoa.com.