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The inclusion of intangible benefits in the land use decision-making process presents obvious advantages. The methods by which they can be included, however, are not so obvious. Benefit/cost analyses have been used to weigh the merits of various alternative courses of action in terms of economic efficiency. This requires that all benefits and costs be relegated a dollar value or they are not included in the benefit/ cost decision-making process. Reducing to economic terms items such as aesthetic experiences and peace of mind can be quite arbitrary and sub- jective. There is a real danger that such determinations are not more than a numbers game which can be adjusted to achieve whatever result is desired by the analyst. It would appear that intangible benefits and costs would be more appropriately included in the decision-making proc- ess as effects to be considered in addition to the benefit cost analysis and not as a part of it. Although lhe appropriateness of reducing intangibles to dolla( value~ is certainly open to question, several techniques have been developed by researchers to estimate the value of intangibles in terms of dollars. N. H. Coomber and A. K. B i swas ("Eva I uat i on of Env i ronmenta I I ntang i- bles," 1973) have written an excellent summary of the various tech- niques available. Numerous estimating algorithms have been developed based upon evaluations of wi II ingness to pay, cO.loumer demands, the availability of alternative recreation, measurements of psychological stimulation, and others. Some of these techniques are more arbitrary than others and some are totally impractical. One of the least subjective and most practical techniques is to evalu- ate intangible benefits in terms of someone1s will ingness to pay for that benefit. In the case of privately owned recreational and scenic areas, the admission charge is generally representative of the value of an experience. In the case of publicly owned facilities, monetary values are indirectly expressed in the expenditures incurred in a recre- ational trfp or the cost of admission at a similar private area. Several in"tangible benefits were identified for each of the lena Gulch drainageway improvement alternatives. Dollar values for these benefits were est imated on the bas i s of the p r i nci pies of the ""Ii 11 i ngness to pal'method. For those areas designated as grass-lined channels, the intangible benefits were estimated for recreational and commuter bike paths, walking and hiking activities, and picnic areas. For each de- tention basin, an estimate of the benefits derived from winter ice skating and sledding, summer picnics, and educational field trips were included where appropriate. The dollar value of intangibles is summar- ized in Tables VII-3, 4 and 5. The relatively natural condition of Apex Gulch above Heritage Square along the slopes of lookout Mountain is a valuable asset to Lena Gulch which sould be preserved. Natural mountainous drainageways within a few minutes drive of urban sprawl will undoubtedly prove an invaluable natural resource in future generations. Because this area is presently in private ownership with limited access and because no public land acquisition program was included in any of the three alternatives, no intangible benefits were calculated for Apex Gulch. 47