The start of a new year is always a time of reflection and planning for the future. One of the biggest recent stories is Sunset Management Service’s plans in the community. SMS, owned by politically well connected Alan Fishman from Littleton, assumed control of the Conifer Town Center (CTC) development, the old Safeway Center, and the Tanglewood Reserve high density housing complex (446 homes on quarter acre lots) in Pine Junction. Most community concerns center around the fact that this outside group appears not to be interested in preserving the quality of life in the Highway Corridor and instead wants to turn the Corridor into a high density mountain version of Highlands Ranch. Another major story is the commercial business infrastructure is greatly expanding in the Hwy 285 Corridor. It appears, as we predicted, that local businesses cannot afford the high rents in these developments and only large established businesses are moving in at the expense of our long term local businesses such as Aspen Park Drug. For the record, P.O.M.C. generally supported the King Soopers development since it conformed to the Community Plan, and opposed CTC because it did not. Many members have expressed that they will just support the King Soopers complex with their local business. Looking forward, the rush by outside groups interested in developments will likely continue. It is the mission of P.O.M.C. to balance these developments with the quality of life and aesthetics of mountain living. We will continue to work with developers even before the development process starts to mitigate potentially negative aspects of developments. You can do your part by banding together with local organizations such as P.O.M.C. to make our collective voice heard. Politicians will listen to the community, but only if that voice is numerous and well organized. Best wishes for a safe and prosperous new year! James Ketchledge Chairman, P.O.M.C.