Elements of Group Facilitation and Managing Public meetings are involved with managing conflict in the environmental/land use arena.  Many of the cases mentioned in these other areas are also appropriately listed here.  Mark began his conflict resolution career as Aggregate Coordinator in Jefferson County, Colorado.  The special section on the Aggregate Resources Roundtable gives details of Mark’s tenure in this position.  Many of his salient land use cases are from this period.  The results of several of them are in evidence today:

  • Jefferson County Household Hazardous Waste Collection Facility
  • Jefferson County Law Enforcement Shooting Range
  • Connector Road built to specifications developed by the West 104th Avenue/US Highway 36 Interchange Phase II Task Force
  • “Merritt Clay Pit” mine north of Golden, Colorado
  • The Jefferson County Mediation Services Program, presently directed, under contract with Jefferson County, by Mark Loye

Mark continued his work in this area after his move from Aggregate Coordinator to independent conflict resolution consultant in 1994.  He has facilitated meetings in connection with:

  • A crushed rock rail-to-truck transfer site
  • Proposals for new and expanded gravel pits near Fort Collins, CO
  • A cell tower in a residential neighborhood
  • A proposed medical marijuana dispensary in a mixed-use neighborhood
  • Development of a major housing subdivision
  • A federally sponsored public forum on prairie dogs
  • Development of action plans for:
  1. a non-profit outdoor enthusiast organization
  2. a group of federal safety officers from several states
  3. the Board of Directors of a conservation district
  4. an urban renewal authority board
  5. the entire staff of a small-town post office, and 6) the elected officials of a rural Colorado county.
  • Proposal by the Arapahoe Park and Recreation District to develop long-term open space into the Piney Creek Hollow Park (this park has been largely built out, as planned).

Ideally, the result of all of of these facilitating and mediating any of these groups is a consensus decision among all of the involved parties.  Sometimes, there are on-the-ground, physical results of such a consensus (two examples: Piney Creek Hollow Park and the Jefferson County Household Hazardous Waste Collection Facility).  Other concrete results are written five and ten-year plans, plans to manage a crisis, or just plans to try to communicate and get along better in the future.  Less concrete results can be a better understanding of very different points of view and clarification of facts and opinions, both for parties to a facilitation process and for the decision-makers who will follow.  Mark’s environmental/land use facilitations have achieved all of these results over the last 25+ years.