The essential services of fire, police, sheriff and emergency
medical services are critical components of the health, welfare and
safety of the Pear Park area. Law enforcement is provided by the Mesa
County Sheriff’s Office, the Grand Junction Police Department
and the Colorado State Highway Patrol. The Mesa County Sheriff’s
Department is the primary law enforcement agency for the planning
area. At present the area is served by two deputies. The City of Grand
Junction Police Department responds to calls within the incorporated
limits of the City. The department assigns one officer to the area
as part of the community policing program. As the City of Grand Junction
continues to annex, additional officers will need to be added. The
number of Colorado State Troopers in the Pear Park neighborhood varies
depending on calls for service in other areas of the County. The Colorado
State Patrol responds to all vehicular accidents in unincorporated
areas of Mesa County.
Annexation patterns have created challenges for law enforcement.
Overall, 80 percent of the Pear Park area is still in unincorporated
Mesa County. Access to the Pear Park neighborhood from Ninth Street
can be blocked by a train, affecting response times. These problems
should diminish when the 29 Road Bridge and viaduct are completed.
The lack of lighting in parks, on trails and neighborhood streets
in unincorporated areas of the County has been a challenge for the
Sheriff’s Department. Existing parks are patrolled by foot because
they are not lighted.
The Sheriff’s Department averages 10 service calls per
day in the Pear Park neighborhood and the City of Grand Junction Police
Department averages 1.5 calls per day. It is estimated that 65 percent
of those calls are assistance related and the other 35 percent are
enforcement related.
Both the Sheriff’s Department and the City Police Department
encourage neighborhood watch programs; however, the City currently
does not have an active neighborhood watch program in this area. Both
the City and the County provide officer assistance and provide area
representatives with tools to coordinate and implement an enforcement
program for the neighborhood.
A few transient camps exist along the Colorado River near 28
1/2 Road. They are not currently reported as a problem; however, transient
camps are usually not an issue until parks, trails or other uses are
developed around them and the public begins to utilize them. As the
area is annexed into the City, “Trail Host Programs” coordinated
through the Police Department will expand to serve those areas.
The Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDOW) regulates hunting along
the Colorado River. CDOW owns one property that consists of two islands
adjacent to Corn Lake. They are in the process of developing hunting
access on these islands. The Colorado River Wildlife Area and the
Orchard Mesa Wildlife Area along the Colorado River, between the 29
1/2 and 30 3/4 Road corridors, are cooperatively managed by the Bureau
of Reclamation and Western Colorado Wildlife Habitat Association.
The Colorado River corridor consists of a combination of shooting closure areas (no shooting areas) as adopted by the Mesa County Board of County Commissioners, legal hunting areas on private property outside those areas, as well as the established hunting areas on federal- and State-owned lands. There is no hunting allowed within the City limits. As the area continues to develop, there will be increased pressure to further regulate hunting along the Colorado River; however, this plan’s
Future Land Use Map maintains lower densities of two acres or more per residence along much of the Pear Park side of the Colorado River.
Mesa County Shooting Closure
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(Res. 13-05, 1-5-05)
Fire protection for Pear Park is provided by two fire districts;
the Grand Junction Rural Fire Protection District (GJRFPD) serves
the area primarily located west of 30 Road; and the Clifton Fire District
serves the eastern half of Pear Park. Fire protection west of 30 Road,
but within the City limits is provided by the City Fire Department.
The two nearest fire stations for the City and Rural Fire District
are located at 330 South Sixth Street (Station No. 1) and 2827 Patterson
(F) Road (Station No. 2). The Clifton Fire District has a fire station
located at 3254 1/2 F Road.
The City and Rural District average approximately 37 calls per
month in this area; 72 percent are emergency medical service calls.
Currently 30 percent of all calls for Clifton Fire are from the Pear
Park area. The foremost impediment faced by fire officials in serving
this area is poor access from existing fire stations. Timely access
via Ninth Street and 30 Road is unpredictable. Planned improvements
to 29 Road should decrease response time; but, as the area continues
to develop, the existing service level will be impacted.
Hazardous material spills in the Pear Park neighborhood are
an uncommon occurrence. Locations that have been problematic in the
past are the railroad tracks near 32 Road and an area known as the
railroad hump yard in the 28 Road area.
The City is currently identifying some preferred sites for a
fire station in Pear Park. A new fire station could be located and
built in conjunction with a community-wide public safety training
facility.
Properties located within both the City limits and the Clifton
Fire District that are not excluded from the District are currently
being double taxed. The City has reimbursed those homeowners on an
annual basis for their property taxes paid for City fire service.
This issue may be resolved by an agreement between the City of Grand
Junction and Clifton Fire District. Clifton Fire District has no long-range
plans for expansion.
Another issue for the Clifton Fire Department is the residential
setbacks required by the City of Grand Junction and Mesa County. Both
the City and County codes allow between 10 feet and 30 feet between
principal structures, depending upon zoning, measured at the foundation
and even a smaller distance for accessory structures like sheds. For
fire safety, the Clifton Fire District staff would like to see a separation
between residential uses of no less than 15 feet between structures
measured from the closest point of one structure to the closest point
of the adjacent structure.
Emergency medical response is an important part of the service
provided by fire protection districts and authorities. Both of the
service providers in the planning area have trained staff to provide
medical response. Mesa County Emergency Management (MCEM) recently
hired a consultant to review current services and to develop standards
for services and response times. MCEM’s goal is to provide “wall-to-wall”
coverage Countywide. In addition, the consultant will be giving recommendations
for funding sources for emergency services and appropriate response
times. The study has preliminarily mapped emergency response times
throughout the valley. Most of Pear Park is located outside of the
five-minute response time service area. The national average for response
times is eight minutes.
(Res. 13-05, 1-5-05)